Is this a way forward? Make a picture a day? Even if I can’t explain it. Post only those I love. (I love this one).
Because I’m getting sick of myself, I’ll tell you that. And sometimes afraid too. Like I’ll be found out by the bad guys.
I’m committing the cardinal sin of posting the same images everywhere, but in this time of extraordinarily bad news, maybe I can get a pass? Because it makes me insanely happy to see my book at an independent bookstore. Look! Will you goddamned look? Next to Jesmyn Ward no less.
I still can’t quite believe it.
Nor can I believe that I’m still finding typos. Today: two. And two improvements.
(Did I mention that Ken is my book manager? Poor guy).
Dog photo board at the bookstore
Next week stay tuned for a link to my podcast interview on On Mic.
I know some of you are canvassing, making calls, posting excellent content, writing postcards. If you are, keep at it. Today, I’m sending 10 more postcards, this time to New York trying to flip back one of those five seats that went red last time.
Try not to think too much about how even if Trump loses we have a major problem with the oligarchs in this country.
(And also with the brain-washed. The death of facts. The disinterest in shared reality. No small parenthetical, this).
Peter Thiel, have you heard? He thinks the non-innovators in our country ought to be boiled into goo to fuel the lives of the innovators. He was joking, I guess. Jeff Bezos can date a giant-breasted younger woman, but has no balls, apparently. And “jumping dipshit” while a perfect description of Musk (courtesy of Walz), doesn’t even begin to describe the danger of THAT immigrant, whose acts at this point can only be described as treason. Security clearance, anyone?
Of course in the inexplicable way of looping media, we knew AGES ago that Musk cut out Starlink communications to Ukraine at a critical moment early in the war. And Kelly’s “revelation”? The only really new thing is that he was willing to say what he knew about trump out loud, on tape. Jeezus. Bring me back to a world where October surprises are even possible.
Although it’s almost unavoidable, try not to focus too much on the moral collapse of our media. Trust your gut. Trust your God, if you have one. Watch an Obama speech. Read the James Carville opinion piece that I’m gifting you: Three Reasons I’m Certain Kamala Harris Will Win.
Take a walk. Make an apple crisp. Rake leaves. Sign up for Jude’s new Substack. Go to the gym. Knit. Ignore the polls. Read Robert Hubbell. Get a manicure if that’s your thing. Call your mother if she’s alive. Brush the dog. Clean out a drawer. Leave me a review on Amazon. Really. Go leave me a review on Amazon. Go read about Liz’s peace pins. Maybe make one of your own. Or go read what I wrote after receiving one in the mail, years back. Get your haircut. Learn how to cook a perfect omelette. Or just go out to breakfast.
Speaking of that fuckwad Jeff Bezos, I hate that Amazon book reviews matter, but they matter — algorithms, puke. I’m not above begging here. If you’ve already left one, thank you! They don’t have to be brilliant or long. They count the number of reviews and not really their content beyond the number of stars. But of course I love praise — who doesn’t?
And now off for my morning coffee. Getting out of bed at 8:30, staying up ‘til after 11, still somewhat on California time.
Remember Joyce Vance’s line: we’re in this together.
P.S. After lamenting the lack of making in this house, yesterday I finished stitching a heart pillow begun ages ago and filled it with balsam. And cut and paste a little. Below are a few of those collages.
BTW, the maga hat wearer is Andrew Anglin, founder of the Neo-Nazi website “stormtroopers.”
Resurrecting his ugly mug just in time for trump’s Madison Square Garden Nazi rally!
These affirmations rest on a definition of personhood based in equality, and a definition of writing as an art form available to all persons.
Everyone has a strong, unique voice.
Everyone is born with creative genius.
Writing as an art form belongs to all people, regardless of economic class or educational level.
The teaching of craft can be done without damage to a writer’s original voice or artistic self-esteem.
A writer is someone who writes.
Essential Practices
The following practices establish a safe environment where everyone is free to explore within their own writing and listen to each other with respect.
Everyone’s writing, including the leader’s, is treated with equal respect and value.
Writing is kept confidential and treated as fiction.
Writers can refrain from reading their work aloud.
Responses to just-written work reflect what is strong and successful.
Responses and exercises support the development of literary craft.
When listening in an AWA workshop we enter the universe that the writer has created and leave our assumptions behind. We are asked to leave behind our own expectations and experiences. In an AWA workshop we listen for and notice what works. We listen for and notice the choices a writer has made that help to create success in the writing. We listen without preconceived ideas about what the story should be about, how the poem should sound, or what we might do differently.
Positive feedback teaches participants about the craft of writing without hurting them. The pairing of harsh criticism with intelligence is a false pairing. Similarly, the idea that one must hear what’s wrong with one’s writing in order to improve is just plain not true.
Here are some elements of writing that can be commented on:
Point of View: it’s strong, it’s consistent, it’s original
Dialogue: it’s believable, it offers nice changes in rhythm from the prose
Descriptions of place: vivid, sensual, offering a sense of scene
Descriptions of character: complex, makes the listener curious, credible
Structure: clear, original, telescoping (in or out), linear or non-linear, circular
Literary techniques: metaphor, simile, allusion, alliteration, irony, hyperbole
Word choice: what words pop? what words linger? any word choices that really seem original?
Symbols, motifs, or themes: any immediately apparent?
A nice compendium of literary techniques can be found here.
are the catalpa blooms early this year?So many hydrangeas here have died. Not this one!Lady’s mantle, predictably lovely after rain A couple of quiet days. I can hardly believe it!We had a picnic at the lake yesterday The renovations are greatThe funny thing about this is I was already planning to make lasagna!After a pause in Paris Collage, I’m back2 PCC prompts combined & my photo of LAThis and the first collage feature the same moon rubber stampShe’s back! From paper doll collage seriesClose up“Rusty” filter in Diana photo appThat cotton magazine ad that I so loveSometimes accidents are the bestPCC prompt
Happy Father’s Day!
Publishing (boring) update. SO MUCH OF THIS PART IS BORING. Ken is helping me figure out the self publishing platform, D2D. I made an account with them and supplied tax info. This will be in conjunction with Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). In advance of using D2D’s formatting feature, Ken was able to resize the margins and get the book under 500 pages. This is a good thing! I think I’ve landed on a cover with a designer from Connecticut (to be revealed before summer’s end!) AND
AND I may (finally) have written a decent blurb. Bit by bit! Now to try (for the third time) to figure out WordPress’s newsletter feature. Conventional wisdom is that it’s the most important marketing tool for writers, but? Really? Who wants another fucking thing showing up in their email box? I for one am getting six daily political newsletters.
Probably more important to rework my landing page here.
Established writers have other people write their blurbs
