Shenaneries | August 2024

Letter from the editor

Things don’t always go as planned. And that’s exactly what happened this month toward the end.

I had all kinds of things to talk about, but that all came to a crashing halt when I tried a new piece of software. Looking back it all seems to good to be true. Affinity Publisher and the two other pieces of software they have are on a 6 month trial basis. Which sounds great except for a bug.

This bug won’t allow me to save my file. And if I try to Save As, regardless of folder location, nothing happens. So Affinity Publisher is useless to me.

I was two days into creating the third issue of my newsletter when all of this occurred. So only a couple of things were really written down.

This issue is a testament to how frustrating life gets sometimes, and how we persevere and move on. There’s a couple of things in this issue, one of which is a short non-fiction story recounting a film gig that took up three weekends of my life.

The act of creation is sometimes fickle. Other times it’s generous as hell. I’ll have another issue next month, with some writing advice and other things carried over. Until then, please enjoy a thin version of this one.

Shenaneries | July 2024

Welcome to Issue 2 of Shenaneries!

I have more this month to offer. But if all you want is to read and see what else I’ve cobbled together, the newsletter is below. Otherwise, see what else I have below.

In the rest of the blog post I have: a copy of my newsletter, a first draft (be warned) of a short film screenplay, a couple of experimental videos, and credits.

I’ve been working on this script for a little while now. It’s something I developed earlier this year. I should really start talking about it in a future issue, but right now the big idea is that it focuses on grief. First drafts have always been a source of anxiety for me for many reasons. But I’m putting my work out there day one now. There’s no better way to become a better writer than to ask for feedback – though as you know from the newsletter, I’m trying to be more specific now.

Grief, a short film | version 1.0

One of two videos in this little experiment. Nothing too exciting this time around. But maybe next time...

credits

In the newsletter I mention several people. But I cannot provide links within the PDF (not yet, anyway). So below is the list of people who provided ideas or photos.

Maggie Stiefvater, writer | website

Vanessa Parham | Instagram

Percival Kish, writer | coined the term Character Blender

Shenaneries | June 2024

Greetings!

Thank you for taking a chance with this new idea of mine.

I am an aspiring writer who is trying to get their name and work out into the world. I have seen many newsletters, and personally stick with the ones that have variety. That's what this one intends to do.

Here are the expectations I hope to set:

* The first issue gives an introduction to the world that most of my stories will inhabit. Updates will follow each subsequent issue.

* My updates will be surrounded by other personal works; poetry, short stories, comics, doodles, photography. We're going for zine vibes.

* Dissections of books and other forms of entertainment. If I'm going to become a better writer, I need to know how other writers and influences do their craft well.

In this overly minimalistic world, we ought to celebrate the works-in-progress, the corrections, and the down right silly stuff we come up with while creating works of art.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and the newsletter itself. You are the start of an amazing community of readers and thinkers. Now go and enjoy the craziness!

--Josie Sweeney