For the past week, Haley Muench and I were put in charge (yikes) of the @LitCitizen twitter account.

Running social media for myself is one thing. Running a Twitter account for a broad concept which has a strong community is quite another. We needed a plan. We needed to figure out what the community wanted to know about, what they wanted to know from us.

Have you ever tried to figure out what people you haven’t even met want from you? It’s some pretty difficult stuff.

Then, we thought of Acts of Literary Citizenship. These are actions that people can take to show their dedication and passion for the literary world. After all, what good is a passion for something if it isn’t shared?

As our professor, Cathy Day‘s, class has evolved,  a list of about 40 Literary Citizenship Acts were already compiled. We added about 10 more due to…

Sometimes a Lighthouse craft experience shows its great value after a bit of time has passed. Lauren Groff brought a lot of game to the Lighthouse Grotto last month. Since her visit, my writerly engines have put-putted along on the fuel of inspiration and literary compassion she emanated.

I had intended to use two blog posts to cover the goodness that flowed from the Groff Fly-By Writers’ weekend. I thought I would try to pluck several activities and gems from her two craft tribunals, Narrative Structure and the Art of Narrative Time to  provide practical advice and exercises for those Lighthouse members who weren’t able to attend the weekend. And then I let a lot of time pass after my first post, a hurried, enthusiastic summary of her teaching approach, the aura-stamp left on my notebook from her teacher vibe, if you will.

As I returned to my Groff notes…

A couple of weeks ago, I helped four of my classmates, along with our professor Cathy Day, plan an event called “What’s Next: Graduate School for Creative Writers.”

(You may have seen the poster I shared for it)
Cathy, myself, and my classmates Lindsey, Stephanie, Rachael, and Kayla worked together to get a group of Ball State University writing faculty sit on a panel and tell students about their experiences with going to grad school, the different types of graduate programs offered, and the different jobs available to you with these degrees. Sounds interesting, right? It was. The amount of information that the attendees walked away with was borderline overwhelming, in a good way. So what’s the problem? The amount of attendees! (The turnout was a bit disappointing.)

What did we do wrong? Well, I’m not entirely sure so let me tell you…

Last night, I had the privilege of hearing Aubrey Hirsch read from her debut story collection “Why We Never Talk About Sugar.”  The book is the second title published by Braddock Avenue Books, a small press here in Pittsburgh.  You should definitely check them out by clicking on their names!

The event was held at East End Book Exchange—a charming, cozy, unique used book store on Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield.  This is not a bookstore for the faint of literary-heart.  From the great art on the walls to the amazing stock of new and classic titles, EEBX will keep your adrenaline pumping as long as you’re within its walls.  (It’s a good thing they balance this out with mood lighting and a calming ambience, or I would’ve gone HAM and bought everything.)

After an introduction by Jeffrey Condran, one of BAB’s publishers, Hirsch made sure to wish everyone…