For some reason, my autocorrect has started changing EOD (end of day) to Edo. Yes, I will be getting that document back to you by the Edo Period.

Maybe she's born with it. Maybe it's the caffeine.

Out for a run this morning in a small town. Cool breeze, Halloween decorations out, crispy orange leaves falling. I feel like I'm in an episode of Gilmore Girls. Except I would have to be a townsperson out for a run while the gang walks to Luke's for breakfast because Lorelei and Rory would never.

Writer to writer:

Nothing like arguing with a support bot first thing in the morning to make you feel alive! 🤡

I keep meaning to ask my friend how things are going with her new boyfriend, but every time we talk we get all worked up about other stuff and I forget, and it's like we're reverse Bechtel Testing.

126-day streak of not falling down the stairs at my house.

The only way I've been able to get any writing projects done is to show up consistently. Day in and day out. Even on days when my brain feels like a potato. Potato brains can get things done.

I have a lot of work to do today, which is why I'm taking a test to see which sort of fall soup I am.

"It only took them 7 minutes to rob the Louvre," I say as I gear up to clean my guest bathroom.

Physically, I am here. Mentally, I am working on the soundtrack for the Louvre Heist.

While half the Internet is down, tell me something you love about someone in your life.

Not panicking but Hoopla is also down.

RIP Mary Shelley, you would have loved the song "Jar of Hearts."

Want to develop a reading habit? Focus on reading what you like. Don't worry about what books are popular or "important." Follow your interests and follow the fun. You'll have trouble putting books down.

"You know what I just started doing recently? Plotting!" Said to me unironically today by an award-winning novelist working on her 13th book. 😂

This morning I opened my windows to get a cross breeze. It's currently 68° in my house. I have never felt more alive.

It doesn't matter if the song is good or bad. Earworms don't care.

Do we find them, or do they find us?

A lot of the writing life feels like a grind. But not a grind that wears me down. A grind that sharpens me up.

Exploring the limits of how much coffee I'm physically and legally allowed to drink today.

When you are trying to be fiscally responsible but there are new books releasing literally all the time.

Join Jennifer Lucy Tyler & me tonight at 8pm ET on IG Live to celebrate the release of her new book and talk the ups and downs of the writing process!

Join Jennifer Lucy Tyler & me tonight at 8pm ET on IG Live to celebrate the release of her new book and talk the ups and downs of the writing process!

Just put so much garlic in this batch of soup that I will never have to deal with a vampire again.

Outsiders know they’re on the outside. Insiders have trouble recognizing that there’s an “inside.” Outsiders feel the separation. Insiders feel normal.

A clever turn of phrase does not make an idea any more or less true. It just makes it more sticky.

You made it halfway through the week *and* we still have free shipping? Sounds like the perfect time to treat yourself to a new book and support indie bookstores in the process. 📚

The good news is that I'm in the last 20% of revisions on another novel. The bad news is that I now realize that entire chunk needs to be almost entirely re-written. The good news is that I know exactly what was wrong and how to fix it in re-writes. The bad news is that now I actually have to do it.

In publishing circles, someone promising specific outcomes beyond their control is a red flag.

Writers! When you send a document as an attachment to someone in the publishing industry, here's how to format the file name: Your Last Name, Project Title, What it is (manuscript, full proposal, sample chapters, etc.)

As a writer, I will forever be sad that I wasn't the one to match a name with a character as perfectly as Perd Hapley.

I'm back to my base of 4 MI after breaking my foot this summer. My goal in October is to maintain this as my base distance as I build back strength before adding distance again toward the end of the month. It feels good to be back!

What you create is an outflow of your personhood, not a justification for it.

If you live in a three-story townhome, piling things at the top and the bottom of the stairs to deal with the next time you go up or down is a great way to save yourself steps and also create trip hazards.

I just walked by two girls sitting at a picnic table outside a grocery store. One has come to visit the other on her lunch break. Girl 1: So??? Girl 2: WELL. Ever since that VOICE MESSAGE I haven't been TEXTING HIM. Girl 1: ...but? Girl 2: BUT... Me (internally, walking out of earshot): BUT...???!

🗣️ back up your draft!

I don't understand how it's Q4.

Happy October!

One of my favorite things about living in a small town is the small town tea, especially when it doesn't involve me at all.

Turns out it's easier to run when the air is cool and breezy, who knew.

Writing is a process, not an event.

Your book won't write itself.

"In difficult times, it feels easy to dismiss music, movies, and other forms of art as frivolous...But what if art is one of the ways we push back against the darkness, both inside and outside?"

"In difficult times, it feels easy to dismiss music, movies, and other forms of art as frivolous...But what if art is one of the ways we push back against the darkness, both inside and outside?"

"In both Sinners and K-Pop Demon Hunters, music is not simply an add-on to the plot. It’s a load-bearing structure, and it can be in our lives as well." New today from me and @akmcclen.bsky.social

Every book I write feels like the worst book I've ever written while I'm in the process of writing it. I just needed to remind myself of that today, no particular reason why.

Ruth and I wrote a thing

Music, movies, and pushing the darkness. Co-written: Amanda McClendon

Being a reader makes you a better writer. Being a writer makes you a deeper reader. The page drives you back to the page.