publication news!

Wanted to point out that I added a new widget in the column to the right: Publications.

But I can't do so unceremoniously.

The last several months without a full-time paying job have afforded me the chance to work full time on my writing. This work has included finishing new stories and honing and submitting stories I've had on reserve for years, which has paid off in a couple acceptances recently.

"Through the Viewfinder" will be published online at Bluestem Magazine in June. I stopped by their table at AWP in February and picked up a postcard for their postcard contest. Whatever you could write on the back and mail in would be entered, and my little flash fiction piece was selected as one of the winners to be published in their journal. I've had nothing but positive experiences with Bluestem. Some of my friends have had lovely pieces published there. When Roxane Gay was the fiction editor, she sent me a very kind and personalized rejection email for a story, including suggestions for improving it. If you're not a writer, you need to know that this in itself is cause for celebration.

A story that I've been holding on to for two years has finally found a home at Poplorish, the literary journal of the Old Growth Northwest literary organization. "The Rust Red Feather" was germinated in Massachusetts, hatched in Georgia, nurtured in Kentucky, and finally flew the nest in Washington. I'm a proud mama. Old Growth seems to have an ethos that I can get behind, supporting the arts and artists from the region.

I'll update the links to the right when my stories are live and add to the list as more stories are published. I've been fortunate for this time to focus on my writing more, and I hope to continue the practice as I look for and dive into more full-time (paying) work.

In the Hothouse

I've got a new piece up over the weekend at Hothouse Magazine. In it, I borrow some friends' language about community justice & peacemaking, and I use it as a framework for how art and literature is a form of activism.

Enjoy!

take one down and pass it around...

It's been a fun and crazy few months since we moved to Seattle, and my blog has suffered because of it. But some friends of mine just gave me a really cool excuse to write a second post in less than a week! It's a blog tour, a chain of writers sharing their trade secrets in response to four questions, and then passing the baton to three other writers. I'm obsessed with the writing process--the behind-the-scenes view of what is otherwise a solitary and therefore private occupation. My friend Lacy tagged me in her blog, and from her post you can trace the daisy chain back to the beginning and out on all the branches of this weird family tree. Keep reading to see who I tag for the next round. First, here's what my writing space typically looks like.

Alright, here we go.

Playing it safe

Last night Andrew and I watched Star Trek: TNG like we often do during dinner, and even though I knew it was cheesy, this episode got under my skin. Q takes Picard back in time to "undo" some of the follies of his youth. In this version of his past, Picard avoids a fight that had ended with him getting stabbed. Q then transports him back to the present, but instead of being captain, Picard is a low-level officer--dependable, does his job well, but not the material to take on command. The gist? If as a youth, Picard was the kind of person who played it safe, he never would have faced death, never learned his lessons, never learned to take smarter risks. He just always did what was necessary to get by, and floated through life, directionless and without success. 

Success in terms of career and money and power aren't important to me, but the show made me realize it's all too easy for me to be that passionless, aimless version of Picard. My tendency is not to take risks, not to do anything to stand out from the crowd. I can be (usually) dependable and steady, and I can exist comfortably, but I'm not happy with that. The artists who have made a life out of their creative impulses work really hard. They've made sacrifices and taken risks. Did I mentioned they've worked really hard?

It helps to remember that I have applied for and graduated from a masters program. I have trained for and completed a marathon. I've been accepted to a writing workshop. But in the last few weeks, I feel like I've been floating through life, not making much effort to write, or even to connect with local bookstores and literary organizations. I haven't been sending work out. I haven't been applying (yet) for jobs I might like. It's like I'm afraid to fail on the one hand, and a little afraid to succeed on the other hand. 

I will set aside time to write. I will send my work out bravely, boldly, when it's ready. I will make plans and be social and put myself forward to the kinds of people I want to spend more time with--writers and book people. I must stop playing it safe. If I feel myself hesitating or moving something to the back burner, most likely the better response is to take action. Do it now. Say yes. 

If this sounds a little self-helpy, I apologize. It's for me that I write this. I'm the one who needs a kick in the pants. I don't want to be a star-fleet captain, but I do want to be more in charge of my own life. That is all.