COVID hit our house hard earlier this month, and after nearly 3 weeks of acute symptoms, I’m finally coming out of it. As it’s literally the last day of September, it feels like I lost a month, but such is life.

Great stories must balance action and reflection. Action drives excitement, while reflection adds depth, and both are essential.

While writing might start as a solitary pursuit, it’s the input, critique, and support from others that help shape our work into something truly remarkable.

While writing is primarily a solitary endeavor, preparing work for publication is not.

When are some times you’ve been the most self-connected? What were you doing? Where were you? How did it feel ?

I’ll still continue to provide general topic posts for people to enjoy, but I want the flexibility to write about whatever I’m thinking about or working on at the moment, rather than feeling like I have to stick to the rigid structure I set up for this past year…

Through short stories, we get to experience the world in bite-sized pieces, diving into specific moments of meaning.

It’s been a while, so let’s check in and get up to speed on where we’re at.

Cozy fantasy transports us to worlds where mystical creatures may roam and everyday troubles yield to the comforts of life, whether they be warm drinks or good friends.

Themes of identity and belonging have been major ones in my own life, so I’m drawn to writing about these aspects of existence. I’ve always been fascinated by human identity and the search we all seem to have for a place to call home.

Ever since Chat GPT became so widely available and widely used, it seems the writing/bookish community has been actively considering and debating the implications such a tool might have on the future of the entire publishing industry.

The healthy, therapized version of myself is reminding me to stay present even as uncomfortable memories surface from a long-forgotten time in my life, and the creative avoidant version of myself is writing things down to use as content in future projects.

Didion and Rockwell may have used different mediums, but their art captured the same essence thanks to their detailed storytelling and unflinching look at our real lives.

R&R update, querying, and reflections on the revision process for WSD.

We’ve got some possible news on the querying front!

I think it’s so important to embrace diversity in perspectives, and oftentimes later-in-life stories are neglected. I want to be a part of changing that.

I think a clear revision plan is a must when revising, whether it’s based on our own notes or an editorial letter from an agent or editor. Hopefully these tips will help!

Instead of approaching it as a broad idea like “identity,” it helps when I ask a specific question and use the story to explore more. I’ll expand on this, using my own manuscript as the example.

I may have a Taurus-heavy chart, but patience has never been one of my strongest personal qualities. Hard-working, persistent, reliable? Sure. But patient? Absolutely not.

The list is getting shorter, but I got another request!