Monday, December 28, 2020

New Project Announcement!

I know we all have a million things going on- dealing with the holigays, getting the kids to school not sleep through online classes, the stress and constant sadness of this Pandemic, job hunting or working an essential job, and any number of other things. I love that you cared enough to stop and read my little old blog while you're navigating all the shit life is throwing your way. Thanks for reading, today!


Guess what? I have a new project on Ko-Fi.com/kitsteitz

There are video readings of my August poems at my ko-fi page! If you already donated a cuppa to me during August (or ever) you'll already have access to these readings!! 

If you're new, and want to read the poems before watching the videos, you can donate a cuppa anytime you're ready. Just remember to create an account on Ko-Fi so you can go back and access content in the future!

Love y'all and hope you love the videos!

~Kit



As always, if you like (love) this content and want to support my writing outside of the big bad projects, and read supporter-only content, you can buy me a cuppa at ko.fi. You can also purchase my chapbook & audible of poetry, a record of night at Amazon. If you're so inclined, you can also follow my author page at goodreads or follow me on Twitter

Please show me some love and leave a comment, review, or rating on any of these platforms! Have an awesome day, my friends.

Monday, November 23, 2020

I am not a writer, am I?

This is a blog for writers who don't know if they're writers

Spoiler: 

You are.

I am not a consistent writer. All the writing podcasts and advice books etc, etc., say you need to develop consistent writing schedule and remain vigilant and rigorous and all these things that I 100% absolutely am not and do not. And maybe that is the marker between success and mediocrity- but do I need to be successful to be good and take joy in what I'm doing. Nah.

Is this an excuse? Probably, but it's also real life. Look, I've written 4 books, 3 of which I may someday publish, and 2 chapbooks, 1 of which is published. I'm 38. Has anybody noticed my writing outside of my friends and family? Not likely. 

Sometimes I wonder why I keep doing it. What's the purpose, if it doesn't make a broad impact? In a capitalist society, are we good at something if we can't make a living on it? 

That is a resounding yes. Look, art and writing and poetry, and all the textile arts, these have been around as long as human history. We have written human history because of us, for fucks sake. It's taken me decades to deprogram that academic snobbery (and it's probably still hanging in there in the dark, un-swept corners), but we don't need all that shit to create works of beauty, works that embody our lives and our hearts. 

I am a writer. I don't write when I'm supposed to... I don't write how I'm supposed to, but I am a writer. I am a writer. I am an artist. I am a musician. I am an athlete. I am my own validation (but like, it's cool if you want to validate me too, I'm a Virgo and a person and I like that shit).

Are you also a writer or an artist. It's okay to say that. Don't demean it, don't denigrate it. You get to own this. If you write, you're a writer. If you're taking a break from writing, you're still a writer. You are a writer.


So here are some tips from a
Not-Famous-At-All Writer 
Who Has These Same Struggles

Please feel free to add any in the comments <3 

  1. Create through and with fear. Look, it would be wildly unrealistic to say that you can create without fear. If you've ever started a massive writing project, there's a really good chance you've struggled with it: fear that you're not good enough, that you're faking it (hellooooo imposter syndrome), that it's a waste of time, that nobody wants to read it, any number of things. Creation is also sitting with those fears, holding them gently, and knowing that they are not your truth. Accept them as a part of your narrative, but you don't have to hold them as your reality.

  2. Take a break from creating and live your life. You breathe new life into your words with new experiences, new feelings. A break is just time to till the earth and plant the seeds.

  3. Don't give up. Woof, this one is hard to write, because I super want to give up on this novel and I've been talking about finishing it for years but it just feels so hard and big and I don't know how to do it. Butt in seat, fingers on keyboard, love and forgiveness to myself.

  4. Get constructive feedback from other writers. On your work, but also on your progress. It helps to have somebody who knows what struggs you strugging and can speak to it. Cultivate your writer/artist friends.

  5. Share your finished products with your friends and family. Your voice deserves to be heard and you are wonderful and goddamn am I SO PROUD OF YOU FOR FINISHING THE THING. HOLY HELL, THAT'S SO AMAZING AND HARD AND POWERFUL.

  6. Own your creation. Say, write, sing that you are a writer. Know that deep in your big, squishy, wonderful heart. Keep saying it. 

