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Allowing the Fallow State In Writing

Something on your “to-do list” that never gets done. My writing to-do list has four novels, a poem, and several short stories on it. Right now I’m working on a novel, and splitting my guilt between going too slow, ignoring the other projects, and not giving myself enough time to breathe. To-do lists are a double-edged sword that way. Yes, they keep me organized and allow me to quickly move to the next thing. But rarely do we add rest periods to the to-do. So it can feel like we are constantly moving onto the next project without taking time to breathe and grow between each project. And that growth…

Go Read Midwestern Chrome

About a month ago, I received an arc of Midwestern Chrome by Michael Bettendorf. I knew I’d like the book because Tenebrous has a keen eye for weird books with emotional resonance. When I saw the cover, I suspected I might love it. But honestly, I wasn’t ready to become obsessed with it. The book is a collection of cyber-noir short stories. Now, I love short stories. They’re fun to write, and reading them gives you the mental and emotional payoff of a full story with little time commitment. That being said, I usually prefer my shorts from magazines or anthologies rather than collections. I figure if I’m reading a…

Just One of the Girls

The Girls
By Emma Cline

My Absolutely Tiny TBR Is Still Impossible

(Or how to maximize your reading time when your life is a dumpster of chaos) What books do you want to read? I am not a fast reader or a big reader, and I’ve never been. I read anywhere from 6-12 books a year. That’s it. For a writer, that’s not a lot, and for someone who reads books that’s not enough. There are so many great books that I want to read. I’m doing a few things to spend more time reading: Less Doom Scrolling, More Books I’ve pulled all social media off my phone except for Bluesky. I’ve probably got to pull that, too. Taking all the social…

Negative Relationship Arcs: The Beats of Separation

I’m trying to figure out how relationship beats work for negative relationship arcs… got any resources?

The Evolution of Online Communication

In what ways do you communicate online? In my heart, there will always be three critical moments of online communication that shaped my life: ICQ, Deadjournal, and Tribe. In the years since these things came and went, things have changed — we’ve moved on from longform to tweets. Then twitter imploded. Facebook was an amazing way to keep up with friends and family, until it wasn’t. For awhile Instagram was king, with all the photos, and now we’ve moved on to videos. I hate videos. I’ve tried posting a few. There are old Youtube videos of me playing guitar or reading poetry. But it always felt forced. I love writing…