• On June 14, 2013 by

    How’s Them Plans Going: A Schedule

    Soooo, remember when I came up with the absolutely ludicrous plan to publish 18 things in 18 months? It’s been a couple weeks, so I figured it was time to check in and report back on my findings or doings or whatever. Maybe even post a schedule!

    In that plan, I laid out where I wanted novels, short stories, and novellas to hit. I gave myself two freebies because I knew I would end up having a short story collection after awhile, and my novella trilogy has always had the plan to become an omnibus. So I guess that may be considered cheating, but even if we go with 16 publications in 18 months, that’s still a lot.

    Read more

  • On June 7, 2013 by

    My Writing Manifesto or My Cry for Feminism

    Bra Burning

    I’ve had other posts planned. I was even going to post something yesterday, but I stopped. This post is probably going to be link heavy, and it may offend you or make you upset. If it does? Good. It offends and upsets me too.

    When people talk to me about my writing and ask me what I do (which is strangely a lot lately), I have always been clear. I am a woman writer. I am writer who is a woman. I am not an American Woman Novelist as Wikipedia would have me. I am a writer. I am a feminist writer.

    Read more

  • On June 2, 2013 by

    Full-Time Writer You Say?

    I posted a countdown the other day about my upcoming adventures. I left something very big and very important off that countdown. See, tomorrow is  June 3rd. It’s the last day of school. Normally that’s not a big deal, because normally I would go home after work and start right away the next day a full-time summer job. No breaks. No time off.

    This year? That’s not happening. I’m going home after work and the next day? I’m staying home. I’m staying home and I’m writing. And I’m doing that the next day, and also the day after that. I somehow convinced my entire family and my friends to support me as I give full-time writing a go.

    Read more

  • On May 31, 2013 by

    June Countdown

    June is going to be pretty epic. As such, I feel the need to be forthright with everything that is about to happen in case I fall off the map.

    Read more

  • On May 30, 2013 by

    But I’m A Nice Guy

    But I’m A Nice Guy from Scott Benson on Vimeo.

    Presented without comment.

  • On May 28, 2013 by

    You Need a Plan

    I’m a big fan of outlines. Which is a little strange, because I really love flying by the seat of my pants. And as I spoke about earlier, going off the plan is really easy for me. It’s sort of my default mode.

    Which is why I like outlines. They tell me where I am going and roughly where I hope to end up. If I get too far off track, all I have to do is look at my outline, point my compass in that direction, and usually it turns out okay. So far, I haven’t ended up being eaten by bears in the wilderness.

    But I’m not here to talk about outlines today. Whoops. Just sitting here, pulling the tablecloth out from all the dishes. Don’t mind me. Nope, I’m here to talk about plans. As in, career plans.

    Read more

  • On May 26, 2013 by

    The Miss Neo Pageant

    Miss Neo Pageant

    I had someone look me in the eye last night and scream “You are a horrible writer!” Luckily, it was Megan Mercier from the Neo-Futurists and it was part of a play. And my sister, who was sitting next to me, I’m pretty sure almost died from laughing at the abuses slung at me.

    I’ve written about the Neo-Futurists and a couple of their main stage shows before. While they’re most famous for Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind, they do put on ‘regular old plays’ too. I say ‘regular old plays,’ but that’s not quite right. I just mean not TMLMTBGB.

    I’m still trying to digest The Miss Neo Pageant, the latest main stage. It was funny and brutal and cringe-inducing and eloquent and even, at moments, kind. I’ve seen plenty of men unabashedly naked on-stage before. Hell, I’ve seen women, too. But I’ve never seen a naked woman so unapologetic about her body and calling attention to its nakedness before. It was refreshing and genuine and exactly what was called for.

    Read more

  • On May 25, 2013 by

    Let’s Talk About ADHD and Writing

    It may come as a total surprise to you, but I have ADHD. Yes, that old bad hat Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. It’s a trendy little disorder to have, and having that diagnosis comes with amazing little pills that seem to make everyone smarter. Unfortunately, I actually do have the disorder and the prescription medicine you’ve never heard of that comes with it. And sadly, they don’t make me any smarter. They just help me function like a big fancy adult who does big fancy adult things like laundry. I know, you desperately want to live this glamorous life, too.

    I can’t say what it would be like to not have ADHD. It’s a problem with the brain chemistry and it’s just been that way my whole life. Which actually makes writing about ADHD hard, because I really don’t know how the regular-joe types function. How easy or hard different things are for them. All I can do is extrapolate what I see them doing. So I could be getting this wrong. Terribly wrong.

    Read more

  • On May 12, 2013 by

    Ladies and Gentlmen, The Novella is Drafted

    Some times you blink, and suddenly it’s May and it’s been, like, two weeks since you’ve posted in your blog. Sometimes you have good reasons, and sometimes you don’t. What I am not doing is letting the guilt prevent me from posting again.

    Since I last posted a lot of things have happened. The Russian’s sister came for a visit from Japan. May arrived. I started out with a new writing group. My sister came for a visit from Kenya. And I finished the first draft of my novella. Yes, you heard me. Three Days of Night is in the can. First draft, anyway.

    Read more

  • On April 29, 2013 by

    Finding Ways to be Kind to Myself

    It has recently come to my attention that I’m very good at projecting a version of myself that is intimidatingly confident. Which, in light of the stereoscopic version of Wren that I get in my brain, it is kind of hilarious.

    Yes, I revel in my weirdness at times. And yep, I definitely pretend at times that I am the most awesome person ever. Let me reassure you, this is to compensate for the giant sucking sound that is the black-hole of my actual self-esteem.

    Read more

← Older Entries