gooseandcaboose

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Reflections on a Year

Imagine this: today is October 28th, the last Monday in October 2024, and I am sitting in the county courthouse, waiting for my number to be called for jury selection. It is strange that on the last Monday of October in 2023, I was sitting in the same county courthouse, waiting for my number to be called for jury selection. Continue reading Reflections on a Year

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Something Old, Something New

What have you been working on? At the end of last year (by which I mean right the week before November), I stopped working on a project I’ve been working on for years (The Red Desert) favor of a new shiny project (The Duke and the Double). I had told myself earlier in October 2023 that, if I finished The Red Desert by November, then I could start a new project and attempt NaNoWriMo. This seemed…

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Celebrating the Small Victories

Celebrating the Small Victories

Friday, March 25th, was a very important day. It was not an anniversary or a birthday. It wasn’t a graduation or a commencement or coming-of-age celebration for a young relative. On Friday, March 25th, I broke my longest recorded writing streak. (more…)

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Horror and the Mind's Eye: Thoughts on My Relationship to Horror

Horror and the Mind’s Eye: Thoughts on My Relationship to Horror

I am not someone who enjoys horror. You can ask anyone who knows me. Least favorite film genre. I don’t seek out horror books or stories. I have only enjoyed one movie I would call horror (that I’ve been informed doesn’t really fit that category), which I don’t remember the name of, but is shot in a blue palette, is Spanish?, and is about a woman who returns to the defunct orphanage where she…

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Once Upon a Write-a-Thon

Once Upon a Write-a-Thon

Last year in June, I discovered a wonderful thing. I don’t remember how–probably an email from the organization running the event–but that’s not as important what it is I found. The Clarion West Write-a-thon. Now, as a writer in the speculative space, I have long been aware of the Clarion Writers’ Workshop, it’s child Clarion West and other heavy hitters in this space, like Odyssey and Viable…

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Why I "Did-Not-Finish"

Why I “Did-Not-Finish”

As I closed the book on my first read of the year, and marked it Did-Not-Finish (DNF) at 52% complete, I began to think about not finishing books and what that means for me as a reader. I didn’t realize I have a very lenient DNF policy until talking with a roommate last year who told me she never does not finish a book. That is, she always finishes the books she reads, whether it takes her a day…

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These are amazing!

i showed my dad some of my graphite stuff and he was like ‘we need to get you into a gallery’ and i’m here like but dad these are boring graphite studies of old statues of saints, no one’s gonna want to show them or buy them /:

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On Discipline

It feels lonely to be in a writing funk. Writing is a lonely practice anyway, as has been discussed much more eloquently by persons far more erudite than myself. (It’s also been quipped by many persons far quippier than myself.) Being in a writing funk isolates the writer further, especially in this age of social media where it seems like everyone else is always productive and moving along the…

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On Anniversaries (Life in the Big City #2) I've been thinking about the past year recently as I've flown past a number of one year anniversaries:

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Good morning! It's April 15th, which means we're almost halfway through Camp NaNoWriMo! . This weekend I finished the second story I was working on (The Oracle and the Old Guard) which fills the bird notebook from front to back. . I did not write on Sunday or Monday, which felt refreshing and frustrating at the same time, since my goal for the month was to write every day. After finishing The Oracle and the Old Guard, I thought I would know what to work on, but I didn't, so I couldn't bring myself to work on anything. . Yesterday I started to write again in a new notebook (A balloon view of London) which I bought at @foxbookshop when I was in Philadelphia in November. I'm excited to get another idea down! . How are your goals coming this month? . . . #campnano2020 #campnanowrimo #campnanowrimo2020 #campnano #writingcommunity #writing #amwriting #amwritingscifi #amwritingspecfiction #amwritingfantasy #writersofinsta #writersofinstagram #writersofig https://www.instagram.com/p/B_AR_dVANSxMEbMjByAEmYRrEEED1mrcfrQDU40/?igshid=1hayfij3bfbir

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Last Line Tag

Thanks for the tag @writeanapocalae! I kept forgetting this sitting in my notifications, but here is (finally!) a snippet from the short story I’m working on now for Camp NaNoWriMo.

Her eyes met the Oracle’s--the black, the black. She felt the intensity of that gaze and held it for a moment. “The Oracle is a lying bitch. Just like all her gods.”

And Prima walked away. She used all the length of stride her not insubstantial height gave her. Footsteps, hasty, followed her.

I will tag: @the-inkwell-variable, @zombiefaewrites, @naquadahwrite, @madmoonink, and @wintersaints. (Of course no pressure to do this if you don’t want to!)

