Writing:
America This Week series essay on the book How Civil Wars Start, by Barbara F. Walter, at 1,182 words
First Revision of the short story Lost Dog for submission
Gone with the Wind essay, attempting my first satire (eek) for Mirror in the Sky project, 355 words
Submissions: 10
Waiting: 0
Rejections: 10
Mirror in the Sky News:
Currently panicking about finishing Catch-22 in time for Wednesday's Meetup!
I'm launching a publication on Medium for other writers to share their work about the kickass works of art in the Mirror in the Sky project. Soooo excited about this. More soon! I just have to finish the "submit" section before going live.
Listening to:
Podcast: Twitterverse with Gabe Hudson. A lot of cool writers are featured.
Album: Michael Jackson, Thriller
Album: The Rolling Stones, Exile on Main Street (brother Doug Terrill's excellent choice at Thanksgiving)
Reading:
I just finished Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis. It satirizes American industrialization and the conformity it brought, the unseemly worship of production and business, and social climbing. This is my fourth time reading this book in my life and it is fascinating to see my own wisdom (I hope, haha) reflected back onto a masterpiece as I grow and change. I discover another truth in it every time I read it.
Reading Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass makes me feel like I'm tripping. I can only read it for 15 minutes at a time, but I do that several times a week and I'm about halfway through. I like to write in the margins. Some people think this makes me a monster.
Social Media:
As the Twitter Nazi/troll invasion continues, the people I follow are flocking to Post and Mastodon. The staff at Twitter is now so lean and missing so many critical functions, people are worried the platform will grind to a halt one day soon.
I joined and plan to use Post. Follow me @luellaschmidt. So far, I think it looks great. It's obviously VERY beta; it doesn't even have notifications yet. But, I can find the people whose voices I trust. I also joined Mastodon, but I'm not sure I will actually use it yet. Writing is a lonely business and social media is vital for many of us to stay connected.
How About You? If you read, watched, or listened to something that sparked your imagination this week, share it in the comments!