I like lists. I hope you liked this list! And don't forget- if you like this content and want to support my writing and read supporter-only content, you can buy me a cuppa at ko.fi. You can also purchase my chapbook & audible of poetry, a record of night at Amazon. If you're so inclined, you can also follow my author page at goodreads or follow me on Twitter

Please show me some love and leave a comment, review, or rating on any of these platforms! Have an awesome day, my friends.

Friday, November 20, 2020

The day has come!! BIG NEWS!!!!

 What up my fine friends!?! BIG NEWS BIG NEWS BIG NEWS!!!!


GUESS WHAT? 
Erin Knowles' 
beautiful narration of my chapbook of poetry, a record of night, is NOW AVAILABLE ON AUDIBLE!!!!!!


Erin breathes life into my old dusty words and I am SO HONORED that she chose my chapbook to lilt through. It's been such a treat to work with with her through this process, through the ups and downs of technical difficulties, and I think you'll really enjoy the outcome.


The audible is only $3.95, which frankly is an absolute steal considering all the craft  and love that went into this production. 


Please check it out! If you like what you hear, we'd love if you could leave a review and give us some stars  


Happy FRIYAY!!!!!
Buy some poetry today 

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

knock knock

Who's there?

It's me, ya Kit! And my chapbook from 2013, a record of night, is now available all over the place. I just discovered this when I googled it randomly today. 

Catch me at Indiebound

Catch me at Books-A-Million


So hey, you can buy them there, too! So buy my poetry, y'all. It's pretty decent, ok. And SOON THERE WILL BE AN AUDIBLE NARRATED BY THE INCOMPARABLE E.M. KNOWLES... SO YEAH.


Okay.


Love y'all. Keep on NaNoWriMoing!

Friday, October 16, 2020

Pantster NaNo prep in 5 Easy Steps

 In the NaNoWriMo world, you have pantster and preppers, and those of us in between. 

You planner planny plan-type methodical folks have plenty of guides out there to the Perfect (TM) way to prep, so I'm not going to help y'all. You've probably already spent September reading blogs, watching youtube videos, or IDK snapchats? about it. You've got this under control.

This is a blog the messy rest of us.

Hello pantsters and plansters, thanks for reading. This won't be a prescriptive guide because if you're here, we both know that doesn't work for you already. If you're like me, I could create a million outlines and storyboards and still veer off course in a matter of 20 words, because for a lot of us, it's not just about the story, it's about how we engage with the story. When I started NaNo over a decade ago, I tried everything I could think of. My first novel was 100000% by the seat of my pants (and awful and hopefully lost forever). After that, I tried all the different ways. If we're being honest with ourselves, this is an incredibly difficult task and if we get bogged down in the how, we forget the do. So October is crucial, this prep is crucial, but ultimately keeping your ass in seat and writing is the only thing that matters.

Thing 1: Identify what interests you and how you stay interested

Your first step to figuring out how to be effective here is to figure out what gets your juices going (and what keeps them going). This is the most important step. If you're like me, you'll spend October meticulously planning your novel (gets me going), and then as you jump into November, you'll get bored and start changing it right and left (brings me joy). Add a dragon here, an immaculate conception there, maybe some torture? Really bored? Kill somebody. So planning helps me get excited, but being flexible and adaptable while I'm writing keeps me going. Maybe for you, it's the world building? Or the character creation? Do you like to doodle your characters to get ideas? Do it.

Ultimately, no two writers are the same. What works for me may not work for you, but I hope this guide can help you start brainstorming ideas and thinking about what works for you.

Thing 2: Get to know your characters

Do outlines kill you, deep inside? Does knowing where your story will take you bore you down to your bones? Then don't fucking do it. Take this prep time to figure out your characters and the world they'll be in. That way, when you sit down on Nov 1st, you already have a relationship with them and you know how they'll behave and what you'd like them to do. 

