Five Things

We have a lot to catch up on.

A few things on my mind I want to share with you …

1. The First Line

Last summer when I was recommitting to my creative writing practice, I took a flash fiction course with Amy Bonnaffons and one of the assignments she gave us was to use the writing prompt provided for the next issue of the journal The First Line. It’s this wonderful quirky lit mag in which every story starts with (you guessed it) the exact same first line.

Well, I started a draft last summer in Amy’s class and as that class wound down I promised myself I would submit to each issue of The First Line for one year. I wanted to encourage myself to keep writing and I also thought it would be valuable to endure the rejections.

So imagine my surprise when they decided to accept the story I wrote for the spring issue, available now? When they asked to do an author interview with me, I was even more surprised and delighted and you can check that out here.

2. Meet Your Muse

Elsewhere in my creative writing life, I’m feeling dreadfully stuck on my novel revision. I have a sense of what I need to do but it just seems overwhelming and impossible. It’s been a real bummer lately.

I was talking to my friend Casey Barber, who frequently has the exact creative medicine I need, and she was like, oh, I have a witchcraft solution to recommend.

She told me about Jeanna Kadlec’s “Meet Your Muse” which is a “90-minute ritual to unblock your writing” so obviously I signed up immediately. I’m sharing it here because maybe you’re feeling a bit stuck in some writing project, too. Join me!

3. You Oughta Know

I’m going to be on TV tomorrow. Shirley Min, host and producer of You Oughta Know on WHYY, asked me to talk about the cultural shift away from alcohol.

I talk about this topic much less these days, but I quit drinking alcohol in 2017—almost 10 years ago now—and it made my life bigger and better in so many ways, including creatively. My brain is so much more receptive to inspiration without alcohol being a big wet blanket over it.  

If you want to watch, it will air tomorrow, Friday, March 27, on You Oughta Know on WHYY-TV 12 at 7:30 p.m. It will re-air at 11 p.m., and again on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. You can also stream the show online at whyy.org/yououghtaknow.

4. Tarot & Creative Writing

Grab your journal, notebook or laptop and join me at Full Moon Blends for a mini writing session and workshop. We’ll draw inspiration from a tarot prompt, then settle into a focused, supportive space to write. Bring your current project or a fresh idea. All levels welcome — just show up and write! It can be fiction, poetry, a screenplay, a Substack newsletter you’ve been trying to get out or anything else. We did this last spring and it was a real delight; only $10. It’s happening Thursday, April 23 from 6 to 7pm. Sign up here.

5. Pop up Tarot Readings

Also at Full Moon Blends next month, I’ll be doing in-person tarot readings! A tarot check-in can be a great way to get insights, messages from the universe and your subconscious that may not have surfaced any other way. Tarot is one of the best creativity activations that I know. Come see me Saturday, April 20, noon to 3pm. Book your reading here.

If you have any questions about anything here, please let me know! Leave a comment or hit reply.