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#tbr A month ago I was feeling pessimistic about my ability to reach my reading goal for the year. I have more free time in my schedule since then, however, and am looking forward to a kit of reading in the coming weeks. . This month I actually put together a TBR, so I can eliminate the guessing stage between books. (At least physical books,. I'll still have to debate myself when it comes to ebooks). This TBR is largely based around a promise I made to read Words of Radiance before May, and I'm going to keep it. . Today I started reading Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers, and it's already delightful. . What are you reading? . . . #amreading #amreadingfantasy #amreadingscifi #books #bookpile #bookstack #tbrpile #bookstagram #wordsofradiance #brandonsanderson #thefifthseason #nkjemisin #recordofaspacebornfew #beckychambers #acceptance #jeffvandermeer https://www.instagram.com/p/B-p1JwagWEGdVdbkKmUKJ1f5hN-ggPemU5P0ho0/?igshid=83qnjn9malrr

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It's the fifth day of #campnanowrimo and I just finished my first writing session for the day...and this notebook. . I filled just over half from September 2019 throughthe first week if March 2020,and the rest of it since March 18th. It didn't feel like I was writing that much, but apparently I have been fairly writing productive during the past few weeks! . Since I finished the little idea I was purging from my head by writing it down (typically a very effective method for me to never think about a story again), I'm now moving on to a new notebook and another idea! . The next idea is vague (like the previous one) but involves a mountain temple, an oracle, an outcast, and bargaining with a god. At least, that's what I think it involves now. Well see how it shakes out in the writing. . How are your goals coming? . . . #amwriting #amwritingfantasy #writersofinsta #writing #writer #writersofig #writersofinstagram #writerscommunity #wip #notebooklover #campnano2020 #campnanowrimo2020 https://www.instagram.com/p/B-m1w2sAKwdzjcdP67j7f-ZGiLassn9jJkx6xM0/?igshid=1jpmcf3pm4gsa

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Happy April! It's the first day of #campnanowrimo, which I decided to join a little last minute. The nice thing about Camp NaNoWriMo, though, is that it's set up to be much more flexible, so I didn't have to have a novel I wanted to write. I just decided to get some writing done. . My Camp project is simple: I want to write for 90 minutes every day. I can work on any project, I can type or handwrite, whatever. . I am finishing up one project I started handwriting a couple weeks ago when my city started isolating at home, and should be done with that in a couple days. Then it's on to an idea I call "The Oracle and the Old Guard" that I've been thinking about for a while. . I'd love to hear about your Camp NaNo projects if you're participating! If you're not, what are you goals for April, writing-related or otherwise? https://www.instagram.com/p/B-dG6KJgVeoF842c58kQJAP-xI95c5-ziQfB8I0/?igshid=j7canei8wgoo

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Settling in for lunch on this cloudy Sunday with pasta and homemade (roomie-made) #focaccia . . Earlier today I finished reading #lastbastion by #rachelaaron and #travisbach, so I've got to find another ebook to read while I eat. It's too dangerous to read a paperback or write while eating, especially pasta with a red sauce and bread that is literally covered with oil. . This coming week marks the start of April, and I'm deciding whether to participate in #campnanowrimo. A new week at home means finding new ways to stay productive--and not go stir crazy--which means going on a walk at least once a day, and balancing everything I should be doing during this strange time. . What are your plans for the coming week? . . . #writingcommunity #writersofinsta #writersofig #writersofinstagram #amwriting #amreading #reading https://www.instagram.com/p/B-U49VfgSJEwOkpw2yun4-V4f_U9YTqMf0jKIU0/?igshid=che62u21qsxo

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So, my supervisor has left and the head of the department has been reviewing resumes to hire her replacement.

There was one candidate she was sold on from the resume. There's an email that literally says "She's perfect." The head of the department said after the first phone interview, "I just got off the phone with the person I hope is our next [position title]." They had her come on site for an interview.

(I met her for about 5 minutes, which, is, y'know not exactly how long I'd like to be able to talk to the person whom I'd be working most closely with.)

Internally, I've been thinking throughout this process that it's not great to have your hopes set on a single candidate (of hundreds) from the resume stage.

Today the head of the department shared that her ideal candidate let them know she is going to stay at her current place or work. The head of my department: devastated. In her own words, shocked. Basically lost hours yesterday afternoon because of this news.

I am...not surprised.

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i actually have no clue how to use twitter. like technically i know how to use twitter but culturally i don’t get it