Pat Murphy

I want to edit while my partner watches TV. I put on my headphones and pull up my Spotify Writing playlist and let the music drown out the news. My partner immediately starts talking to recap the anchors to make sure I don't miss anything.
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It's a small publisher, but traditional.

You send out a query package, praying a publisher will ask for the full manuscript. And when that day finally comes it's sooooooo hard to open the story for one more readthrough before letting it go.
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Just as I was preparing to start my second Space Aces adventure I received a note from the lobby that I had a package. I was thrilled to find my hard copy of the game and Galaxy cards, along with a special extra surprise.
#solorpg
#solottrpg

Decided to do a hair reset. Clippers across the whole scalp. We'll see how it comes back.

Coffee. Start with coffee. Repeat as needed.

My partner just called me a bitter old man, which makes me feel a little proud. Kind of like if Alan Turing asked for my help with the daily Wordle.
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Congratulations!

I want to tack these wise words from L.M. Montgomery up on the wall above my desk:
"Although ambitions are well worth having, they are not to be cheaply won, but exact their dues of work and self-denial, anxiety and discouragement."
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#IAmWriting

Have you ever written something that explores an experience that was so personal, so protected, that when you finished you feared it was the underlying source of all your creativity and now it's gone?
#IAmWriting
#booksky
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The dog is walked, vacuuming is completed, plants are repotted. I am getting dangerously close to running out of excuses to keep me from writing.
#IAmWriting
#booksky
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#Authorsky

Oddly, second and third revisions are my favorite parts of writing. That's when I add color and flavor, and when I discover unintentional foreshadowing.

We decided to take a short trip into the city this morning. I hope the new issue of Oh Reader is on the display at @barnesandnoble.com

Does anyone else use solo or journaling RPG as a writing warmup exercise?
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Milestone time! I've reached 75% in reading Anna Karenina. With all of Tolstoy's switching to French I am so glad to be reading on my Kindle for easy translation.

I've come to terms with using being a victim of SA in my writing. Yes, it might embarrass my abuser in my hometown, but why should I be the only one to be ashamed of it?
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I am obsessed with this line from "The Age of Innocence":

She said the words "my husband" as if no sinister associations were connected with them, and in a tone that seemed almost to sigh over the lost delights of her married life.

Oh for God's sake, put me out of my misery. One email is all I ask.
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#AmWriting
#WritingCommunity

Have you ever read something so good, so engaging, so unrelentingly engrossing that it just pisses you off you aren't writing?
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@thebobthedragqueen.bsky.social

I'm working on a piece I've had kicking around in my brain for the past two months. I thought after that many mental drafts it would be an easy essay. My assay was in error.
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My cathartic auto-fiction novel about adult survivors of SA is out seeking an agent, so while I wait I'm working on a fun, non-introspective, absolutely angst-free novel. My partner appreciates the improved mood.
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As a proponent of the pomodoro method, this made me laugh.
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I took a week off from writing fiction to write a little solo board game for myself. It's been a fun distraction, but it's time to get back to fiction.
#Authorsky
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#SoloGaming

I've noticed that for several hours after submitting a story for consideration, I am just as exhilarated as I was when I stood at the edge of the Cliffs of Moher.
#Authorsky
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A better ending for a short story I thought was finished came to me in a dream. Now I get to go back and remove the foreshadowing that no longer fits, and add in details to hint at the new ending. I think the solution is to stop sleeping.
#Authorsky
#AmWriting
#WritingCommunity

All the luck! I'm currently reading your story, Mandatory Dreaming, in f(r)iction magazine and cannot wait to read more from you

Writing is like performing a reverse dissection. First draft I lay out the skeleton of my story. Second draft I add connecting tendons and muscle. In subsequent drafts I put on the skin to hold the whole thing together. Finally, some clothes to dress it up.
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There's nothing quite like dreaming of writing prompts to get you out of bed in the morning.
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Trying to work and I felt the pressure of being watched.
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Writers, how strictly do you adhere to the "70,000 word" rule?
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