I do this in a lot of ways:

  • Create character sheets (like in D&D)
  • Create Pinterest boards of celebrities that look like my characters, of places that remind me of where I'd like them to live or for some of the plot to happen
  • Create a playlist that makes you think of the characters or gets you in the mood
  • Write a few short stories that are centered on your characters (or in the world) to get a feel for it all and really shift gears into this new and wonderful place.
  • Talk it out with your writerly friends. Sometimes you just need to ramble about your ideas (it's called rubber ducking) and be sure to let your friend ramble their ideas too! 
  • Something I haven't listed- get creative! This is about finding out who you're writing about! This list isn't exhaustive.
  • Don't forget your villains. Villains are fun and deserve to be fleshed out, as it were.
Thing 3: Get to know your world

You don't have to know exactly what it looks like but it helps to have an idea before you jump into this. Here's a list of ways I've done it or plan to try it:
  • Pinterest that shit, look up pictures of places all around the world and save it to your pinterest vision board
  • Create a visitor's guide and include the info you think it's important for folks to know.
  • Draw a crude map. My first world map was on a napkin. This does not need to be elaborate.
  • Sometimes I like to doodle unusual flora and fauna that might be in my worlds.

Ultimately, you'll probably want to think of the core nugget of the plot.

Thing 4: CONFLICT

You don't have to outline the main story, but you should have some idea as to what your main conflict looks like. Write it out, draw it out, sing it out. Just work through it and keep a note of it somewhere to glance at- it can be one sentence, "Jameela's mother died under mysterious circumstances and she wants to find out what really happened" or perhaps "Randal needs to visit his ailing cousin but there is a Giant Fucking Serpant in the way" are examples that are perfectly suitable. 

"Jane doesn't like ham" might even work, IDK your life. Write what makes you happy.

Just figure out what the central conflict is and keep track of it.

Thing 5: Keep track of your shit

This is a two parter- 

  1. Store all of your files together. I use google drive, but you do what you want. You will probably have to access some of your character or world work as you go, so it's good to have it somewhere you can pull up quickly.

  2. Start & keep an ongoing file of character names, appearance, and relationships. For example:
    Durga, sister, tall brown hair blue eyes thick likes apples
    Shiela, lover, short, thin, green eyes red hair, slight

    I also include like quick world notes here too, and slang I make up along the way. Anything you might forget and need a quick ref for.

    This way allows you a quick reference while you're writing, so if you create a totally random character out of the blue, one you hadn't planned, you can pull them up 50 pages later and have the details correct. This is really important time saver for pantsters and plansters, because when we deviate, we can record it and refer back to it without needing to retcon anything or spend precious writing time tracking it down in the rough draft.

Good luck, writers! Have fun and curse the gods!

And don't forget- if you like this content and want to support my writing and read supporter-only content, you can buy me a cuppa at ko.fi. You can also purchase my chapbook of poetry a record of night at Amazon. If you're so inclined, you can also follow my author page at goodreads.









Thursday, October 15, 2020

What I'm reading in 2020...

I absolutely adore spooky season. The holiday season is the magic that gets me through the year and it all starts with a little boo and a lot of ancestors. Please do not forget the Reeses pumpkins, because I have not.

