Andrew Careaga (writer)
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andrewcareaga.bsky.social
Andrew Careaga (writer)
@andrewcareaga.bsky.social
520 followers 600 following 320 posts
Writer of fiction and creative (?) nonfiction. Pocho. Half-assed guitarist. Retired #highered marketing/PR guy (Missouri S&T). Writing about writing and my WIPs at andrewcareaga.com. No DMs. #writingcommunity
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andrewcareaga.bsky.social
Andrew Careaga (writer) @andrewcareaga.bsky.social · Jul 4
What better day to declare my independence as a writer? andrewcareaga.com/2025/07/04/a...
A writer’s declaration of independence
‘I hold these truths to be self-evident…’
andrewcareaga.com
Reposted by Andrew Careaga (writer)
fbihop.press
The feds almost deported a citizen who is a Native American. www.iowapublicradio.org/ipr-news/202...
Native American woman nearly deported after Polk County Jail issues ICE detainer by mistake
A Native American woman from Arizona was nearly deported by federal immigration officials after a clerical error at the Polk County Jail. The woman's family had to scramble to prove she was Indigenous...
www.iowapublicradio.org
November 14, 2025 at 9:58 PM
andrewcareaga.bsky.social
In today’s Friday Five: a look at five opening sentences from Pushcart award winners and why they work. Read “Grand Openings” here:

andrewcareaga.com/2025/11/14/f...
Friday Five: grand openings
How powerful first lines can draw your reader into your story.
andrewcareaga.com
November 14, 2025 at 12:19 PM
andrewcareaga.bsky.social
Today’s Friday Five has a Halloween 🎃 vibe:

Five ghastly, ghoulish gaffes that can haunt your writing

andrewcareaga.com/2025/10/31/f...
#WritingCommunity
Friday Five: ghastly, ghoulish gaffes that can haunt your writing
Don’t let these goblins creep into your writing.
andrewcareaga.com
October 31, 2025 at 12:08 PM
andrewcareaga.bsky.social
So, there's no more #NaNoWriMo, but that shouldn't stop you from drafting your novel in November, especially with the help of a new Substack called "First Draft November.” #WritingCommunity check it out! andrewcareaga.com/2025/10/28/n...
No more NaNoWriMo? No problem! Write that novel anyway
Introducing a new Substack to help you draft your novel in November
andrewcareaga.com
October 28, 2025 at 5:29 PM
andrewcareaga.bsky.social
Call me a luddite, but I'm growing more and more concerned by the way artificial intelligence is encroaching on the creative space. I wrote a quick blog post about some new research that pours gasoline on the glowing embers of my concerns. andrewcareaga.com/2025/10/23/h...
#WritingCommunity
Humans vs. AI: Who’s winning the content wars?
How to we writers battle the AI machine?
andrewcareaga.com
October 23, 2025 at 3:59 PM
andrewcareaga.bsky.social
Looking for some writing tips? Learn from one of the masters, Ray Bradbury (video).
andrewcareaga.com/2025/10/20/v...
#WritingCommunity #writingtips #writinghacks
Video: nine great writing tips from Ray Bradbury
I enjoyed this shortish (under-14-minute) video from the Bookfox channel on summarizing nine writing tips (or “hacks,” as Bookfox calls them, because everything is a hack these days) fr…
andrewcareaga.com
October 20, 2025 at 3:38 PM
andrewcareaga.bsky.social
Today’s Friday Five: a Q&A with poet @josehernandezdz.bsky.social! Check it out here: andrewcareaga.com/2025/10/17/f...
Friday Five: ‘Bad Mexican, Bad American’ author and poet Jose Hernandez Diaz
‘I think I always wanted to be a rockstar or musician growing up. Poetry was a way for me to be like a one-man band.’
andrewcareaga.com
October 17, 2025 at 12:37 PM
andrewcareaga.bsky.social
"Inspiration is for amateurs" -- or, why consistency is key
#WritingCommunity
andrewcareaga.com/2025/10/16/i...
‘Inspiration is for amateurs’
Why consistency, not inspiration, is the key to success
andrewcareaga.com
October 16, 2025 at 2:12 PM
andrewcareaga.bsky.social
The actual, full subject line from this email from The New Yorker is “Inside Trump’s Assault on Higher Education,” but this is how it appeared in my inbox. (Cue the Beavis and Butthead laugh track.)
October 15, 2025 at 10:19 PM
andrewcareaga.bsky.social
Kate Kinney's short story "A Fait Accompli" slayed me (in a good way). After reading it, I reached out to her to ask if she would chat with me for a Friday Five. She is the subject of today's post. andrewcareaga.com/2025/10/10/f...
#WritingCommunity
Friday Five: writer, educator, and Short Story Substack winner Kate Kinney
‘Although they are fiction, I want the stories to seem real, so I am very specific in describing actual places, and I hew closely to what I know.’
andrewcareaga.com
October 10, 2025 at 11:56 AM
andrewcareaga.bsky.social
Lots of ink spilled lately on this topic, so I thought I'd spill a bit more.
#literaryfction
#writingcommunity
andrewcareaga.com/2025/10/08/w...
What makes fiction literary?
How do we define a style that many see as elitist, pretentious, and irrelevant?
andrewcareaga.com
October 8, 2025 at 4:28 PM
andrewcareaga.bsky.social
For the past several months I've been volunteering as a first reader for a literary magazine. It's been a great experience so far. Here are a few things I've learned. andrewcareaga.com/2025/10/03/f...
#WritingCommunity #litmags
Friday Five: lessons from a lit mag first reader
What I’ve learned from the past six months of reading submissions for a literary magazine
andrewcareaga.com
October 3, 2025 at 11:35 AM
andrewcareaga.bsky.social
On this International Coffee Day, my quest for coffee-inspired stories yields not a latte
andrewcareaga.com/2025/10/01/m...
#shortstories
#fiction #writingcommunity
#ICD2025
My quest for coffee stories yields not a latte
On International Coffee Day, the scarcity of java-inspired stories continues to baffle me
andrewcareaga.com
October 1, 2025 at 4:09 PM
andrewcareaga.bsky.social
www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/...
Hard pass. Cold brew. Dad bod. Merriam-Webster adds over 5,000 words to 'Collegiate' dictionary.
The 12th edition of "Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary" will be released in November.
www.nbcnews.com
September 29, 2025 at 11:57 AM
andrewcareaga.bsky.social
Today's Friday Five: A Q&A with Melissa Flores Anderson, whose new short story collection, "All and Then None of You," is 🔥.
andrewcareaga.com/2025/09/26/f...
#WritingCommunity #HispanicHeritageMonth
Friday Five: Latiné writer Melissa Flores Anderson
‘Take chances in where you submit your writing and don’t count yourself out.’
andrewcareaga.com
September 26, 2025 at 11:14 AM
andrewcareaga.bsky.social
Some thoughts on verisimilitude (AKA keeping it real) with some examples from great stories.
andrewcareaga.com/2025/09/24/a...
#WritingCommunity
A boring realist’s thoughts on keeping it real
Why verisimilitude matters in all forms of fiction (with examples)
andrewcareaga.com
September 26, 2025 at 11:13 AM
andrewcareaga.bsky.social
Today’s Friday Five shines a spotlight on Gary Finnegan @finnegag.bsky.social — winner of the @frazzledlit.bsky.social short story award for 2025! Read more about Gary here: andrewcareaga.com/2025/09/19/f... #WritingCommunity
Friday Five: Frazzled Lit short story winner Gary Finnegan
‘I am trying to get over a bad habit of submitting every piece of fiction I write.’
andrewcareaga.com
September 19, 2025 at 12:10 PM
andrewcareaga.bsky.social
Yes.
caseystegman.com Casey Stegman @caseystegman.com · Sep 18
Freedom of speech. Forever and always. No matter who is in power.
September 18, 2025 at 12:30 PM
andrewcareaga.bsky.social
Hey, #writingcommunity. A couple of short stories by me made their way into @theargylelitmag.bsky.social’s recent “Gastronomy” issue. Check out “The Things My Father Used to Eat” and “The Things Our Mother Made Us Eat.” www.theargylelitmag.com/theme-04-gas...

