#pawrico

[jadeitor-art]

Mary Willoughby & Gavin ⚓

Illustration I did of my Pathfinders Writing Collective (PaWriCo) challenge I tittled "Project Lighthouse".

Mary is the main character, a loner Lighthouse Keeper and Gavin, her emotional support seagull. They both live in a gloomy coastal village where they go through a path of selfdiscovery alongside with dark misteries and suspicios deaths.

[catfayssoux]

mOOOOM come pick me up I'm scared @ostiviawrites

Join the PaWriCo (Pathfinders Writing Collective) Discord server for writinf friends and chaos-

Oh and also it's a writing community and challenge that can be anywhere from a month to three months long and the community is amazing, if a little unhinged (aren't we all).

PaWriCo created by Jen Woodrum and Rain Sullivan

Pathfinders Writing Collective is a safe, free space for writers to connect, learn, do fun challenges, and give back. | 1282 members

[daniellethamasa]

PaWriCo Bookish Bootcamp July 11-17 Check-In

Hey all, Sam here. Four weeks down, two weeks to go. I think this is the longest I’ve been able to stick with a writing challenge in quite a while, even if I feel like I could be doing a bit better. Well, with another week completed, I guess it’s time to look back on my goals for the Pathfinder Writers Collective Bookish Bootcamp and see how I’m spending my week as I work towards building up…

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[blueowl2ivy]

Adjusting Goals and Habits: Week 4

Weekends are my decompress and catch up days. They're also my only evening off, so if I want to go out or spend time with friends, it has to be Saturday or Sunday.

It makes it difficult to do all this *and* daily habits for the bookish bootcamp challenge. So I'm adjusting. Reading, meditating, writing 100 word flash fiction, and exercising are moved to weekday goals for the rest of the challenge. (three more weeks!)

I also shifted the project I'm working on. This one is much more character driven, which is always more fun and motivating for me to write. The plot's pretty disorganized but I'm excited to work on it. I just need character names and a placeholder title.

This weekend is a birthday staycation/diy writing retreat. What do I want to do? Write up to 20k words, relax, swim in the pool, paint, take a bath, eat yummy food, and lounge without having to be "on." No kid. No spouse. Just me and my art. Did I imagine spending my 40th that way? No, but I'm so so excited.

[blueowl2ivy]

Different Kinds of Tired

So last weekend reminded me unfortunately I exist in a body, and not a brain jar. Feeling better now but it was rough getting everything done. Twelve days until my birthday DIY writing retreat! Am I excited? Yes. Do I have so much stuff to do beforehand? Also yes. Is the house always messy? Also yes.

I shifted to watching shorter experimental films for my weekly watch/inspiration stuff (Jan Svankmajer and Maya Deren) but I do plan to watch Lost Highway and Sinners later this week.

Daily meditation has been tricky. I'm almost too exhausted after work and my executive function is in the toilet. I might try on my dinner break, but then I don't get to use my little setup at home that I'm very proud of.

But this has taught me that even though I'm not at 100% of my challenge goals, I'm getting more done than if I hadn't set those goals.

Especially if they're in the spheres I tend to neglect like creativity and self-care (and the type of self care that's more drag yourself to the shower even if you don't feel like it but you'll feel better once you're done)

[blueowl2ivy]

Wrapping up Week 2

Tomorrow's the last day of week two for PaWriCo's Bookish Bootcamp challenge. How is it going?

Eh.

So I knew this week I wouldn't be as productive as last week. It's still disappointing. Parts of it were stuff I couldn't control (family illness and solo parenting.) while other parts I could have worked on (spending far too much time messing around on phone, low energy, fatigue) I think things are getting to me more than I'd like to admit, and I need to find better coping skills other than dissociating/distracting self with phone. I don't feel like I've really been present for anyone this week. I need to get better about setting intentional breaks vs procrastination.

But I have tomorrow. Gonna get some good writing time and watch Lost Highway.

Then on to Week 3!

[blueowl2ivy]

An Education in Malice

Just finished An Education in Malice, and I'm torn? It's a gorgeous dark academia meets gothic romance. A really enjoyable reading experience: indulgent and wicked.

(I am trying desperately not to use lush as a descriptor)

And yet...

Spoilers Ahead!

So up until Carmilla's death, I was hooked. The prose is gorgeous, the tension between the two characters, the claustrophobic dark academia environment.

Then Carmilla is turned into a vampire and it all falls apart. The prose is still there; it's a very atmospheric read. The mystery is barely there and feels shoehorned in. I don't care about Isis or the murdered girls. It feels like the narrative keeps forgetting about them as well. Carmilla and Laura go from hostile to sickening sweet far too fast. There's nothing tying the characters, save Laura, to the school. The ending is abrupt and felt like it could have happened 100 pages earlier.

The often toxic interdependence and entanglement between Laura, Carmilla, and their teacher was so well done. But it did have the effect of making the moments where the other characters are mentioned feel like being splashed with cold water. Right, other people exist in this world besides these three. Thought, I think that was the point. But it did result in me caring less about the murders and other outside events.

Yet I feel bad being so negative. It's sapphic gothic horror! My love! And I wish I could write prose as gorgeous. Dowry in Blood was amazing and I will gladly read this author again.

Maybe I would have enjoyed it more as a series of vignettes. Or if one of the murder victims was a character I actually remembered.

[blueowl2ivy]

Reflections on the End of Pride

I've known I was queer (although it took longer to figure out what exact label fit me best) when I was 17 but I've always been detached from my city's Pride events. Work schedule, lack of local friends, my mental health cyclically tanking in the summer... I also try and keep on top of events happening but it seems like I miss things anyway. Last month there was the coolest LGBT+ market with booths downtown. Did I hear about it anywhere? Nope. Only found it cause we decided whimsically to visit the library.

This year, I knew it wouldn't be different. Life has me spread too thin. My toddler still needs a nap most days. I wish we had more energy and more time. But I don't. I did attend a lecture and have been going to a queer affirming church most Sundays.

It's been nice. Slowly meeting people. I feel like I'm tossing seeds into the ocean some days.

My Bookish Bootcamp is a lot slower this week. Family illness and solo parenting over the weekend meant I reached mental capacity and did not have the energy to write or read. But I'm back in the saddle today.

Rereading How to Lose a Time War and it's still gorgeous.