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Tuesday Update – Another Trip Around the Sun

I’ve made another full revolution around the sun! Last Friday, I celebrated my birthday by simply turning another year older. There were also some meals with loved ones, gifts, a bit of beer, and perhaps a few more fun things. These, obviously, were unimportant compared to the arrival of an AARP envelope welcoming me into “being damned old enough to belong to the American Association of Retired Persons.”

HAH! Joke’s on them, I’m a writer and an American citizen, so I will never be able to retire!

Oh. Ugh….

Ah, well, onward and upward! At least the skies have been blue, and temperatures have left the arctic zone (for me, that means it is 60 F outside instead of 45 F). Shorts and beer garden weather, which is why it is my favorite time of year.

Writing Updates

I don’t want to say it was an unproductive week, although looking at my spreadsheet, it appears less productive than past weeks. I have a good reason for that, though.

I’ve mentioned before that I do a timed writing prompt every morning as a warm-up exercise. Well, over the course of several days, my prompt writing began to link together. Not a huge thing, this happens, and often, I get a full-length short story out of the prompt writing.

This was a bit different. I’ve put a novel idea, which I call Ragman, on the back burner to cook a bit until summer break, when I expect to have time to give it the attention it deserves.

Apparently, Ragman is not very patient, though. Three mornings in a row, Ragman kept creeping into my morning warmup with new characters and directions. Things I hadn’t even had on my radar. Does this mean I need to start focusing on Ragman now, while still in the thick of the university season?

Perhaps. Perhaps…

That is not to say I was completely not hitting my goals! I finished revising “Dendrolatry” and have sent it out into the world. Two submissions this week, but planning a few more over the coming weeks as submission windows open at a few places.

I received a rejection for “From Little Mice.” It was a nice rejection, not rude at all, from the journal Hearth Stories. I also received a rejection from Jeopardy for the flash story “Myths of Each Other.” Also, a nice rejection, but I also know the editor personally, so perhaps they felt they had to be nice. I jest! Plus, I have two more stories submitted to that publication (with different editors, though), so they may still accept something.

Published this week is “Is It Capitalism, or the New Feudalism?” over on Medium. (Free read friend link below, share it wide and far!) It’s an exploration of how we can create room for creating and creative thought in the system where we currently find ourselves.

Reading Notes

I finished Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers and have moved on to the second book, Prayer for the Crown Shy. I went into these books knowing I would love them. I love every single thing that Chambers writes, from now until forever. I love how she plays with the idea of gender and speciesism and nonbinary/nondualistic love.

What I didn’t expect was how much I was going to specifically love these two books. They are library books, soon they will be my books because I placed them on order at my local independent bookstore (you know I am not ordering them from some online retailer). I see myself carrying these books in my bag, just so I can read a passage or chapter whenever I am sad, confused, or need some inspiration.

These books are that good. Go read them.

I also finished Laura Goode’s Pitch Craft. Another excellent book, for different reasons, obviously. Goode does an excellent job breaking down the state of the writing and publishing world as it is right now. Most of the craft books I find on the publishing industry are woefully out of date or have put all of the eggs into the self-publishing basket. Pitch Craft is both up to date and it is an engaging read. I rarely read books like this cover to cover, but I did this one. It’s another one that I am adding to my reference) bookshelf.

The sun is still shining. If you are familiar with the PNW in April, you are also aware that this may change at any moment, and it will once again be cold and rainy. Thus, I am going to find a beer garden to sit in so I can soak up the sun, people-watch, and get back to the business of writing.

As always, go forth in hope, Friends!

Tuesday Update – Submissions, Personal Myths, and Routine Adjustments

Currently I am sitting at a desk on the 5th floor of Wilson Library. The sky is blue — FINALLY! — and the sun is making the ripples on the bay sparkle and gleam.

It’s a beautiful March day. It is also a day that I am in flux.

Like most humanesque creatures, I take comfort in my silly habits and routines. I can be quite curmudgeonly about them, and breaking them against my will can lead to a toddler-level tantrum (at least internally…).

So why do I persist in changing my routines every three months? For those in the know, it is because I decided to return to university at the ripe young age of 49. So every three months my schedule changes and I must adapt.

It’s gotten easier, fortunately. I take the down time between quarters to formulate a new routine and then I implement it in baby steps during the two weeks off. But then, I decide to try something new. This quarter the new thing is to schedule all of my classes on two days, Tuesday and Thursday. That gives me five days of freedom to work on my writing, earn a bit of the devil’s kale (not marijuana, but money), and to enjoy my life a bit.

It also means that on two days each week I leave my house at 8:30 am, walk a mile to the bus stop, go to classes all day, then get back to the bus stop at 6:30 … where I then walk the mile home.

Wish me luck in surviving this experiment!