www.theargylelitmag.com/theme-04-gas...
The Things My Father Used to Eat — The Argyle Literary Magazine
Fiction by Andrew Careaga “And now, I think, perhaps that was why he ate those strange organs with such vigor. Perhaps they were some curandero’s remedy, some potion, some magic to inoculate him fro...
www.theargylelitmag.com
September 16, 2025 at 10:34 PM
andrewcareaga.bsky.social
Happy #HispanicHeritageMonth, muchachos y muchachas! Here are some good reads for the month! andrewcareaga.com/2025/09/15/c... #WritingCommunity
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage: read Hispanic/Latinx writers
‘… culture shapes identity and defines possibility’ and ‘teaches us who we are, what to believe, and how to dream.’
andrewcareaga.com
September 15, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Reposted by Andrew Careaga (writer)
emilyrinkema.bsky.social
Thank you @andrewcareaga.bsky.social for this incredible opportunity and for such great questions!
September 12, 2025 at 7:36 PM
andrewcareaga.bsky.social
Today’s Friday Five: a Q&A with a wonderful “writer of short things” and recent @frazzledlit.bsky.social third-place winner, @emilyrinkema.bsky.social
#WritingCommunity

andrewcareaga.com/2025/09/12/f...
Friday Five: ‘writer of short things’ Emily Rinkema
‘I love everything about flash fiction, as a reader and as a writer.’
andrewcareaga.com
September 12, 2025 at 11:52 AM
andrewcareaga.bsky.social
Something I wrote last year in remembrance of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the Twin Towers. Never forget. #911Anniversary #WritingCommunity

andrewcareaga.com/2024/09/11/w...
Windows on the World
This morning, on the twenty-third anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, I reflected on my one and only visit to Windows on the World, the restaurant located at the top of the North Tower of th…
andrewcareaga.com
September 11, 2025 at 1:19 PM
andrewcareaga.bsky.social
My latest Goodwill find: 50 short stories by some powerhouse writers for $3.99 #shortstories #amreading #booksky #writingcommunity
September 9, 2025 at 1:36 PM
andrewcareaga.bsky.social
"Write first, edit later" is popular advice for writers. But does it work for you? My thoughts on toggling between writing and editing while in the zone. I call it "wrediting." Catchy, no? andrewcareaga.com/2025/09/04/o...
#WritingCommunity #writinginspiration #writing #amwriting
On ‘wrediting’
‘Write first, edit later’ is common advice. But how does it work in the real world?
andrewcareaga.com
September 8, 2025 at 3:33 PM