I’ve played Pokemon since I was about 10 years old. I remember hiding under my blankets at night with a flashlight and a Game Boy Color, burning my batteries down. When I played, I didn’t just see pixels. I could smell that knee-high grass, and the caves had dank, sticky air like the storage unit…
Tag: Writing
Finding an Editor Is Easy: Deciding What You Need (and Finding a Good Fit) Is the Hard Part
I’ve been an editor since 2011. I kicked off my career with nonfiction, especially academic essays and reports, before transitioning into fiction editing. I’ve also been taking my creative writing seriously since about 2018, when I started submitting short stories and poetry. As an agented author out on submission with two books as of August…
Introducing Haunted Houses in Writing
I love haunted houses. I love their mystery, their poetry, the way they stand in for how we’re haunted ourselves. One of my favorite moments is when we “meet” the haunted house. Go on, give me mile-long, absurdly detailed descriptions. Use adverbs. Use “too many” adjectives. Tell me exactly what those gutters look like and…
CAVES: Scary Books and Old Art in Dark, Deep Places
Another month, another themed list! Thanks in particular this month to the “Spooky Book Club” and “Horror Books” Facebook groups for caves-themed book recs. If you like what you find here, sign up for my newsletter! I always include a little extra for subscribers. Got any theme-related stories? Books or games set far underground? Music that…
MUSHROOMS: Fungi in Scary Books, Art, and Weird History
Every month, for my newsletter subscribers, I do a themed list of book recs, art, music, video games, etc. The newsletter always includes a little extra, but here are some highlights! Do you have any mushroom-oriented books you’ve loved? Any games or music steeped in shroomy goodness? Just a favorite mushroom? If so, drop a…
NEWSLETTER LAUNCHED
This January, I launched an author-oddity newsletter! What’s it about? First and foremost, it’s a way to boost other creators, especially small ones still trying to find their audience. If you like the odd and eerie, subscribe! On the 5th each month, you’ll learn what the month’s theme is. On the 25th, I’ll send a…
SNOW: Scary Books, Art, and Mysteries in Snowy Settings
Every month, for my newsletter subscribers, I do a themed list of oddball items: books, indie games, art, weird facts, creepy internet rabbit holes… If you like what you see here, sign up! The newsletters always include little extra. If you’ve got more chilling theme-related oddities or recommendations, don’t hold out. Drop ’em in the…
Ms. Wolownik’s New Assistant
Here’s my entry for the Official Kidlit #FallWritingFrenzy! Writers select one image to inspire a 200-word story. My image is below! Ms. Wolownik’s New Assistant Ms. Wolownik’s house looks like a rotten potato. It’s brown and white, and nobody can tell mold from paint. Its roof sags. Vines from overgrown plants spill out the windows….
How Do You Finish a Story?
How do you know a story is done? Or if not a “story,” a piece of writing—your flash fiction, your novella, your book. How do you know when it’s a ready, submission-worthy, finished piece? Reading the classics in high school, and even in college, I had this underlying assumption that every poem, every novel, was…
My Sister’s Heart Transplant
TL;DR: My sister got a heart transplant. Please be an organ donor. Click this link: https://www.donatelife.net/ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━√v^√v^√ ❤️️ In December of 2018, my sister’s heart failed. No warning. She was 21 years old. It was a rare genetic hiccup. Doctors saved her life that December…but at a cost. Her body became, in a sense, battery…