On this perfect, cloudy Fall day, I was going through and updating my Goodreads account and realized I've read some fan-fucking-tastic books this year. Thinking about all these books again, I found myself wanting to talk more about them-
 so straight from my bookshelves to your eyes, here are my top 5 reads (so far) of 2020:
  1. Children of Blood & Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
    This book is brilliant on every level. Just read it. Stop reading reviews about it, go to the library or your local bookstore, buy it, and settle in for the night. You need this book in your life. Fantasy, magic, rebellion, pathos, love, betrayal, family... It is the best and most perfect book ever written. I am biased because I could not tear myself away. All of the books in this list were AMAZING, but this is possibly the best book I've read since I can remember. 
  2. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
    This YA book is completely, utterly engrossing. If you like urban fantasy and a mash-up of The Order and Arthurian mythology mixed with a healthy dose of American history, this novel was written for you. Deonn explores what it means to be a young, Black girl in White fantasy; what it's like to be written out of the stories and how to the protagonist, Bree, fights to find her own story forward and back in time. Y'all, her story is so powerful and mighty, I can't even. Shout out for the LGBTQ representation, too! As non binary folk, it was nice to read another they/them. It was nice to read queer couples casually a part of the fabric of this rich, complex story. 
  3. The Binti Trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor
    I utterly savored the Binti trilogy. This novel is set in a alt future Africa and follows a Himba girl, named Binti on her journey to the Oomza Uni, the best university in the galaxy. I literally can't tell you any of the juicy adventures without giving away big plot points, but I can tell you that Binti is so incredible (the book and the human). Her journey is complex, and messy, and despite the living space ships and math-magic, utterly real. This is a beautiful and delicious read.
  4. The Deep by Rivers Solomon with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, Jonathan Snipes
    I'm not sure I have the words for this book. Look, it's amazing. It explores the culture of Black mermaids who are descendant from pregnant slave women thrown overboard Slaver ships. It explores memory & trauma & collective & self. It's a song and a story, a struggle and life. While it's a short read, I found myself pausing often, to go back and re-read, to think, to feel what was happening. Just thinking about this story makes me want to cry and hold it close to my chest. Read this book. 
  5. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
    Y'all, look, when my partner texted me about this book, they said simply "GAY NECROMANCER IN SPACE" so obviously we went and bought two copies. It's the first in a series (the second one just came out last month), and it does deliver on the gay, space necromancy. Tamsyn has created a complex world and a protagonist (Gideon) that galivants about with brazen ferocity. I have one, huge, giant, major complaint but it is a MASSIVE spoiler, so if you've read it and want to dish with me, hmu. Up until the last action sequence, I rate it 10/10, but it drops down to a 5/10 after that. Worth the read, and nice to have a queer lead, but gird yourself for the end. My hopes are that it will redeem itself in the next book. 
That's it, my fine readers. What are you reading right now? 

And don't forget- if you like this content and want to support my writing and read supporter-only content, you can buy me a cuppa at ko.fi. You can also purchase my chapbook of poetry a record of night at Amazon. If you're so inclined, you can also follow my author page at goodreads.


Tuesday, September 22, 2020

5 tips for writing in a pandemic...

    This weekend, I set myself to the task of editing the 28 poems I wrote in August. It felt like a feat, and I had a sneaking suspicion that the August poems would be less, but what I found surprised me. Were some of them garbage? Yes, of course. But there were clear themes I was struggling with that united them, without intention or purpose during the writing the process: themes of pandemic & climate change related fear and grief, of feeling othered and alone. I'm sure there are other things unifying the work, but these specifically spoke to me while I was editing. 

I have been straddling this uncomfortable place of needing to write and being unable to do so. From our writing workshop, I know I'm not alone. It seemed like at the beginning of this mess (at least in the US) everybody set to learn something new, create, keep busy- start that Duolingo program they've always meant to do, do a practice challenge in the skill of their choosing, Marie-Kondo their homes. We all saw it on our social media- the things we plan to do to navigate a period of great change and uncertainty. The first couple weeks, I vibed with this creative wave. I tried to learn how to jam skate, I kept my house cleanish. I read several books. But as this pandemic worsened, job security no longer existed. Every morning I woke up and scoured the news outlets to see what departments were being laid off on my campus. George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police, and we mourned and fought (fight) with/for our Black communities right to equality and life. My town has been rocked with ongoing protests, union actions, and our entire campus has cycled through furloughs. 

This pandemic has been a time of change and deep fear. Somewhere along the way, I lost my ability to cope. My resilience went from like a solid 80% (made up number) to a 10%. I could not meditate away the grinding anxiety of living with a more constant and persistent fear that's now just a part of the landscape that I (we) navigate every day. I cry every day. I got into therapy at the nudge of a kind friend. I take naps when I need to (and can). 

All that to say... Who can fucking do anything, with all this shit? It's fucking hard, and if you can't bring yourself to the keyboard, or to pick up the pen, give yourself some slack. The word UNPRECEDENTED isn't being thrown around for shits and giggles. You& we are living through a crisis and right now your priority is to take care of you when you can and be kind & forgiving to yourself when you can't. Maybe call a friend or get yourself a cup of nice tea and sit outside with your dog for awhile. You are doing what you can, that that's amazing.

