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Every Day is Groundhog Day in the 2020s
Did you hear about the plane parts that fell from the sky in Colorado? Was anyone else’s first thought, “oh, no, this is Chicken Little in real life”? Did you think about Lost? I’ll tell you what, it certainly made me more certain that I’m no fan of flying. It’s cool, sure. I took a planes class in college—taught by the engineer behind the F-22 Raptor. It was a fun class. Planes and space and innovation are cool. The amount of testing those things go through to be prepared for flight is extensive. My professor used to constantly tell us how perfectly safe they are. Made us watch videos of…
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Teach a Boy to Fish & He’ll Call it a Personality Trait
I know you’ve probably read or seen or groaned over every “dating in the 21st century” post, especially ones about online dating, but looky here, another one! I’ve got two cents, so let me lay it down here. It’s a topic that comes up in many a conversation, especially with my grandmother, who just wants more grandkids already. But in this unpr*cedented time of not going out, we’re using dating apps more than ever. Or, if you’re like me, you scroll, you swipe, you observe, but you never actually match with anyone. And on the off chance that I do match with someone, the conversation is dead. Or I get…
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Milestones are for People Who are Good at To Do Lists
If you know about my job, you’d know that I’m pretty good at following up. Are people good at getting back to me? No. But I don’t care if I have to follow up with you six times. I will. I can be annoyingly persistent. ((Side note: dear all boys I’ve ever matched with on Hinge…not for you, sorry.)) But anyway, I’m great at the follow up. Except, I’ve been looking at some of my posts from last year, and I have a few “halfway check in” posts that never saw a part two. Most have stayed in my drafts, but there are a few plain old “recurring” type posts…
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Brb My Brain is in the Shitter
TW: depression, anxiety, eating disorder I’ve been a little bit glossy about this, but I want to be straight up about things: I’ve been battling/struggling/surviving depression for about fifteen years now. Not properly diagnosed or anything, but um, I’m pretty freaking sure. I’m well aware that I’m not alone in this, especially right now. And while I’ve been reasonably creative during the Q, having written at 65K-word novel for NaNoWriMo, read 52 books, baked several new desserts, etc, that’s not to say that I haven’t been wildly and relatably ~not okay~. And it’s even harder during the holidays, when everything is supposed to be cheery and warm and happy. Quite…
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In This House, We Love a Good Trope
Tropes. Tears. Tattlestar Galactica–wait, that’s not right. Look, we as writers all want to be edgy. We don’t want to lay into tropes and archetypes and the same old, same old. Things are tired, and they’re not fun because we just feel like copycats. There are so many books and movies and stories and art out there that all feel the same, but there’s still somehow so much that’s new and fresh. Honestly, how do those creators do it? Of course, there’s the whole “subverting” tropes thing. Stories exist without those kinds of things. I suppose it’s not that hard, but also…it is. That being said, you’re lying if you…
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Halfway Through NaNoWriMo Check In
Well, folks, we’re halfway through National Novel Writing Month, and I must say: what a ride it’s been so far. Not to brag but definitely to toot my own horn, I’ve hit 42,000 words as of today. Do you know how wild that is???? I do. Because let me take you on a journey of how long it’s taken me to write my other novels: 1. A little over 3 years. Started my second year of high school and finished some time in my first year of college. 2. About 2 1/2 years. Started my first year of college and finished toward the end of my third year. 3. 2-ish…
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Ode to TV Shows: The Haunting of Hill House
You know it. I know it. My friend Emily knows it. One of the best shows I’ve ever seen is The Haunting of Hill House. Warning: spoilers ahead. So if you haven’t watched it yet, first off, what are you even doing, and second, go ahead and watch it. I’ll wait. Okay, ready now? Let’s go. The Fifteen Minute Test The first ep is cheating a little bit because Steve is the focus, but I think it does an excellent job in setting him up in relation to the house, as well as in relation to Nell (both as far as oldest and youngest siblings and for their connection to…
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The Purge: Cleansing Old Wounds
Look, I’ll be straightforward here: I just put a little more than half the songs I wrote in middle school in the recycling, and I’m heartbroken. Songs and lyrics that, while not great or profound, I cherished so deeply all these years. Therapeutic diary entries about old crushes, friendships, and depression…all my feelings and thoughts boiled into three-ish verses and a chorus. So why am I tossing them? This morning, I sat down and read through them all, the melodies archived in my brain and the memories deeply rooted in who I became. I look over them whenever I move, to remind myself that I want to keep them, and…
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Keeping Busy in the Q: Favorite Watches
Happy August, y’all!! It’s birthday month, and we’re still hanging in there. I’m reading a lot slower than usual, but it’s made way for my other vices: TV and movies! We’re all binging copious amounts of media while locked down, let’s be honest. There’s not much else to do besides reading, social media-ing, and watching tv and movies. I mean, most of us are also drinking (please be responsible!) and some of us are working out (me reluctantly), too, but even while we’re doing all that, we’re consuming all sorts of media. I’ve done some Marvel watching, some light Friends viewing, a bit—okay, a lot—of Criminal Minds background-noising, gotten to…
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Ode to TV Shows: Breaking Down One of my Favorite TV Pilots
We’re all watching a lot of television right now, and I have to say it: I really love TV. As a kid, I watched way too much of it. Sort of out of laziness, but also because I simply loved it. My opinions weren’t fabulous for a long time, but my tastes have refined with time. When I studied abroad in college, I took a screenwriting class. I’m a prose writer through and through, but screenwriting is awesome. Truly a great skill in the craft of writing! We watched various short films, beginnings of movies, and pilots. It really made me appreciate both the writing and the filmmaking, and I…