💻 lisa writes stuff issue 📚 #47 … Light a candle, light a motive, step down, step down

Also, this week: sprints, submissions, and more author readings

Oct 17, 2024

Dear Internet,

My ADHD is awful right now and I’m going to be all over the place! (Sorry. Not sorry.)

Sprints

Sprints are events where you write, uninterrupted, for a specific amount of time. I found that since I was not writing on my own, I started attending sprints via other groups and I was getting writing done so I started my own group. We meet once a week and sprint for two hours. We found that 30 minutes work best so we write for 30 minutes and then break for 5 minutes or so as a check-in and start all over again.

Wednesday night was sprint night, but I struggled with my writing. There are a few projects with deadlines I want to write for, but Wednesday night I spent more time with my head in my hands and a stressed brain than the actual writing. In the second hour, I decided to get caught up on my newsletters. It was never said that we had to write fiction!

I was able to get one newsletter completed and scheduled and then I started another. Right now, I’m at my weekly in-person writing group, and I’m working on this newsletter. Hopefully, inspiration will strike.

Submissions

I submitted my monthly column for the International Bipolar Foundation’s blog. This month’s topic is on group therapy. I wrote a pro/con list using my experiences and the editor loved it. Once I get the link to the published piece, I’ll share it in my list below.

I was able to get two pieces submitted before the deadline. One piece was for a contest on the romantic theme of “love in disguise.” I mentioned in the latest issue of Ms Scarlet Writes the piece is a sweet romance, which means romance is implied but not explicit. The mag is pretty clear on what they are looking for, but, I had a time writing it because a pal is writing smut and I’ve been reading their work. I will write smut one day, I promise!

Here is the beginning to A Latte to Love:

Mina regularly walked to the local coffee shop, Bean There, Drank That, for sugar-laden coffee before heading to her job at the library. Been There, Drank That was halfway between Mina's apartment and the library, and she stopped by any chance she got.
The brisk wind reddened Mina’s cheeks when she stepped outside of the coffee shop. Before tightening her scarf around her neck with her free hand, the other holding her coffee cup, she pushed the loose strands of windblown hair behind her ears. Everything in its place, Mina hummed as she walked to work, occasionally sipping her coffee.

(The piece is submitted as Scarlet MacKenzie which is why I talk about it on her newsletter and not here.)

The second piece was for the Memoir Mixtapes mag with the theme of “lost and found.” MM schtick is what you write is inspired by a particular song or album (or both). My poem, aeroplanes, is based on R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine).” I used lines of the song to roll into my actual piece.

Here is the intro to aeroplanes:

That's great, it starts with an earthquake
in my head. My brain is rupturing,
but I am smiling and looking
over at the
Birds and snakes, an aeroplane, Lenny Bruce is not afraid
Eye of a hurricane, listen to yourself churn
as my smile falters;
i am alone but not alone. he sits
next to me, holding my hand. his thumb
makes circles in my palm. i am so desperate
for him to love me, that i’ll eventually pull my hand
away
and unzip his pants, feeling his cock push against
the very same hand he was holding

(The italicized words are mine; non-italicized the song lyrics.)

The piece is rather dark: it’s the story of a woman who is struggling with emotional abuse. I was worried that while it followed the theme, it would be inappropriate for the mag. I emailed them to ask and they said they were pro dark. I was thrilled because I have no fucking idea where else to submit it.

I have a lot of poems that are rather dark but because of the content, I’m afraid to submit them anywhere. Maybe a good idea for a chapbook?

I cleaned up my submission tracker and updated the count below. I barely submitted n 2024 so here’s hoping 2025 is a lot better.

Author reading

The author reading I did on October 3 went splendidly, and I sold a few copies of the anthology!

I printed out the story and practiced reading it, watching for pauses and cadence. I timed myself, and I had natural endings at the 10-minute and 20-minute marks. We were given 20 minutes to read and answer Q & As. I picked the 10-minute read and answered thoughtful questions. I had a really good time.

I scheduled a second reading at another library in early December. It’ll just be me so this time I’ll read longer since we’re planning on 45 – 60 minutes. I’m going to re-read the story and mark time again.

Michigan has a great interlibrary loan system across public and academic libraries. You go to MeL’s (Michigan Electronic Library), and search for a book your local library does not have. The search engine pulls up all the libraries that carry the book and you can submit a request to get the book shipped to your local library. With my library being small, I use MeL a lot. I checked the other day and my book is in several libraries and the book is checked out at all of them.

(I checked with the bookstores I’m selling in and it’s also selling there.)

This is, of course, exciting, and even if I only do anthologies for the rest of my writerly life, to be in a library system is a dream come true.

A Most Unreliable Narrator

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