Rhena

Black Women Writers at Work

Black Women Writers at Work (edited by Claudia Tate) expanded my mind, but before I could arrive at expanse, I had to work through the anger. Yes, this book brought up a lot of anger and frustration for me. It wasn’t the content that angered me, it was that I only encountered Black Women WritersContinue reading “Black Women Writers at Work”

On Writing: Submission and Rejection

Over the weekend, I cranked out a short (about 600 words) pieces and submitted it to McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. I submitted via email last night and this morning received a quick “no.” It’s been a long, long time since I’ve submitted or pitched anything and so mostly I’m just proud of myself for jumping backContinue reading “On Writing: Submission and Rejection”

Knit and a Flick: The Prestige

Spoilers ahead. If you plan on watching The Prestige (2006, Christopher Nolan, director), do not read this blog post. My advice if you haven’t already watched it (TL;DR): skip it. The theoretically cozy brown chair that I choose on the rare occasion when my husband and I watch a movie on the TV by ourselvesContinue reading “Knit and a Flick: The Prestige”

The size of things

My kitchen is small. Somehow, we’ve all — all five of us plus the two dogs — managed to be and get fed out of it for the last seven or so years including coming up on two years of almost every meal, every day for all of us. OK, yes, we got take outContinue reading “The size of things”

November 19, 2021

It’s chilly here today: mid 40s or so. But sunny and dry. The leaves, a lively yellow dipping into dusty brown sprinkled with red, scratch, scratch against the pavement. Mr3yo threw his matchbox car (which fit so neatly inside his hand!) into those one of those piles. Which one? Certain losses must just be accepted.Continue reading “November 19, 2021”

Writing in the time of C19

Yesterday, I wrote about how I miss writing. So here I am, back for more, searching for answers about what writing does (and does not) do for me. Why should I do it? Why should I not do it? A few weeks ago, a friend (Sarah Smarsh, who wrote the book Heartland, which everyone shouldContinue reading “Writing in the time of C19”

On (not) writing

I miss writing. Last time I posted here, it was post celebrating the 35 posts I’d done over the course of something like seven or eight weeks. I had set a goal to write on the regular and I had achieved it. I’d hoped that this streak would kick start me sitting down and writingContinue reading “On (not) writing”

5 posts a week for 7 weeks = 35 blog posts

And I’m feeling pretty good about it. I set out about seven weeks ago having decided that I was going to post five days a week. (Truth be told, I actually was going to go for 7 days a week, but I got to my first weekend and decided it would lead to burn outContinue reading “5 posts a week for 7 weeks = 35 blog posts”

Two more sentences than I had yesterday

I wrote two sentences today. With virtual school starting this week, most of my time has been taken up with trying to get the older two kid’s schedules, technology, and space sorted out whilst still meeting the third’s needs and interests and not neglecting him. You know those moments where everything seems to be chuggingContinue reading “Two more sentences than I had yesterday”

(Not) Having a Literary Agent

Before the night of my thesis reading for my MFA in creative writing, I had been told that it was possible there would be agents, publishers, and editors in the audience coming to listen for those who might be the next up coming talent in the literary world. I read a few pages from myContinue reading “(Not) Having a Literary Agent”