The World Is Devastating And I'm Here Trying to Write A Newsletter
Making every effort to be a writer despite it all
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A Muted Hello Hey Hi There
Content note: Gonna talk about government stuff up here.* Skip to the next heading if you don’t want to read it.
Things keep going from worse to worser, everywhere I look. So many of my friends are doing poorly, whether from the government that is control where they live, or from war and violence where they live, or from the tragic economy that some folks keep trying to say is getting better, or from horrible health care, or any one of a number of things.
My country’s government is working their hardest to make people disappear, both figuratively (including me) and literally. With the approval of over 70 million of my countrymates. What the US is doing is horrifying, and we’re enabling even more horrifying things elsewhere. And I’m saying this here, in my newsletter, to acknowledge that this is true. It doesn’t help anyone for me to not say anything, so I’m not keeping quiet. About any of it. I’m not physically able to do much, which sucks, but I’m trying to be responsive to my community where I can be, when my brain static will calm down long enough.
In the meantime, I try to remind myself that it’s not the earth’s fault. It’s not really the WHOLE world - it’s the human world that is devastating. The land still moves and breathes and tries to heal, despite the extent of its wounds. Healing whatever it can, slowly.
I’m taking its example to heart.
So, Any Writing News?
I’m happy to report that my story “Build Your Own Heart” was accepted for publication by the amazing magazine Translunar Travelers Lounge! TTL has published some of my absolute fave stories, like Sarah Jackson’s Great Mother Broth and Laurence Raphael Brothers’ Lost in the Central Stacks. I’ve delivered my edits, so I’m looking forward to news of when it might be published.
I’ve also been participating in a writing challenge this month, which will continue into next month. I’m part of a neo-professional writer’s group and every January they have a contest they call Weekend Warrior. The intent is to write 5-6 different flash stories - one a weekend - for critique by fellow participants. It’s a nice way to flex some writing muscles and build up a diverse set of stories. “Build Your Own Heart” is actually from the 2023 contest so it’s kind of timely! And while I’m struggling a bit more this year than I did last year, the problem is definitely not with finding ideas. (I’ve come up with 12 for this round alone.) The issue is that it’s tough to tell a good story in a small space, and it’s not natural to me. My ideas tend to need extra words to make them bloom.
But the GOOD thing is that I have three story drafts that should be easy to expand, and several ideas I’m quite excited about. I’m hoping to be able to share news about at least one of them before the end of the year.
What Else Is Up?
I’m doing some work on my websites, so don’t be surprised if you see changes there. I’m hoping to get back to ink-posts by Feb 1!
And?
Ooh I got some blurry-but-fun action shots of Kizu and Sammi playing in the snow, so I’ll share:
With Love and Weirdness,
~Risa
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* I’m not going to call it ‘politics’ anymore. It’s my life and the lives of my beloved communities.