So here are my 5 tips for writing when you can't write:
  1. Don't. Seriously, if you need to selfcare, don't write. Do what you have to do. You only have energy to help your kid with online classes today? You're a badass boss. You're trying to survive right now, and that includes being kind to yourself and recognizing when it's okay to focus on your basic, fundamental needs. Take a shower, read a comic, play with your kids, practice your necromancy. You can write later. There is no write way to do this. (that's a pun, I'm sorry).
  2. Forgive yourself. You're doing the best you can. This shit is hard. I've already forgiven myself for the pun. 
  3. Step away from what you were working on pre-Pandemic. Maybe you can't focus on that right now because it's not speaking a truth that's resonating for you. If you can, start a project where you can write through some of what's going on. What is our art and craft if we're not working through the hard shit? 
  4. Stop, Collaborate, & Listen. You know what kicked me out of stasis? Erin Knowles texted me about working on a project together. I was so honored and also felt like the kid who opens the door to mom's accomplished & professional friend, meanwhile, there's peanut butter in my hair and gum stuck to my cheek, running around in dad's oversized t-shirt, "Mom's not home, and also did you bring me a cookie Auntie Erin??" Like this adult ass human wants to work on something... with me? It's gonna take me awhile to get the gum and peanut butter excavated, but like, how can you say no to this cool human? Have they gone feral too? I mean, honestly? Probably. Who hasn't, right now? But having her there to talk to and work with helped breathe some life back into my own writerly motivation. I found myself thinking more about writing and working on new projects. Sometimes we need to collaborate with our other creative friends because sometimes it's hard to start alone, especially when you've been isolated from the world for months. Sometimes it helps to have somebody to text pictures of wildflowers to, somebody who also gets having days where you melt (and who has their own days when they melt), and you can be gentle with each other and help each other find some light, and send kind words to when you can't find some light. 
  5. Hydrate & Stretch. Look, I know we aren't world-class athletes (wait... are you? That's fucking cool). But a lot of us tend to get in our flow and stop paying attention to what our body needs. Make sure you sit down to your desk with a cup of water. Take a break and do this quick stretch for your hands and for your neck/shoulders. If you need to think out some plots or thoughts, maybe try a gentle hike or walk around the neighborhood? 

Hey friends! Thanks for reading my blog. I hope you liked it. It's free for you to read, but I still gotta make a living! 

If you liked this content, please leave me a comment because feedback is rad, or buy me a cup of coffee on Ko-Fi, because paying the bills is rad.

Thursday, September 3, 2020

Spoopy season into turkey days...

Hey friends, enemies, thememies, and rabble rousers! 

I'm so proud to say that I was able to complete the August project, available on ko-fi.com/kitsteitz! 

Not only did I complete it, but I reached it at 270%. WOAH. That shit is humbling and I am deeply honored. You can still contribute and see the daily poems in August. Only 2 were missed for health reasons, a pretty impressive feat for a human with chronic pain and illness. There will be a treat for those who contributed to the August project in the next week or so, so stay tuned!

What's up? What's going on in the next few months? I'm so glad I asked. September is for reading and book reviews, so please expect at least one! I really want to dive into my to-read pile and my birthday month seems like a good time to get to it!

October is for #drawtober, y'all. #inktober has been canceled due to the shitty actions (copyrighting the # and c&ds for artists selling their own art & plagiarism controversy) of it's creator. So I'm going to try jumping into the inky waters again. I created my own gay prompts! You're welcome to use my prompts, too! And hey, tag me or link me to your art!! I'd love to see them <3. I promise I won't publish them or a book about them like Jake Parker. Also, hey, not copyrighting an actual hashtag because I'm not a monster. I'll make the prompt list prettier as we get closer!

I was thinking it would be cool to purchase Alphonso Dunn's book on inking to really work on some improvement throughout the month! I might make this another ko-fi project. What do y'all think?

And y'all know what November is for... November is for noveling. Will this be the year I finish my unseen queer fantasy trilogy? OH MY DOG I HOPE SO. Also, turkey. I will eat lots of fowl this month. There are few things better than cold next-day turkey sandwiches. 

Getting back into my creative vibes, friends. Hope you are doing okay and staying safe this pandemic. I love you.


Your favorite weirdo I don't want to be presumptuous!

A weirdo,

Kitikins


PS

Hey friends! Thanks for reading my blog. I hope you liked it. It's free for you to read, but I still gotta make a living! 

If you liked this content, please leave me a comment because feedback is rad, or buy me a cup of coffee on www.ko-fi.com/kitsteitz, because paying the bills is rad.