Project Updates:

I completed, and properly formatted, a couple of microfiction pieces. They are each around 550 words and complete stories in themselves, although both could also be expanded if I ever feel the urge.

The first is “Dog Bowl Eulogy,” which has nothing to do with bowls and the dogs only make a guest appearance, as in the main character Shirley is terrified she is going to be eaten by dogs.

The second is “Minstrel Cramps,” which as the name implies was much fun to write and will hopefully be more fun to read!

Both will begin their submission odysseys later this week. I’ll update as the rejections, ahem, I mean acceptances begin pouring in!

A bit of noodling on the “Ragman” project, but that’s it. I won’t be working on it in earnest until summer break.

I’ve also began editing and revising a longer short story, with the working-but-probably-final title of “Dendrolatry,” which simply means Tree Idolatry or Tree Worship. It’s at about 5,000 words right now, pre-revision, and I expect it is more likely to pack on a couple thousand more by the time I am done with it.

The interesting thing about this story is that it began with a prompt writing exercise. My initial prompt was simply “What if the trees had eyes?” I wrote about 1,000 words on that little prompt, and I had more words but no more time so I ended it with a new prompt for the following day.

That prompt was “what are the trees looking at?” Still, more words at the end of the exercise, so I followed it up with another prompt on day 3. “Why are the trees looking at me?”

I continued in this vein for several days before I finally reached an ending of sorts. Quite lovely of an ending, really! Some parts I rushed through, which is why I know I will be adding more words.

Now, what have I published this week? Not much. Nothing, actually. I did send out 5 submissions yesterday, but I didn’t hear anything back other than a few emails stating my submission was received.

I also published a new essay over on Medium, free-read Friend link below:

Are the Myths You Tell Yourself Hurting You?

Reading Notes:

I haven’t finished a book this week, so I will simply share what I am reading right now:

Pitchcraft by Laura Goode — lots of good information, so far! I’ll give a more detailed review once I finish it.

Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers. I’m about halfway through this short book. I love everything Chambers has ever written, and so far I love this one, too. Chambers is the best hopecore, solar punk sci-fi writer on the planet, I swear!

Moments in Living:

Life has been pleasantly chill this past week. Wonderfully chill, even. I met with friends nearly everyday last week to make up for the fact that I dropped off the planet during winter quarter. We didn’t do any hiking or geocaching, which are the usual weekend activities, and instead stuck close to home where we read, played games, and simply relaxed.

Oh, and we enjoyed the sunshine on Monday with a pint at our favorite beer garden. Good times!

Nothing exciting, but sometimes that is the best way.

Until next time,

Jenny Wren Harrington

Tuesday Update – Drabbles, Publishing Opportunities, and Amazing Books

Accountability, my friends, is something we could all use a bit more of. I tend to beat myself up over wasted time. I blame the capitalist construct that has trained me to see my worth in terms of production, but I must also admit that the idea that production = worth is founded in certain laws of living. A productive cougar eats well and has time to laze about on a sunny rock, and we are not exempt from this rule.

A productive writer and creative should also eat well and have time to laze on the sunny rock, too. I’m trying to find that balance for myself. Thus, this weekly update, which might become a thing. If you need some accountability in your creative life, let’s connect. Either link me to your weekly accountability thread somewhere or simply do it in the comments here.

We gotta help each other in this wonderful, terrible, wacky world!

Project updates:

My 100-word Drabble was the winner of the Hiraeth Publishing Drabble contest! I’ll share a link to it once it is published in the upcoming month.

Haven’t heard of Hiraeth? Check them out! If you like speculative fiction and would like a free monthly ebook, consider signing up for their newsletter, too.

I’m in the thick of a couple of projects right now. One is a novel project, working title Ragman. It’s in the baby stages — brainstorming and research — so don’t expect much on this right now. I hope to dedicate the summer to writing an awful first draft. I’m not being negative; first drafts tend to be awful even when they are sort of good. You can’t get to a good draft until you get the awful stuff out of your head, anyway. I need something to work with, after all!

For the next few months and probably longer, my main focus is on short pieces. Primarily flash fiction under 1,000 words and a couple of longer short stories. I sent four finished stories out into the ether on Saturday, so hopefully they find a home with a literary journal. My goal is to send out at least two subs a week or eight a month. It’s easy for me to procrastinate because sending in submissions is the most tedious part of writing, in my opinion.

The Fairy Tale Review opens for submissions on April 1st and remains open until June 15th for anyone interested. I have two stories I plan to submit, each about 10 pages long. They accept a single prose submission of up to 30 manuscript pages, but the submission can be a single long piece, a single excerpt, or multiple shorter stories. With a long submission window, I think I will hold off on submitting the two tales in case I write another that fits the journal before June. I have so many fairy tale and fable ideas bouncing in my head. Plus, I have submitted these stories to a few other journals, so this gives me time to hear back on them. (Don’t worry, they all accept simultaneous subs.)

