As a kid, how to make people like me–or at least not dislike me–was a constant calculus in the background hum of my brain. I learned how to read the expectations of people around me and how to contort, to fit myself to them. Even when I came home from college, I still made a […]
Tag: stories
Submission stories: a rejection roundup
Submitting stories has been my kryptonite for a long time. For years. At first, this was because I didn’t have any short stories to submit and novels just take so damn long to finally have a piece ready to go. Then I started writing short stories and still didn’t submit anything. They weren’t good enough, […]
January writing prompt: Death Ship
I’ve been needing and wanting more writing prompts and exercises in my life–something to practice and get words flowing that I don’t have to treat too seriously. So I signed up for Susan Dennard’s Story a Month Challenge (follow the link if you’re curious or want to sign up–it’s not too late!) where she sends […]
Swallow my Pride and Buckle up for the Ride
My adult life keeps making me eat my words. I’m not. I can’t. I don’t. I don’t sew; I don’t knit. (Spoiler: I now do both of those.) So, so many I-can’t’s locked up in theatre, in being onstage. So much fear of being asked to do something awkward, embarrassing, uncomfortable when those described everything […]
The Sound and the Story
I’m still figuring out how to even talk about the last few months. Despite the fact that I don’t feel like I’m grieving, I’ve had a practically pathological avoidance of anything to do with Gram and dealing with her death. This avoidance has snowballed to include most forms of communication. And writing. So I’ve been […]
‘Tis the season…for all the Help Wanted and Now Hiring signs. Welcome to tourist-land! Each sign and job posting I see makes me wonder: could I do it? Would I want to? I’m approaching an entire year of this “full time mom and creative” gig life and while Western culture has a greater awareness now […]
Being the Example I Wish I Had
A week ago, I came home from ReaderCon – something I felt sure was entirely off the table this year. But I went. With the baby. And what’s more, I participated in a tiny bit of programming: a live recording of The Word Count Podcast. Despite not having submitted anything in a long, long time. […]
Word Count Surprise!
The other day, I woke to an email congratulating me on reaching 10,000 words for NaNo. The night before, I’d plugged in the day’s word count to the site without looking at or thinking about the month-to-date total, so the email caught me by total surprise. Cue the dance party! 100 or 1,000 words […]
Social Magic of Storytelling
Let me tell you a story. (that’s why you’re here, after all.) I went to a party. It was a Friday after a long, crazy day at work that joined two weeks’ worth of long, crazy days. I went alone. I went with nerves and doubts. See, I was afraid I wouldn’t know anyone at […]
Why I Write
I’m currently savoring my way through Jeff Vandermeer’s Wonderbook and came across a section that made me question why I write. Telling stories seems to have always been a fact of life. Somewhere, I still have notebooks filled with a toddler’s illiterate scrawl in crayon rainbows. My grandmother still tells me I can stop breathing […]
Melissa Burkart 