i went to say "i appreciate you" but it came out "i apprechute." i apprechute

the echthroi are coming

Student: "Ponyboy.... he's, like, mad chill."

Revision tip: check your manuscript for gasp, held breath, twisted guts, glanced, saw, felt, monitor, control, lighting strike, smiled, fringed, glared, sucked in, scrunched, blood stopped, ran cold, anything filtering emotions as bodily responses, especially ones which are involuntary in real life

I wrote about what means, in these precarious times, that I say the Pledge at the top of my voice wherever I am in school.

moms: let’s all take my daughter’s advice & “x that out.”

dudes rock

i just checked this out, it's legit 👀

Sunday thought: If you want to feel grounded don't bother with breathing techniques or whatever. Roast a chicken.

Do you know a high school writer? Have them submit to this wonderful literary journal! Www.theweightjournal.com

The written dismissal is perhaps the most brutal "it's in the syllabus" meme I've ever seen.

😂😂😂Oh Dear. 🤣🤣🤣 This is worth three minutes' of your scrolling time, I promise. Teachers, consider making this an abject lesson on TONE and CONCISION for your writing students.

What will you do with your one wildly overscheduled life?

Because we’ve all been there. 🥲🚗 #writingcommunity #litmag

I love poems like this, that also are a perfect scene of flash fiction. From Raymond Carver's book, All of Us. #poetry #booksky #writing

This is the lead story in the New York Times. If you're in the business of communicating, whether through journalism, commentary, or art, this is the five-alarm fire. People are going to remember who spoke up and who stayed conveniently silent or postured about "neutrality."

LOST writer-producer Damon Lindelof says he won’t work with Disney unless Kimmel js reinstated. I’m hearing other talent weighing similar pledges.

I find that asking myself in the morning "What one unrealistic expectation have I put on myself today?" and then tangibly amending that expectation is a really good practice.

MACBETH: Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow ... ME: So ... Saturday?

i just saw a squirrel LEAP from a fence post onto a tree trunk about a foot away, WHILE SHITTING. there truly is so much to be grateful for

The last political column I was allowed to write in the @washingtonpost.com was a criticism of Obama. His people took issue with my piece, but we were respectful. Now he is tweeting in support of me. This is how free political speech and respect for debate *actually works*. Or used to work.

'Dogs in the Park, Kensington Gardens' by Nicholas Hely Hutchinson nicholashelyhutchinson.com

The terror of realizing you haven’t seen the cat for a little bit

I just learned this about the 1977 animated "The Hobbit": "The Hobbit was animated by Topcraft in Tokyo, a now-defunct Japanese animation studio whose animation team re-formed as Studio Ghibli under Hayao Miyazaki" !!! Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hob...

Roses are red Sweetly sings the lark

Here is my shining light for the day: The Childe is upstairs in the bath FULL-CHEST singing every song from Labyrinth. EVERYTHING I’VE DONE I’VE DONE FOR YOU! I MOVE THE STARS FOR NO ONE!

I feel you, turtle

Muriel Rukeyser

I got the last decent reservation for watching the Perseid meteor shower in my local dark sky park. 🔭🌠🌃

“I’m an eleven, but continue.”

we all need this right now

We teachers are all bleary-eyed. Exhausted. Stumbling on words and saying to our colleagues, "What am I teaching this period again?" But in this hallway we throw out a force field of care about t-shirts, soccer games and graduation dates, and teens who wander into it nearly always smile.

"you have become the one you wear red lipstick for buy the black lace edged underwear for" Contributor @jillkitchen.bsky.social's 2022 poem "serenade" was just republished by SWWIM! We know you'll love it: buff.ly/gdb4hFG

Melissa is a friend and a terrific author. Highly recommend.

I was not actually crying about Sept 11 (my allergies were roaring this morning), but when we finished the moment of silence in class, a 7th grade student noticed my red eyes and looked at me with such genuine empathy that it literally gave me hope for the world. Kindness is out there, guys.

9th grade student: "Hi Ms.S I'm going to the bathroom really quick but I saw you looking at me so I came in to say hi and I also wanted to tell you I just bumped my hip I hate when I open the door too fast but I'm ok." Sometime all they need us to do is witness. ❤️

I assign a particular bell hooks essay from 2000 to my gender studies course and one of my students noted that it is still relevant 25 years later and a shiver ran through me because 2000 was like 5 years ago? (These students weren’t even born yet! How!)

the word “sloppycat” just popped into my head for people who try to ape actual specific human work using slop generators please feel free to use it

Drive slowly enough To hear the crickets

Poets! The deadline is coming up. We’d love to read your work! www.smallharborpublishing.com/the-big-brut...

YOU GUYS A flourishing mini pumpkin vine VOLUNTEERED in the back. No clue how that happened. This earth doesn't need us st all, and I feel such joy about it.

Slightly diminish a book. The Peckish Games

If you need a peer review from a fellow writer, or if you'd like to buy a signed copy of one of my books, please visit demistybellinger.com & let me know. Books are various prices with one dollar shipping per book, but a response on your written work is negotiable. Babies (teens) do need new shoes!

Before we could stop him the kitten singed his whiskers while investigating some soup on the stove (he's fine), and they all curled up and now he looks like Rasputin.

My husband, who is an accomplished musician, is currently in the kitchen caroling in the imagined voice of our active new kitten: "DON'T JUMP ON MY MOMMY'S HEAD, THIS IS THE SONG OF MY PEOPLE"

I’m honored to be judging the Fall Flash Fiction Contest at the fabulous @thesunlightpress.bsky.social! There are super generous cash prizes (the winner receives $600, second place winner $250, and third place winner $150). Link with info below. I can’t wait to read your work! ☀️

"Don’t say anything about an emotional support animal. Don’t say you’re lonely or depressed." How to Convince Your Mom to Get a Dog by Lisa Ferranti @lisaferranti.bsky.social #MicroMonday #microfiction. Please follow the link and enjoy fictivedream.com/2025/09/01/m...

It does not matter the species. My kitten spends hours squashed between my armpit and elbow. Bundle 'em up and make 'em feel safe, and you will have lived a good life.