Monday, August 17, 2020

Get your very own poem

Hey y'all! Daily poems in August is going strong over at Ko-Fi. There are 14 days left of August and only 14 more poems to be written!  I figure, what better time than to mix it up and work towards my goal to get paid for writing this month? 

Want me to write a poem to you? If you donate 2 cups of coffee  (that's $10) to me during the next 14 days, I will write a poem to you and feature it as the day's poem. Make sure you specify that you'd like a poem in the donation! I can only do 14 max requests for August, though, so you might want to hurry!

Love & Gratitude,
Kit


 


Thursday, August 13, 2020

Quick reminder! 31 poems in August...

 Hey y'all, just a quick reminder, I'm writing 31 poems in August! Become one of my supporters for the price of a cup of coffee and you can read them as I go at www.ko-fi.com/kitsteitz ! 5 bucks for a poem a day in August ain't so bad, right?

Check it out!


Thanks and much love,

Kit

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Nine Years of Blogging!

 It's been 9 years since I wrote it will not last the night. Whaaaat? I can't believe I've been writing in here since 2011! I mean, some years I only posted like... 4 posts. But still! 

I started the blog to motivate myself to start writing again. College & life had sucked the will to write (and a little to live) out of me and I needed a space to start small and find my voice again.

Also? I love writing! Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut I struggle to write. Or struggle to finish writing before moving on? This changes all the time. I am hella ADHD, y'all, and I've been working hard to learn how to work with my brain not against it. This gives me the space to be imperfect, but still DO it. 

So here we are 9 years later!

I've learned a lot about myself (and I'm still learning so much). I have white eyebrows and crows feet now. You don't know that, reader, but it's very true.

Today, I walked to the Starbucks across campus to get some go-go-brain-juice and it was a pandemic anxiety o'clock. I was wearing my mask, but none of the groups of students I walked past were wearing their masks. I rolled my ankle. I got back to my desk and just sat there trying not to cry for about 10 minutes. As campus' decide to re-open, frequently as COVID-19 cases rise, scenes like this are familiar to many of us who work for colleges & universities. My thought wasn't "Am I going to post an awesome anniversary post, soon?!" It was, "Am I going to die?" This blogoversary is about reflection and the future!

Since I started this blog, I've accomplished a lot:

  1. Published a record of night, a chapbook of poetry that I posted here.
  2. Collaborated with friends on poetry projects, such as the Transatlantic Project with Steve Cotterill.
  3. Written 2 novels <3
  4. Created poetry tiles for my writing
  5. Started a 

Right now, my current projects (and hopefully future completed-projects!) are:

  1. Poetry project at ko-fi.com
  2. Audible of a record of night narrated by Erin Knowles!!! Coming SOON. All the work is done, it's just going through Audible's approval process.
  3. Super Secret Podcast about a Space Barbarian named Kitten.
  4. Keeping my blog updated! (sup)
  5. Finish my trilogy or big ass book.

So I don't have a cool schtick for this post. I will try to think up something exciting for next year (which will be my decade-versary!)

Thanks for reading, friends <3 


Friday, August 7, 2020

HOT OFF THE PRESS!!

Y'all, I am so excited!!! My author copies came in for a record of night!!!

Looky looky!!!

They look so flipping good!! I can't believe how good they look. This is blowing my mind, y'all. 

Want your own copy to have and hold? Click here.

This is how to start my Friday off proper. Have a fabulous weekend, y'all!

Love & gratitude,
Kit

Monday, August 3, 2020

Holy Cannoli & ko-fi problems (boooo)

Okay before the big awesome news, let's do the Ko-Fi update. Get it out of the way.

Ko-Fi updates (boooooo)

So the other news is that Ko-Fi submits my donations in a manner that requires me to have a specific set-up in Paypal. It would have been nice to know this ahead of time, but unfortunately I didn't find out until my first donation. I'm working with my bank and paypal to get it all figured out and hopefully it will all be squared away by Wednesday.

So those who donate during this time have a couple options:
  • They can wait until Wednesday to read the posted August poems 
    or 
  • they can contact me via email foonalina at gmail dot com and I will send them their very own copies! 
  • All who donate during this time will receive a little something extra extra for their patience! 


And now for the good news...

