I’ve been job hunting for the last few weeks. “You should just make a zine and turn that in as your resume,” my friend Michael suggested. “That is actually brilliant,” I replied. And now here it is: Resume, the complete story of my working life to date. Check it out if you would like to. … More New Zine: Resume
[Hi! Sometimes I write something in response to a specific call for submissions, and when it gets rejected, I’m not sure what to do with it. It wouldn’t necessarily be a good fit for any other publication, and usually it just languishes on my hard drive while I move on to other things. But I … More Rejected Files: Bridges All Over
I’ve never made a fiction zine before, which is weird because I love reading and writing fiction, so I decided to get on that. A “fox wedding” (or “coyote wedding,” or “[insert trickster god here] wedding”) is a common name for a sun shower. You know, when it’s storming and sunny at the same time. … More New Zine: Fox Wedding #1
Is it a strength or a weakness that I can’t control my characters for shit? When I start a new story, I usually sit down knowing the general themes to cover, plus a vague idea of how the plot should be structured. I’ve never done a thorough outline, because I’m never sure what kind of … More Fiction and Discipline
Summer is always a time of boosted creativity for me. Because I’m a Leo? Who knows! Anyway, I hope to have two new fiction zines ready to go by the time Fall comes around. Okay, technically they’re chapbooks, but I tend to use those terms interchangeably for some reason. Neither one is titled yet because … More Big Plans
I’ve signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo, a special session of National Novel Writing Month with more relaxed rules. I wasn’t planning to do it this year, but then I discovered they changed the settings. Instead of aiming for a certain word count, you can make a certain number of lines, pages, hours, or minutes your … More Camp
…and not just because of NaNoWriMo. I have a couple of zines and some short stories and all kinds of stuff I’d love to wrap up soon. I seem to have at least two different modes for writing. One is all professional and deadline-oriented and trying to be publishable. The other is passionate and fun, … More November is Writerly
It took months, for some reason, but I finally made it to the copy shop and re-printed two of my zines: “Loudly Dancing” and “Robbie Queers It Up.” My Etsy shop is now carrying these titles once again! Links Loudly Dancing (a collection of autobiographical mico-essays about avoidant personality disorder and adventures in mental healthcare) Robbie … More Zine Shop Restocked!
I returned from a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland a few days ago. I fully intend to make a zine about the experience, but first I need to sort through the trip and try to figure out some kind of narrative arc. I guess I could just slap together some photos and anecdotes, but I’d prefer … More Edinburgh
Like a lot of people who enjoy writing, I experience a certain amount of angst about whether or not I’ve earned the right to go around telling people, “I’m a writer.” I try to write daily. I’ve had pieces I wrote posted in online journals. I finished a damn novella the other day, but is … More A Writer (For Real)
Emma Atkinson 