Why Do We Write? On failure, joy, and magic

My newest Substack post! open.substack.com/pub/swannyau...

Martin Cruz Smith "One of our best writers, period" (1942-2025)

On Martin Cruz Smith (1942-2025) and what his writing meant and still means to me. #martincruzsmith #arkadyrenko

Day 12 of 1000 Words of Summer Getting stuck and moving on

So I made a Substack, “Every Word Is a Win.” And yes, it’s pretty cool over there, too. #1000wordsofsummer #amwriting

open.substack.com/pub/swannyau...

Every Word Is a Win Day 11 of 1000 Words of Summer

Hey, I did a Substack! (Started a Substack, whatever.)

swannyauthor.substack.com/p/every-word...

Day 10: 1382 words so far. And the day isn’t over.

For anyone struggling to get to 1000 words—for two days last week I wrote zero words. Wrote only 61 another day.

Every word is a win.

#1000wordsofsummer

Day 7: 0 words
Day 8: 61 words
Day 9: ~900 words
It's Day 10. Let's do this.
#1000wordsofsummer

Day 6: household chores & repairs came up, so zero words today. Back at it on Day 7. #1000wordsofsummer #amwriting

Day 5: I wrote 1,143 hard-fought words. More to come. #1000wordsofsummer #amwriting

Day 4 of #1000wordsofsummer: 620 words, plus research. Thanks for the inspiration, @jamiattenberg.bsky.social. Onward.

1213 words so far on Day 3 of #1000wordsofsummer and I’ve got more coming later.

Day 1: ~700 words
Day 2: 1294 words
Day 3: let's go

#1000wordsofsummer 2025 #crafttalk @jamiattenberg.bsky.social

GOTHICTOWN by Emily Carpenter

What I’m reading now. #emilycarpenter #Gothictown

Reading JOYLAND by @stephenking.bsky.social and just read the line “When it comes to the past, everyone writes fiction,” and I said out loud, “Damn, he’s so good.”

Quote from Walt Whitman

Happy Day 1 of National Poetry Month. #nationalpoetrymonth

Anybody else long for the good old days of petty corruption and occasional incompetence instead of (*waves arms*) whatever all THIS is?

Opening doors is better than slamming them shut.
It’s the same with minds.

Beach in Belize with kayaks pulled up on the sand

Afternoon on a beach in Belize. There are far worse fates.

Video obtained by CNN shows the rear landing gear of the jet buckling and the right wing shearing away in a fireball after the plane landed hard on the runway.

I hope America is as lucky as the delta jet - everyone survives but the right wing explodes

Remember when George W. Bush was the worst president ever?

Watch this US anti fascist educational film from 1945. YouTube video by MobergsR

As true today as it was eighty years ago.

I’m tired of living in the Divided States of America. Can we get back to the idea of a United States of America, and a shared understanding of reality? Because that would be swell.

youtu.be/CXm3WxU--fM?...

Stephen Fry shared this joke: “Elon Musk is not a Nazi. Nazis made really good cars.”

Fighting all this will take hard work, courage, and perseverance. But it will also take humor. Thank you, @stephenfry.bsky.social.

This is a good zoomed-out take. Not the full picture, but a massive chunk of it.

You know, when I was a kid, I wondered what it would have been like to fight fascists like my grandfather did in WWII. Looks like I might get my chance.

Repost on Blue Sky and Facebook page. Post in comment sections too. Try to post 100 times.

So, is everything still on fire?

My birthday is on January 20, so that’s how my year is going so far.

I’m teaching DRACULA this semester and thought I’d reread Kostova’s novel. Really enjoying it.

Rereading THE HISTORIAN and it’s just as good the 2nd time around.
Watching FRIENDS FROM
COLLEGE for the 1st time and it’s hilarious.

Yesterday two friends in Richmond said they had no water at all, or a tiny trickle. Hope that’s improved by now.

So much cheaper. The best cheaper. We’ve never seen this kind of cheaper in the history of our country.