The paperback of a record of night is NOW AVAILABLE!!!! 

If you want to read my tiny chapbook in physical form, go get you a copy!

I mean, just look at this! It's so legit, y'all.




That's it for now, friends! 

-Kit




Sunday, August 2, 2020

Thoughts on self publishing and all this stuff

I'm two days into August and my poetry challenge on Ko-Fi. My goal is to get a cuppa donated once a day but we'll see how reasonable that is. 

I have NO idea how to increase my audience, or garner an engaged audience, so I've just started posting to twitter and fb and hoping something comes out of it. It's difficult, because I've kept this blog since 2011 and I still don't have regular readers or commenters. I feel like I'm just writing into the void. Of course I've internalized it and told myself it's because I'm a crap person, writer, poet, and people just intrinsically pick up on that. 

"Why even post, it's already failed."
"Nobody engages with these posts, let alone goes to the text. I should give up now."
"Give upon this project. Nobody cares."
"Nobody cares because you don't have anything new to say, and you don't say it in a new way."
"People don't care about poetry or reading, let alone reading some no-name."
"You haven't don't this a traditional way, so folks will just assume it's vanity without substance."

Woo, it feels real vulnerable to actually type all of that out. These stories feel true to me and I'm not sure how to re-frame them, but I'm working on it because I do give up and quit because of these stories. At least once a year, I completely give up because what's the point. And then I read professional writer's blogs to hype myself up, about how I should be writing to be a writer (typically very prescriptive) and that reinforces my internal narrative that I'm a fake, that I don't know what I'm doing, and that I will never be even moderately successful. 

To counter this internal narrative, I know intellectually I'm dealing with a lot of impostor syndrome. Don't know what that is? It sucks and many folks who have been raised outside of white, heteronormative, dude privilege know about this and experience it on a very deeply ingrained level.

I also think there's some other stuff going into these internal narratives... like how the idea that if I work hard, I'll be successful is so deeply ingrained in Americans. Even though it's just capitalist propaganda that bears no relevance to most of us, I've definitely internalized that, as well as many, many other Americans.  So if I'm not successful, it's my fault for not working hard enough, not producing a good product, or generally doing something wrong. 

If you're reading this, thank you. I want to be clear that I'm not trying to guilt or shame anybody into supporting me- and that concern is a large reason why I haven't been open with this struggle. I want folks to read my writing because it's good and they get something from it, not because they feel bad for me. Oh my dog, please don't ever do that. 

I don't know how to end this. I guess, that's just what's going on with me, y'all. Thanks for bearing with me for this post <3 I'll keep writing, keep posting, keep going regardless. 
 

Friday, July 31, 2020

The bounty, poems on ko-fi, and a fragment

Heylo readers!

The big news for today is that I'll be writing a poem every day for the month of August

If you'd like to read those poems, I'll be posting them to Ko-Fi.com/kitsteitz and they'll be available for anybody who buys me a cup of coffee throughout the month! 


This is a photo of Kit's flower garden. There is a hibuscus with a blooming flower in the forefront. Behind it is blooming phlox.
Look at this pretty hibiscus bloom from my garden!


And now, a fragment of a poem that I found hiding in some lost folder~


a knocking

The robins know you're
here- a call for courting
and the tastes of garlic
and honey follow you in
through the front door



That's all I got, folks. Happy Friday! I'll post the first August poem tomorrow!

love and gratitude,
Kitikins




Thursday, July 30, 2020

Toss a coin to your Witcher!

Hello, dear readers!

This is the week of exciting news and I'm so glad y'all are with me on this wild ride. I've decided to start a ko-fi ("coffee") page so that there is a place for y'all to support my projects and help me keep creating. 

I have several future plans for this page including q&a videos, special requests, readings that will be available specifically to my ko-fi supporters. I'm also interested in your ideas for what you'd like from this support page! I don't want to detract from the big projects I'm working on, though, so I want to start small and build what we can make work with my writing schedule. 

What projects would you be supporting right now? 
  • Weekly (at minimum) blog posts.
  • A queer fantasy trilogy (not currently available, still in rough rough draft phase).
  • a new chapbook of new poetry that will be posted to this blog as I go, then collected together for publication!
  • a podcast that will be revealed and revealing very soon.
I have a couple other projects that I want to get to, but these are my current babies. The others, mere twinkles in my eye.

