August Ennui, a Super Blue Moon, and Contests 🌙

Hi friends! 

Popping up out of my introvert hidey hole (less cute than a hobbit hole, though a writer can dream) to bring you the vlog for weeks 5, 6, & 7 of my experiment!! We're nearing the end and I still haven't quiiiiite figured out what "final exam week" should look like, so if you have any ideas, or if you're "attending classes" alongside me, let me know what you're planning on!

(This vlog also saw the origin of the magic horse AND magic donkey, and I need y'all to know that I snort-laughed while editing the footage, just as I did "live" the first time bahaha.)

Alas, my August has moved at light speed and slow motion, seemingly all at once. I start, then stop, then start, then stop, as if on a very jarring, ancient rollercoaster. A ride I would very much like to get off, but am strapped in against my will for. And it just keeps going and going and going....

Apparently this is the August Blues.

(I did this look up and found more people talking about it! Basically when you're on the precipice of change, but aren't quite there, plus too-hot weather. "Sunday blues for a whole month." Feels apt, for me at least.)

As I mention in the vlog, I really don't mean to be a downer, because a lot of wonderful things have happened this August: I've met some new family members, had an incredible fish fry, all the barbecue I can stomach, friends visiting non-stop...but I also just want to lay down and nap until September is here.

I mentioned at the start of summer -- back when I was envisioning this "summer school"/seasonal learning/routine change experiment -- that this is a hard season for me. But despite knowing this, I can't help but look back on the summer with a tinge of regret, as if I didn't quite make the most of it. 

(What is "the most" anyways? Who is deciding this? And if it's me (it is me).......why?? These are the questions I can't answer.)

Anyways. My existential dread should soon be coming to an end. For the first time in a long time, Vin crawled into her Doom Buggy, so I think that means Fall is on the horizon:

(The toy next to here is an orange dog with a little witch hat on top, the one thing that came with Vin when we adopted her.)

My brother's girlfriend's mother taught me the phrase "Augtober" on our trip to Missouri, and I have embraced it fully. Decorations have been pulled out of the shed and autumnal scents bought from Bath & Body Works. It's time.

Before August is fully up though, I have a few more things I'd like to check off the list:

1) There's an ACTUAL blue moon happening the 30th-31st. It's also a supermoon! A super blue moon! I'm very excited and trying to decide how best to celebrate. Maybe an all-night writing vlog, as guided by the moon bahaha.

2) A couple contests I'll be submitting to this month:

Apex Magazine's monthly short story contest. For August, the prompt is optophobia.

Black Hare Press's monthly Drabble. This month's prompt: dumb ways to die.

I'd love if you entered these contests with me! Sometimes we just need an extra push to submit, and I hope I can be that for y'all! It's a great way to practice refining and submitting your work (and following the specific submission rules of each publication!) while also not feeling super "high stakes." 10/10, highly recommend, please let me know if you do!

So that leads me to, finally, the question for y'all: Have you ever submitted your work to a contest? It can be a short story, a Drabble, for poetry, maybe even a script or screenplay? Do you want to submit but haven't yet? Is submitting to contests like this not for you at all? Let me know! I'm curious.

I'll be back very soon with the "Short Story During Streams" vlog (and accompanying short story), as well as our August Double Stream Days dates!

Until then, happy writing!! ♥️👻