Something I thought about:

  • I’m still trying to figure out how the pieces of the chapter I’m writing fit together. The shape isn’t quite right yet, and I think I just have to keep writing until it starts to click. I can't rearrange what isn't on the page.
  • Along with that, I thought about the rather long list of things I want to write (currently two new picture books, two picture book revisions, two essays, and two novels) on top of my dissertation, and I have no idea how to get all that’s in my head into written form. Right now I have notes and notebooks. It’s… a lot.

Something I did:

  • Worked on my diss.
  • Planned the next academic year — work, schedules, etc. That was both necessary and overwhelming.
  • Wrote quick snapshots of diss chapters comprising 1) what I need to do to complete each one and 2) central questions/arguments for each chapter to help me stay focused.
  • I did the same for these other writing project ideas so that when I have a minute, I have enough to get me started.
  • Posted to DiverseVerse about poetry, beauty, and resistance.

Something I read:

When editors ask you to be vulnerable, what they really want is for you to be permeable, for the windows you place in your defenses to offer a sense of the area beyond. The walls don’t need to be breached, and they don’t need to come all the way down in a way that puts you in danger.