Here's a little video I made that describes it more fully. Check it out! It was made in reverse land.


Right now it's set up so you can only make a single donation, but there will be a way to do this as a monthly contributor in the future!

You can support me by clicking here or clicking anytime on the button on the right toolbar of this blog. Toss a coin to your Witcher, y'all. 

Questions? Let me know. I probably have answers!

Much love & gratitude,
Kit Steitz

More fabulous updates!

Hello, readers!

It's a rainy, warm summer day in Columbia. The sky is dark with clouds and the pups are searching for places to hide from the booming thunder.

Here is a random spider web from my backyard, just for you!


So here's the update- Amazon updated my name so my author page and book are listed under my actual name! That feels pretty affirming and stuff. Check me out...


Tuesday, July 28, 2020

BIG NEWS! Audiobook coming!!!

Okay, y'all!! BIG ASS NEWS!!!


The fabulous E.m. Knowles accepted a contract to narrate and produce 

AN AUDIOBOOK 


I am so honored and stoked!

More updates as we go!!! We can't wait to share this with y'all. 

Dog days of summer, Pandemic edition

Dog Summer~

Kiera in a sunbeam,
ear twitch, joy,
nose wiggle,
so many smells!

Hello, my readers! It's days away from August and we're hip deep in a Pandemic. Here in Missouri, very few people have given any fucks and we are left with rocketing numbers of positive Covid-19 cases, so our family is very home-bound. Between furlough and telecommuting, our family has created 2 new flower beds and installed our first victory garden! I have phlox and gladiolas blooming, tomatoes ripening, and a new sense of general okayedness. As I write this, I'm sitting in the afternoon shade on my back porch- Keira is begging to be let in and the air conditioning unit is louder than my music, but all and all, it's pretty alright.

There are a few big creative projects on the horizon that I'm excited to share SOON. Not yet, but SOON.

One is a silly podcast that can best be described as lowfi, low key, and low-brow. But shhhhh! That's not public yet!!

I've slowly updated my various writing profiles to include my new name, pronouns, and information, and working on republishing my chapbook a record of night. I'm an OKAY novelist, but I'm a damn good poet, so keep alert for the big reveal! New name, new cover, new forward, same love <3

And a project so hush hush I can't even hint about it, but I AM SO EXCITED I WILL LEAVE THE CAPSLOCK ON. I can't wait to share it with y'all.

Hope y'all are doing your best during this shitty period in our history.

Love and future vaccines,
Kit


Thursday, February 20, 2020

It's been awhile...

It's been awhile since I posted. My blog goes through this every now and then, but this time feels different. Everything stopped for me when mom passed. I've definitely read or heard somewhere that the cruelest part of grief is that the world keeps going, and I've just needed to stop, but it wouldn't. Apparently the theme of 2019 was grief. I lost my friend in a car accident in February, my mom passed 2 months later, then in October, another dear friend died.  This is the most grief I have experienced in such a small stretch of time and I'll admit, I've struggled. The anniversary of mom's birthday came around, I celebrated my first holidays without her, then without my friend/s... now spring is coming and I feel like I'm ready to step back into the moving world, but just a toe. Just a little spin. I still have days where I just want to curl up in a ball and cry, but those days don't outnumber the mostly-okay days, and I count that as a win.

I also came out as non binary this year, and I guess now in my invisible blog to the void. Some days I regret coming out. Some days, the level of ma'aming, girling, sheing, that goes on just buries me under. Some days I'm invisible. Some days being visible makes me a target. Some days are okay.

Also, did you notice?
The
world
is
on
fucking
fire.

I have no idea what to do about that whole fucking shit.

But I started writing again. I picked up my art again. I started skating again. I joined an orchestra and started playing my cello again. I don't just want to live in suspension until everything crumbles. I want to go into that void knowing I lived the best life I could, that I helped where I could and rested when I needed, and loved with all of my heart.

So this is me, now. My name is Kit. I'm non binary. I have lost, been lost, and now I think I'm okay with that.

So if you're following my journey, which is mostly just me not letting anybody read my writing, well, thanks. I swear I'll let folks read my work when it's ready.