At the beginning of the year, I made it a goal to get three short stories accepted into literary magazines. Halfway through the year, where do I stand? marissadechant.substack.com/p/2026-summe...

I am making matcha cookies! Come eat my matcha cookies!!!

My husband and I went to West Virginia last weekend and enjoyed a slower paced getaway. My thoughts below! marissadechant.substack.com/p/you-need-a...

"My dad is the last of our family to see Chris in February 1985. My dad is 23, Chris, 27." This week, I share my thoughts on Harrison Hill's "The Oracle's Daughter," a book detailing the cult that my uncle took part in for 30 years. marissadechant.substack.com/p/the-oracle...

My reminder to you (fellow creatives) to eat a vegetable, plus my recipe for chocolate blended oats, which are basically pudding. Read below! marissadechant.substack.com/p/taking-car...

Currently reading:

Currently reading The Oracle’s Daughter, a book detailing the cult that my uncle joined and whom I never got to meet. My dad and aunt are referenced in the notes, having been interviewed by the author.

I’ve been dealing with a bit of creative burnout lately. Here’s out I’m slowly crawling out of it! marissadechant.substack.com/p/cure-for-w...

Hey, Pittsburgh writers! Check out writersinpittsburgh.org! If you're looking for a consistently meeting writing workshop, a book club, local write-ins and writing related events, or just wanna make more writer friends, WiP has all that and more! All writers. All genres. Come through!

If you’re experiencing writer’s block, take a look at what you’re reading. Instead of exciting you, is it slowing you down, confounding you, frustrating you? If you’re not completely taken by a book you’re reading right now, that may be your answer.

How do you change up your daily routine to prepare for summer? marissadechant.substack.com/p/summer-rou...

Eating delicious things at restaurants and remaking them at home for cheaper. 🤠

Evening walks with my husband where we meet new friends. 🐱

Sunset on lavender.

I call this one “Mom’s Green Thumb.”

Me, currently experiencing shame around my body size and determined to lose some pounds over the next few months. The communications conference I’m at for the week:

Read at an open mic over the weekend. I had so much fun! I read a humorous piece I wrote recently and enjoyed hearing the laughs it produced, as well as hearing fellow great writers and friends read their works. Can’t wait to do it again.

Ever imagine attending a residency without leaving your house? A couple weekends ago, my husband and I held an at-home residency to focus on our personal projects. It was fun! It was productive! It included good food! marissadechant.substack.com/p/at-home-re...

“A mind lively and at ease, can do with seeing nothing, and can see nothing that does not answer.” - Jane Austen telling everyone to get off social media

I always love reading a party scene. I get to be in the middle of fun and whimsy without having to put on real clothes and lessen my social battery, and I can still be in bed at a reasonable time.

I am completely sane, grounded, and not at all overwhelmed by the number of incomplete stories in my folders.

Writers often swing between feeling like absolute geniuses and absolute dunces. Right now, I feel like a raccoon scratching in the dirt with a stick.

New Substack article about dealing with writing rejection, from me, someone who’s in a nine-month rejection streak. 🥰 marissadechant.substack.com/p/handling-w...

One slice of cake for each rejection I received this week. 😇