Writing

Writers on writing and being a bunch of sad Sallys, and complaining about other writers and not writing.

Amanda Kooser in front of her computer setup - Pyragraph

My Cheap-Ass Freelance Life

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I’m a certified (certifiable?) cheapskate when it comes to my business as a freelance writer in journalism and creative writing. Freelancing has been a lean-times/fat-times endeavor over the years, and it’s the ghost of the lean times that still shapes my financial habits.

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Amanda Kooser gazes lovingly at Submittable's front page - Pyragraph

Dear Submittable, My Sweetness

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Submittable, you remind me of bones bleached against the gypsum sands of New Mexico, where time and wind mark the passing of the hours, days, weeks, months since I submitted my creative nonfiction personal essay to The Gettysburg Review.

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Capitol Riot - Pyragraph

Dear Trump Supporters

Let me start by acknowledging the fact that I never thought I would be this upset by an angry mob storming the Capitol. I mean, isn’t that the ultimate American dream? Name one person in this country who has never at some point in their life thought to themselves, “Ya know what we oughta do? We oughta go down and storm the Capitol. Show those lawmakers who’s boss.”

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Southwestness Holiday Bingo card designed by Samantha Anne Carillo - Pyragraph

Heading Southwestness Editor/publisher Samantha Anne Carrillo on hyping the hyperlocal and rejecting boredom in her own indie publication

Lisa Barrow and kiddo - Pyragraph

Southwestness publisher/editor Samatha Anne Carrillo shares the worldview and inspirations that drive her work: “In the real world, facts exist and science is real. … Since Southwestness is my own site, I have the freedom to report on our corner of the world based on my own perception of the world. There’s no question that this perception is still evolving and thank goodness for that!”

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Vigil for George Floyd by Fibonacci Blue - Pyragraph

Full Circle

Joy Ike, Singer-Songwriter - Pyragraph

The problem isn’t that our laws are flawed (even though they are). The problem is that we care only to the degree that it won’t be an inconvenience or mess with our comfort…or even worse, our narratives. This is our problem.

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