Hello. This is Barbara.

In case you are a fellow writer that has taken a class on Skillshare or Udemy and missed the emails:

Hello, Writing Friends!  This is a friendly reminder to sign up for the LIVE Q&A on Sunday!  The Q&A will be held at 2p Central Standard Time and will work a lot like an Instagram Live and Reddit had a baby.

You will be able to see me and I will be able to answer your questions in real-time.  Also, you will have the opportunity to vote up questions that have been submitted by your fellow writers!

Click the Link to Join – https://www.crowdcast.io/e/ds13n1c9

I do hope to see you all there!

a documentary recommendation

While I am not vegan or vegetarian, I found this documentary fascinating and encouraging.

After roughly six months of avoiding fiction, I dove back into the mix with this book.

1) I love Margaret Atwood.

2) I am not entirely sure how I feel about this book.

I feel like The Handmaid’s Tale was necessary whereas this book felt like piling on. Tragedy porn.

The Handmaid’s Tale left a permanent mark on me as a reader, an activist and as feminist.

This one just made me feel sad and sick at times.

To be fair, it might be because of timing. I read The Handmaid’s Tale when the temperature of the country (United States of America) was different.

I do recommend you read it for yourself. After discussing this book with several friends, I have found that those who watch the television show really enjoy the book, and those who have not watched the show (this includes me) feel the book was not really needed to continue the story.

*On October 30th, I returned this book to my friend and decided to not finish it.

Weblog – The homefront. This website. I blog here about things and stuff.

Facebook – Have a page, but I do little more than sharing my Instagram posts on there. I do not hang out here at this time.

Instagram – Daily use. Videos in the stories section about whatever. Daily coffee mug. This is my favorite social media platform as a former professional photographer, I like pretty pictures, and I like keeping a chaotic uncurated feed.

Twitter – Links only. Links to Goodreads. Links to long-form articles I’ve written. Links to interviews I’ve done, etc. Links, links, links. Like the Facebook page, this is a place to just share things. I do not hang out here at this time.

Medium – Longer form, less casual blogs and articles here. I have publications on Medium to curate information about health and wellness, step-parenting, and more. Oddly, I just realized, I do not have a writing publication on Medium. Weird? But, Medium has a less casual vibe than this personal weblog.

I just checked my student count on Skillshare, and saw this!

I said to myself out loud, “Whoa dang!”

Thank you, all, for signing up and taking the classes! I do hope that if you are taking the classes and enjoying them, that you will share pictures of your writing sessions on Social Media, and tag me! I would love to see what you’re working on.

I also hope that my classes give you the space to try new things and to suck.

You have to write the crappy thing. The good news is that after you get the crappy thing out of your head, it leaves room for the really good stuff.

I wish you all the best of luck in your writing endeavors. I believe in you!

The title of this post is directly related to the theme song. Enjoy!

Here is a short list of Nashville artists that are available for freelance and contract work.

“But, Barbara,” you might be thinking, “why are you sharing this list on your personal blog? Is this affiliate scheme?”

No, dear reader. I just happen to find myself abundant in connections lately, and I wanted to share. So, here’s the list:

https://www.bobbyspencerart.com/ – graphic design and illustration

https://www.hannahlopez.work/ – graphic design and photography

https://www.duncanragsdale.com/ – illustration and set design

The preorder is live, friends!

Click the cover to reserve your copy of the ebook novelette for $0.99!

I’m running my novelette through Grammarly and am having some humans put their eyes on the ARC (advanced reader copy), but it is done.

I feel relieved and sad all at once.

There is a thing happens after each book or story that is going to be released into the wild. I call it completion funk.

Completion funk is the feeling of loss you get after you finish a project. It is also a feeling of not-good-enoughness and why-botherness.

The logical side of your brain will say, “Hey, buddy! You’ve done a great job! This is wonderful! Now, enjoy yourself, and then pick a new project!”

The other side of you that is more heart than head will say, “No one noticed you finished. No balloons. No party. No one will ever know how hard this was for you, and it isn’t even your best work.”

The fact is that it is awesome that you finished a thing, and no one will ever know how hard it was for you no matter how well the finished product turns out. This is the nature of creating.

It is a rollercoaster of emotion, but at the end of the day, you will be a finisher of things. That feels good no matter the completion funk.

This is the novelette that I have been working on. Soon, it will be available to all of you!

If this whole cover reveal thing makes no sense to you, click here: https://www.hellothisisbarbara.com/post/the-edits-are-complete