They Had It Coming

A few years ago, I woke up to the news that the FBI had arrested over thirty people – all of them rich, two of them celebrities – because they had employed a college admissions hustler to create a largely fictionalized version of their children’s applications. What made the story captivating was that the FBI simultaneously released transcripts of wire tapped calls between the parents and the hustler, Rick Singer. They were pages from a Tom Wolfe notebook, a found essay. I like the piece because it moves fast- I remember writing it in a heightened state- and because it’s funny and because it included my own sentimental education among the grasping rich.

(Writing tip: You’ll always have work if you’re funny. Don’t try to be funny if you’re not – but don’t be afraid to be funny in your work if you are. Editors always want some humor in the mix)