A Bouquet of My May 2023 Writing to Wrap Up the Month
Did you think those were roses or onions? I did a second take. And they’re wrapped in newspaper. How appropriate!
I made a writing goal for April: DO NOT PUBLISH ANYTHING ON MEDIUM. And by anything, I meant anything.
Since April 2020 I’ve published content on Medium each month, oftentimes compulsively.
This was a mental health goal.
I did it!
Not publishing for a month felt freeing and I made about the same as when I publish 5–7 pieces per month.
Not to be too tacky, but my earnings are way down this year: I made more when I cranked out content.
It was BAD for my mental health.
I decided to treat this platform as the place where I can be mostly unrestricted and experimental.
Ways I post writing on Medium
- Updates like this
- New, old, and revised poetry
- New, old, and revised creative nonfiction/memoir
- Experimental humor, sexuality, mental health, etc
- Highlighting creatives in interviews
- Sharing gardening content
- Getting things off my chest
The list goes on and on.
A future goal is to be paid well for the kind of content a company wants. That means applying for jobs.
I brushed off the old resume. Sarah Paris and Lindsay Rae Brown gave me constructive criticism and suggestions to strengthen that bad boy. When I’m ready, my resume will be ready too.
In May, I published again. As I began averaging about a dollar a day in earnings or less, I felt the compulsion rise to publish like a fiend but I refrained.
GO ME!
May brought 7 new creations. I think they’re stellar. Maybe you will too.
To start, I gave readers — and myself — a pep talk about humans going at different paces and that being perfectly acceptable.
Also, running and music.
One of the academic essays I brushed off and published. One thing that irritated me about being an English major in college is only the prof usually sees the paper.
Now I can discuss these books and ideas with others here.
Melissa Bee made it all the way to 2nd place in the Supermom quarterfinals. I’m this was my attempt to assist in getting to the quarterfinals.
It was beautiful seeing the community rally for Ms. Bee!
Purging creative writing has never been easy for me.
This year, I’ve tossed a lot of old work. It has been emotionally challenging and emotionally freeing.
I had a beau who wasn’t so nice and made a visual arts project about him for a photography class. It was mixed media with words.
I threw out the images and salvaged the words.
It felt more freeing than I anticipated binning that project.
Here’s the poem that emerged:
Many of my readers will remember the Creative Corner interview series I started with Age of Empathy.
After a long hiatus, I’ve recruited a stunning crew for summer interviews.
Charles Amemiya discusses technical writing in his interview. See if it’s something you could be good at, too.
I’ve been asking the inimitable, amazing Sarah Paris to participate in Creative Corner for years.
I’m 2023, she said yes.
This interview is wise, funny, and inspiring.
PS. If you’ve never read Sarah’s fiction, go find it. “The Coin” is how I discovered her and I was hooked.
In April 2022 I began a new modality of therapy for me with a new counselor. It’s rooted in learning about trauma and managing symptoms and relearning interactions.
It’s like a college course I’m some ways. There’s been a lot of reading. I’ve worked my tushy off and it’s worth it.
This personal essay weaves together my love for plants and my new insights about trauma.
&
ICYMI
Aimée Brown Gramblin. is practically a superspy because that’s basically what writers are, right? She dabbles in nonfiction articles, emits poetry, and lives her life as a WIP memoirist. She sometimes dabbles in pop culture musings.
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