#0048: Schedules + Routines = Stability
Some pretty nifty ways to shift gears this time of year
Do you hear the squeak of pens on whiteboards? Smell the rubber eraser aroma? Feel a certain excitement (lots of parents) or dread (some teens) in the air? At this time of year, kiddos return to school along with their K–12 teachers as well as professors and adjuncts to colleges and universities.
Schooltime schedules and regular routines return, which brings stability. And when we feel stable, we can shift gears, perhaps take on new challenges.
I’d like to share three ways Inlandia has been gearing up for September and beyond.
These are (potentially new) gifts for you, dear reader!
Inlandia’s Fall Workshops
When you want to embrace rejection, you’ve got to start. Creating, that is.1
Come find your writing community with Inlandia. This fall, you have so many opportunities:
Honoring Our Ancestors with James Coats
Writing for Children with José Chávez
Micro Memoir with David Puma (in Riverside)
All Genres Workshop with Victoria Waddle (for intermediate/advanced levels)
How to Get Started Writing When You Don’t Know Where to Start with Renee Gurley
The Art and Craft of Writing Poetry with Romaine Washington
Writing and Presenting Poetry in American Sign Language with Ryan Fingerle (community enrichment workshop)
Celena’s Scribes with Wil Clarke (community enrichment workshop)
Most workshops are online and for all levels, except where noted, and cost $50 per workshop. The community enrichment workshops are free.
More details about the classes are available on the Inlandia Institute website, including a link to register. But hurry — workshops start meeting September 9th.
Year 2 of Inlandia’s 100 Rejections Club
After sharing the origins of the club last week (#0047), here’s a look ahead to a second year of Inlandia’s 100 Rejections Club.2
Let’s continue meetups! I’ve drafted a google form survey to ascertain best times for weekly zoom meetups through the end of 2024. Potential one-hour meetups need to be fitted around the fall workshops as well as calendared Institute virtual meetings (this is where Cati flexes her executive director brain). The survey will go out to members probably in early September.
Duotrope tutorials? Yes, please. We intend to collect examples (stories, poems, essays, artwork, etc.) from members to use during a shared-screen deep dive into how to navigate Duotrope, find the best places to submit each piece, and keep track of submissions. Lots of time for Q&A!
Submit-a-thons? Inspired by the Women Who Submit organization, we want to set aside time to focus on submitting our work. The concept is to submit as much work to as many places as we can on a Saturday morning (or whenever — I foresee making another google form).
Guest speakers? Based on the Bay Area Romance Writers club monthly speaker series, we’d like to invite our members to talk about their expertise to the rest of the club. Landed a literary agent? Tell us what you did right (and wrong) along the way. Know how to research a historical figure? Share the ins and outs of archives and online tools. Etc., etc., etc.
Matchmaking? Say what? We’re wondering if members are In Search Of…
someone to collaborate with on a project
another writer in the same genre to swap manuscripts with
a partner to hold each other accountable
a mentor-mentee relationship
These are just a handful of notions from one brainstorming session. Join Inlandia’s 100 Rejections Club to find out what more might be in store for Year 2.
Fall 2024 Issue of Inlandia: A Literary Journey
As managing editor of Inlandia’s online journal, I have the privilege of working with folks dedicated to supporting a creative community of poets, writers, and artists. Right now, I’m specifically thinking about (and emailing with) the people who will review and evaluate submissions to the fall issue. This year, six have chosen to return for another adventure —THANKS! — and I’ve recruited (with help from members of Inlandia’s Publications Committee) almost as many new screeners to join the FUN.
The call for submissions guidelines is ready for release on Submittable September 1, and the freelance designer has already nearly finished the graphic.3
Submissions are free, and I do hope you’ll take the opportunity to share your creative self-expressions. You know what I’m going to say next…
Embrace Rejection! It shows you’re trying!
Between drafting a google form to help figure out best times for Inlandia’s 100 Rejections Club weekly zoom meetups and revising journal guidelines for screeners and submissions, I’ve definitely gone from 2nd into 3rd. (Does anybody still drive a stick?! Do Gen Zers even know about manual transmissions?4)
At this time of year, how are you shifting gears?
Next time: September brings…
This is a free newsletter about reframing rejection when trying to get creative self-expression out into the world, not a faux self-help rag written by a nobody pretending at understanding psychotherapeutic nuances.
Assuming enough members want to continue to support the club. <insert joke here about not wanting to be part of a club that would have me as a member>
Sharp-eyed readers will notice an erroneous second forward slash in the middle of the embedded url. Please use the link connected to the words “take the opportunity to share,” which will magically transport you to Inlandia’s Submittable page. Thanks!
Confession: I never got the hang of stick shifting. And maybe I should say Generation Alpha (McCrindle) rather than Gen Z (Pew Research Center)? My kiddo could be either depending on who you read.
So happy to see these Inlandia shoutouts!