Author: RachelABrune
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New Chautauqua blues…
Okay, so there’s not really any blues, but since I’ve got the blues on my mind what with this NaNoWriMo thing going on. But I wanted to take a break from our scheduled programming to share this with you: The New Chautauqua My dad, Chris Brune, hosts these one-man shows irregularly, usually for a charitable…
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And we’re off…
Today begins the first day of the month of November, being namely the Feast of All Saints in the Roman Catholic church. The new chaplain said mass, and the members of the choir sang and played. It was an exercise in improvisation, given that I wasn’t able to make it to rehearsal on Wednesday due…
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Short Story Out! (Phew…)
First, the announcement! My short story, “Shadow Pool,” is finally up and out into the world. Issue 2 of Imaginarium, the spec lit mag of UC Berkeley, is currently available. And, bonus, right now both Issue 1 and Issue 2 are available for free. There is some poetry, some artwork, and of course, short…
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Plot vs. Pants, or, Handing Back My Plot Card
It was at one of the first writers’ group meetings I attended in Fayetteville when my soon-to-be friend, writing buddy, and future woman-who-gives-me-good-advice Suze fixed me with her steely gaze of inquiry and asked in her formidable British accent: “So, what are you – plotter or pantser?” Okay, so the “steely” and “formidable” part may…
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There’s nothing like a migraine…
…to scatter all my concentration to the wind and make me wish that my favorite things to do didn’t involve looking at screens or pages or anything other than closing my eyes and laying down in a darkened room. But, since I’m a glutton for punishment, I actually managed to get things done today. Even…
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Thoughts on the “Strong Woman Character”™
Lately I’ve been thinking about this strange bird, the “Strong Woman Character”™. As November approaches, various conversations regarding characters, and sometimes in particular, the Strong Woman Character (hereafter known as the SWC), arise in the fora devoted to NaNoWriMo. Who writes SWCs? What comprises an SWC? What are the advantages of including one? Do you have to…
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Random thoughts…
It’s been a while since I’ve put something up here on the old bloggeroo. There’s no particular reason for the radio silence; mostly, I’ve been preoccupied with finishing up my Criminal Justice class, editing/formatting the anthology I’m working on, catching up on my reading, starting a new workout schedule (which is code for starting to…
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A Conversation with Marrus…
I first remember meeting Marrus a while back, when I was going to college at NYU, trying to convince myself that I hadn’t made a big mistake switching out my “safe” major for a creative-focused course of study that was almost guaranteed to grant me a life of artistic poverty. I met her through some…
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Coming Soon – A Conversation with Marrus
Giving everyone the heads up. My next guest shall be the fabulous Marrus, she of the amazing art and stories, who lives in the house she and her partner, Jay, built from the ground up, who paints fantastic creatures that spring from daymares and nightdreams, who keeps turning those pictures in her head into a…
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Thoughts on Teaching
I have many friends who are teachers. My mother is a teacher. My family and friends teach. It seems that all my life, I have heard stories of teaching, been inspired by teachers, and thought that I, too, might someday want to try my hand at this mysterious art. So I did! After I got…
Rachel A. Brune 