Author: marylowd

Twelve-year-old: *appears in my workspace at 10pm, instead of being in bed*

Me: “Hello. What are you doing here?”

Twelve, wielding pen and paper: “I’m here to draw you an otter.” Continue reading “Drawing an Otter”

My dad is an emotionally abusive jerk. My mom spent twenty years sublimating her own needs to protect me and my sister from him.

‪From this, my sister seems to have learned that mothers should be self-sacrificing saints with no needs or feelings of their own.‬

‪I have kids now… you do the math.‬ Continue reading “Unfortunate Family Dynamics”

The twelve-year-old: “You know how there are those detergent packets you put in the dish washer? And then after the dishes are washed, it’s gone? The whole thing is gone? Where does it go???”‬

‪Existential crisis regarding the failure to understand soap ensues.‬ Continue reading “Detergent Packets”

My sister and I haven’t really spoken in 2.5 years, but for the last three weeks we’ve been swapping video links every day or so — songs, movie clips, etc. It’s a sort of free association, representational conversation.‬ Continue reading “Videos In Lieu of Words”

We’ve been re-watching Jeeves & Wooster, and Daniel started taking notes so he can use drily snarky Jeeves quotes on me when he thinks I’m being ridiculous. Things like, “I am sure you are correct, Sir,” and “Just as you say, Sir.”‬

The six-year-old, after playing with a shovel for ten minutes: “I know what it’s like to be a farmer now, always doing hard work!”‬

It’s not that I can’t write poetry with structure & meter… it’s just that I’m, uh, very inspired by Walt Whitman. Yeah! That’s it!‬

‪What? Prove I can write structured poetry with proper meter? Well… uh…‬

‪Quick! Look over there!‬

‪—runs away to live among otters—‬

I’ve started rereading Jane Austen’s novels, and I just want to point out: she uses exclamation points & all caps ALL over the place!

Exclamation points & all caps may be horribly out of fashion in fiction these days, but Austen is a master. Editors can get over themselves. Continue reading “Italics and Exclamation Points”

I have withdrawn my accepted story from The Timberline Review (operated by Willamette Writers) due to their contract’s overreaching liability clause, lack of a sunset clause, and their unwillingness to negotiate.

I cannot recommend submitting to them.

God it feels good to no longer have a vested interest in a market that’s been treating me badly for a month and a half.

This is my fourth original sale (out of 172) to fall through; the other three were due to markets themselves going under. Continue reading “Fighting for Good Contracts”