Hi all! Long time, no post! Just dropping you blog-readers a line to let you know that I've published a new essay via The Art of Autism. It's a fierce critique of Netflix's new satirical film, Don't Look Up, which features a disturbing portrayal of an autistic-coded villain. Read the whole essay here! This is… Continue reading Publication Announcement: A Critique of Autistic-Coded Rep in ‘Don’t Look Up’
Category: writing life
HOW TO SUCCEED AT TWITTER PITCH PARTIES
THIS IS A LIST OF THINGS YOU SHOULD TOTALLY FOR REAL ABSOLUTELY DO IN ORDER TO GET A TON OF AGENT REQUESTS DURING TWITTER PITCH PARTIES. I'VE DONE MANY PITCH PARTIES OF VARIOUS SIZES AND RECEIVED AGENT REQUESTS. SO SERIOUSLY. DO ALL OF THESE THINGS. LIKE, ALL OF THEM. EXACTLY AS THEY'RE WRITTEN.* 1. Hang… Continue reading HOW TO SUCCEED AT TWITTER PITCH PARTIES
Querying While Autistic
One of the most difficult parts in processing my late autism identification and diagnosis (at 30 years old) is dealing with a constantly shifting perspective, specifically in comparing how I function in the world and how non-autistic people function in it. I spent my whole life assuming my way of being was "normal" or neurotypical,… Continue reading Querying While Autistic
Where Do Novels Go When No Agent Wants Them?
I'm thrilled to be officially querying a brand new manuscript in hope of agent representation! It's titled THE VIOLET TAMARIND and you can read more about it and see a gorgeous mood board one of my beta readers made for it here. But Allison (asked almost no one), whatever happened to that post-apocalyptic science-fiction novel… Continue reading Where Do Novels Go When No Agent Wants Them?
Finding Inspiration in the Artist’s Statement: Matsuo Bashō
Feeling stuck? Need some inspiration? Check out a nearly 400-year-old artist's statement by Japanese haiku master Matsuo Bashō and some reflections on how uplifting his thoughts and words are.
Pitching a Novel in a Tweet? What is this, the technological dystopian future?
On January 30, 2020, I participated in my very first Twitter pitching event. And girl, do I have some THOUGHTS. But first, maybe some definition of terms. I know not all of the people who read this blog are writers, and y'all might be thinking, what the heck is pitching? When writers write a story,… Continue reading Pitching a Novel in a Tweet? What is this, the technological dystopian future?
What I Learned from My First NaNoWriMo
November is gone. I have to take a moment, to lift my head from the laptop, to let my eyes adjust to the sunlight, to start breathing again. 50,011 words. National Novel Writing Month is over. I did it. None of it feels real. I wonder if this has to do with John Gardner's idea… Continue reading What I Learned from My First NaNoWriMo
NaNoWriMo 2019: Week 4 Update
can't talk right now got to write 5,653 words in three days or less with a national holiday in the middle whose idea was it to do this in November my god happy thanksgiving i guess and see you on the other side unless i write myself to death which is possible given i'm feeling… Continue reading NaNoWriMo 2019: Week 4 Update
NaNoWriMo 2019: Week 3 or Oops, I Forgot to Write a Blog Post
Just looked at today's date and realized it's the end of NaNo Week 3. No blog post update drafted. Aaaaand that's how my week three is going, folks. I'm solidly beyond the "beginning" parts of the book, into what might tentatively be called the "middle." For me, writing the middle is more than a little… Continue reading NaNoWriMo 2019: Week 3 or Oops, I Forgot to Write a Blog Post
NaNoWriMo 2019: Week 2
Popping my head up from the word-count trenches to give a quick, week-two update... (Here are my two previous posts about my NaNo foray if you're interested: my commitment to actually participate, and my week 1 update.) Definitely some rough days where my mental/creative energy output wasn't sufficient to hit that magic number (1,667 words). I gave… Continue reading NaNoWriMo 2019: Week 2