A few months later...

Updates & rambling...

Do you all know that I have ADHD? This is not a joking ha ha ha flippant comment. I have it!

So at this point I'm sure it comes as no surprise that I haven't updated in a few months. I could lie to you and tell you it's because of all the projects I've been working on, but honestly? It's not. In fact, when I'm busy with writing projects, it normally triggers me to write in here. The truth is, this is just me, and a me that suffers from pretty hard depression in the Spring. 

Reading goalsssssssssss

My goals this year are pretty minimal- I think I've got a 2 books-a-month reading goal? I've kept up with it, more or less. Last month I was hyper focused and knocked both of my books out in a week. This month I got cocky and didn't start reading/listening to my audiobooks until far too late in the month. I also chose pretty hefty bois to read. (Oh hey, let's be friends on StoryGraph?)

Checked off my to-read list since Jan:

• The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coats
• Children of Virtue & Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi
• Lumberjanes: The Moon is Up by Mariko Tamaki (I <3 YA and I'll fight you)
• How Long 'til Black Future Month? N.K. Jemisin
• How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
• Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
• The Craft of Love by EE Ottoman
• The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

Currently working on:

• The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
• The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

To write, we must read! So I'm trying to keep my brain meat sharp (ow).

And now... to talk about creating!

As far as writing goes... well... it's on and off. The pandemic has definitely made it worse, that's for sure. I wrote a collection of poems last August and have tried putting a manuscript together for it 3 times, 2 of which have been lost to laptops that gave up before me. The third I am actively and presently working on. Since I've decided to stop publishing through Amazon, I'm trying to find a new self publisher. Searching for self-publishing companies almost always sends me on a former English major spiral of 1) imposter syndrome, BIG TIME 2) snobbery regarding self publishing (which I pretty much exclusively do, so wtf brain) and 3) General Anxiety & Overwhelmednessery.

I'm not sure I'll ever let my current novels see the light of day. There are some problematic corners I've written myself into and also? I can't reiterate enough how re-reading the novel I wrote post-concussion is like pulling teeth. Like ok. Brain injury and still tryna get them words on the page. I might just scratch them and start over fresh this year. But should I scratch a three book project because I don't like 1.5 of the books? Is this more imposter syndrome? Hello, this is just a brief glimpse into the deep well of overthinking I've done about these books over the past 5 years. I do think I still want to pursue a real publisher this year? But also maybe not. I don't fucking know. I am in book limbo. 

I also can't shake the feeling that I'm a much better poet than prose writer. I also learned that there are a whole bunch of people who think in like pictures? Like their thoughts while they're writing are like they're in a movie of everything happening, and I mostly think in words and I wonder if that stunts my ability to write prose? IDK. 

I knit A LOT of hats this winter, crocheted Ugly Blanket Jr. for my brother, made some tie dye stuff with my partner, started and ditched so many projects I can't keep track of them all. We added several giant containers to our veggie garden and the flowers came in like a goddamn beautiful, messy English garden (look!)

  

 

So I guess I don't really know what my writing goals are for this year (and we're 5 months in, yikes!) but I am trying really hard to get this second book of poetry out. It might end up going through Amazon again, just because it seems like they're the best for self publishing rn and the body of my poetry has already been through them. I just hate the idea of Jeff Bezos profiting off of my money- to be fair, the amount I sell books of poetry is just so miniscule. I'm pretty sure he makes more money in the time it takes to sneeze. Honestly, at my normal people job, I think I probably make more money in the time it takes to sneeze than I have off of self publishing. So meh? Does it matter? IDK, that's a thought for overthinking Kit to ponder later, then again, and possibly a third time, definitely a few times in a row while trying to sleep.

Our writing group seems to be hibernating. I hope it can find some life again soon. It ebbs and flows and I'm okay with that... I do too. 

Listening...

So I listen off and on to the podcast Start with This. SwT is accessible and frequently very motivating. Joseph & Jeffrey have a pretty good banter vibe and the writing prompts are helpful. I like how they structure it all, too. Do I do the prompts every time? Absolutely not, that's a level of consistency I would need to be medicated to achieve. Just keeping it real, y'all.

I've tried several other podcasts, but it seems like most of the writing podcasts I've found are too academic to keep my interest. Don't get me wrong, I was a baby academic in the throes of snobbery back in college, but that cost me a lot of money and put me in over a decades worth of debt that I could barely juggle and survive (and wouldn't have, if not for the love and help of friends and family). I'm not paying somebody to bore me death again. Fool me once, shame and debt on me, Fool me twice, well fuck, I just can't afford it. 

But if anybody is reading this and they have some good suggestions, I'd love to give them a try. 

So I guess that's a pretty good general update/ramblebramble. I hope everybody is having a fabulous week and I'll write at y'all again soon. Promise!

Love and rainy days,

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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! 

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

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