#PennedPossibilities 851 — MC POV: Is there a secret spot you like to retreat to? If there is, why that spot?

First there was the ocean, then the woods, and now there is a disused subway tunnel with a pile of bodies stacked like cordwood.

#ScribesAndMakers Nov 16: How would you describe your creative process to an alien?

Despite the whole bent of Earth society being laser focused around productivity and profit, some of us do the opposite of that.

#writersCoffeeClub 11/10: What have you recently learned which will have a big impact on your work?

While octopus are solitary by nature they will hunt in a symbiotic relationship with fish. If the fish fail to signal to the octopus that there's prey in the area, the octopus will punch them. Some species of fish get punched more than others.

How does this relate to my writing or life? Fucked if I know but I'll find a way.

I’m seeking more submissions for my next zine—“Our Dreams Don’t Fit in Ballot Boxes: Anarchist Examples of Encouraging Liberals to Break Free”

Length: 80 to 250 words
Due: By or before Tues, Nov 11
Email: cbmilstein {at} yahoo

Send me your anecdotes of how we anarchists hold out welcoming hands to liberals to aid them in breaking free from their statist boxes; how we make anarchism a “beautiful idea” for liberals to embrace; and/or how we work with and around liberals without abandoning or watering down our ethics (or pulling our hair out)! I’m eager for stories of actual examples—things you’ve done and/or seen that even in a small way, actually worked to win some liberal(s) heart and mind over to anarchistic practices, projects, and values. Because we not only need more antifascists, we need ones who’re opposed to hierarchy and domination in general—and striving for liberation and freedom for all by acting now as if we’re already free.

To inspire you, here’s an except from a piece I’m using in the zine:

“I run @little_folx, a tiny day care in my home and ongoing experiment in anarchist parenting. Most of my audience is liberal moms in Portland, Oregon, so my posts have to move softly enough to slip in but still hold sharp truth. Parenting taught me that autonomy and consent cannot be preached, only lived. You cannot force a child or an adult into liberation. You can only hold space for their questions and trust that curiosity will do its slow work.” (Krystal Lawhead)

“My advice to anarchists working with liberals: remind them of recent history. While the liberals I’m working with on ICE resistance are well-intentioned, some of them still maintain the hope that we can collaborate with elements of the state to defeat ICE. As a way of countering this impulse, myself and my comrades often talk to them about the police brutality that we witnessed during the George Floyd uprising. This has been an especially successful tactic when training rapid responders; participants say that our willingness to educate about history has helped them to better understand why opposition to policing is so important. (mj)

(photo: sticker outside @bibliocafestekilazone)

#PennedPossibilities 833 — MC POV: Why does your journey matter to you personally?

End of the world, end of the month, same struggle.

#PennedPossibilities 830 — Have you ever created a SC that you later wished was the MC?

I really hope that they all *could* be. In a lot of cases, most notably Lucy and [SPOILER] in the third book, SCs get promoted to MCs as MCs leave the narrative. In my head each one has their own story that they're the centre of.