Finally, there is Medium, where I write nonfiction under the name “Jenny Wren.” I’m on a mission to publish one new essay there a week. If you haven’t visited me on Medium, my focus is on inspiration and survival for creatives and other wandering folks during these days of late-stage capitalism. It sounds heavier than it is! Here are a couple of links to read my latest two essays for free:

Stop Mistaking Progress for Innovation

Drabble Your Way to Inspiration

Reading notes:

So much reading this week! It was rainy and gloomy, par for the course in the lovely PNW at this time of year. That means it was excellent reading weather. I finished two books this week.

Wandering Star by Tommy Orange

This is Orange’s second book, and I loved it just as much as his first one. Wandering Star picks up where his first book, There There, ends. Although much of the book broke my heart… no, scratch that. Much of the book tore out my heart and ground it into the dirt, then shoved it back into me, still beating and bruised, yet I loved every minute of it. Yes, even when I was shaking with anger or when tears were coursing down my face at the injustice of the world and the injustice of us. I highly recommend both books. Like, go put them on hold at the library right now. I’ll wait.

Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg

An oldie but a goodie on the writing craft. It’s been on my bookshelf forever, but I have never read the whole thing. I think I originally got it as a gift. One gloomy morning, I wasn’t in the mood for fiction, and I was caught up on the current New Yorker, so I grabbed it off my shelf. I tore through it in five days. It blew my mind, reassembled it, and inspired me in ways I am still trying to parse. Proof that some books are considered classics on the craft for very good reasons!

Interestingly enough, I was perusing the free books in the library basement the day after I finished Goldberg’s book, and there were copies of two of her other writing books up for grabs. You can bet I snagged them for my collection!

Moments in living:

We are plodding towards spring in fits and starts. It’s an odd sort of PNW spring. We had late spring sunshine and temperatures at the beginning of February, so everything started budding out. Then March came in wet and cold with a return of winter. We usually get one or two light snowfalls in February, but all we ended up with were a few flurries in March. We are still wet and cool, but finally some sunshine days have snuck in, and the temperatures are trending upward.

Weird how even on a blog we default to talking about the weather instead of ourselves…

The quarter is over. I have one more week before I head back to campus for the spring term. I’m reducing my campus schedule to just twice a week – Tuesdays and Thursdays – to free up some time for writing and other pursuits.

One of those pursuits is the violin! That’s right, I began violin lessons. Next week I will learn to rosin and use the bow on the strings. Remember, kids, we’re never too old to learn something new. At least, I hope not.

Until next time,

Jenny Wren Harrington

Stop Mistaking Progress for Innovation

A creative manifesto for those willing to hope deeply

Art is dead. Long live art. Photo by Connor Fisher on Unsplash

Are you feeling it, too? Nothing seems new or exciting. Nothing gobsmacks us with its innovation or uniqueness anymore. It’s the same memes, recycled with more of the same trite captions. It’s the same tech, with a new profile and a rearranged home screen. Even the cars are exactly the same. Are they making anything that isn’t a wagon or a monster truck anymore?

Continue reading on Medium for free…

How a Hybrid Workflow Rocked My Writing World

Maybe it can work for you, too!

The Siren call is real… Photo by Samantha Borges on Unsplash

My life was being destroyed by blue light, endless scrolling, and rabbit holes filled with nonsense generated to sell rather than with interesting or useful oeuvres. Even worse, they were taking away my ability to write.

Each day, I’d open up my laptop excitedly, ready to let all those ideas filling my brain out onto the screen. It would start well enough. I would type a few sentences, maybe even a paragraph or three. Then it would happen.

I’d need to verify a fact or some other little piece of information.

Still hopeful that there was writing to be done, I’d click the little icon on my taskbar. Up would pop the browser window, inviting me to type in my research query. Then, some little addicted part of my brain would whisper, “Check your email, Reddit, Pinterest… click on anything but the writing before you.”

Continue reading on Medium for free…

Happiness Will Ruin Your Life

Choose contentment and you choose life.

26 years ago Irvine Welsh’s Choose Life Monologue from his book Trainspotting made it’s movie debut:

“Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suit on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourselves.”

And, like so many before and after me, that’s exactly what I set about doing.

Although Welsh was writing about the heroin epidemic destroying Edinburgh, these words perfectly sum up the American dream that was piped into my house via Friday Night Laugh Packs and Saturday Morning Cartoons throughout my 1980s childhood. It was the same dream, now upsized, that was sold to my parents in the decades following the wars that DIDN’T end all wars.

Continue reading for free on Medium…