Lana C. Marilyn
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cinniie.bsky.social
Lana C. Marilyn
@cinniie.bsky.social
Fairy Princess. Poet. Makeup Enthusiast. Recreational crier. 🏴‍☠️🏳️‍🌈🇻🇨

cinncerely.me
I feel so good in writing workshops. I might be the youngest person in the conference, and the 2nd black women, the only POC. But during critiques, I feel so invigorated, being able to confidently say, here’s what I think is working and why and what to consider if you do or don’t change XYZ.
October 7, 2023 at 10:12 PM
I’m proud to be so keen on investing in myself & my work. I’ve spring thousands of dollars on craft via writing workshops and consultations to get real comments and real notes. I feel good about my poetry. I feel optimistic about its reach and its resonance. I just have to keep editing & submitting.
October 7, 2023 at 10:05 PM
summary of my poetry manuscript: “A speculative collection of portraits of haunted girls coming of age in the digital age.”

I feel like that offers enough to be enticing. I love my book, and I want to perfect it and release it into the world and write more Haunted and beautiful things.
October 7, 2023 at 10:02 PM
participating in a poetry conference this weekend and feeling like I’m on the right track in some aspects! Ofc not all, but when asked what my book’s about, my peers are still thinking through their one-liners yet I already have mine ready and it was complimented today! that made me feel good.
October 7, 2023 at 9:59 PM
Reposted by Lana C. Marilyn
i’m not procrastinating i’m microworking
September 21, 2023 at 6:22 PM
about my MFA aspirations: I don’t wanna quit my job to do a fully funded program. doesn’t feel like an ideal career move. and so many articles discourage the high tuition costs, & low res options aren’t much cheaper. I’ve decided if I do it, I’ll attend a CUNY.
September 12, 2023 at 3:14 PM
Even just asking for help is useful, because it requires me to name WHY I don’t think my poem is working. “The beginning and ending feel good to me but the voltas don’t take us from A to B in a way that has the emotional punch I’m aiming for” is a great insight to have for guiding my revisions.
September 12, 2023 at 2:04 PM
The count of “poems I’m having doubts about” went up from 6 to 8, but last night I sent a batch of three to a lit mag offering paid critiques, and will probably send another 3 today, just in hopes of getting feedback I can incorporate at the end of the month for the first few rounds of subs.
September 12, 2023 at 2:01 PM
i wish Halloween cards were a thing lol. it’d be so fun to make spooky cards but ppl don’t give cards for that holiday so it’s not a big market 🎃
September 12, 2023 at 2:57 AM
another money thought: I’m thinking a lot about having more income. Last year i won a grant (more like a lottery tbh) that gives me free money every month for 18mos. It’s ending soon, but those extra funds were a huge help this past year. I want to maintain having that extra $$ every month.
September 12, 2023 at 2:51 AM
today i have been thinking a lot about money. one of my big goals is about learning to be more financially responsible and having $$$ stability. what this looks like for me in a practical sense: learning how to save, curbing careless spending, improving my credit, reducing my debt.
September 11, 2023 at 9:45 PM
i like using this account to talk out loud (to no one in particular) about my goals. it's not anonymous, but the readership here is low, so it's quiet, and that works for me. i could tweet these thoughts, and sometimes i do cross-post, but it works for me and how i think
September 11, 2023 at 9:44 PM
however. I’m thinking of maybe making a batch of cards? I need to keep up with calls for little art markets so I can apply to vend and build up inventory. For example, if i made 25 handmade cards and sold each for $15, i could pay half the reading fees.
September 10, 2023 at 1:48 AM
I’m going to a very special concert tomorrow. I’m a little sad that I won’t get to feel like I’m fully at my prettiest for the occasion
September 10, 2023 at 1:45 AM
the total of just reading fees ahead of me is about $600. The manuscript consultations I’m interested in are like $300 each on average. the conference I registered for is like $1.7k — I really need to take on a side hustle to support my writing lol
September 10, 2023 at 1:44 AM
okay the tally for cool potential places to submit to is at like 100. Going to try to force myself to apply to all of them, even the ones that I marked as low priority (aka not necessarily my big interests)
September 10, 2023 at 1:41 AM
i identified like 90 writing opportunities I’m eligible for, and my goal is to try to apply to as many as i can (if not all) by the end of the year. I’m looking to have my poems placed in more lit mags. and I’m excited too about the writing conference next month.
September 8, 2023 at 5:12 PM
i applied for a writing conference that i think will be very beneficial to my goals, but the fee is very steep. emailed to ask about...installments/aid. will see if anything positive comes out of that
September 6, 2023 at 6:17 PM
i have a poem forthcoming in the horror poetry anthology, "Under Her Eye" (Black Spot Books, Nov 2023). Proceeds go towards The Pixel Project, a global non-profit organization focused on ending violence against women globally. www.thepixelproject.net/2023/05/16/a...
September 6, 2023 at 1:10 AM
i had a poem published in Maya's Micros from The Closed Eye Open (batch 42, oct 2022). this poem is titled, "the archive is holy" #poetry #poetrycommunity theclosedeyeopen.com/mayas-micros...
September 6, 2023 at 12:54 AM
my poem, "the m, the M, the mmmm" was published by Corvid Queen in May: corvidqueen.com/stories/the-...
September 6, 2023 at 12:49 AM
oh you know, i'll do a mini thread of my published poetry (i should mimic this on Twitter too actually)
September 6, 2023 at 12:38 AM
i really enjoy sharing my publishing journey. i have been refining my goals heavily for my book, and i'm buckling down in regards to what my key milestones are for the manuscript
September 6, 2023 at 12:26 AM
that’s the thing I like about dresses. they are actually THE laziest article of clothing (along with all one-piece outfits) but they give the illusion of effort and style every time. and that’s why they’re my preferred thing to wear. 😌
September 4, 2023 at 2:18 AM
Reposted by Lana C. Marilyn
The diaspora in particular heavily rely on social media to stay connected and most importantly informed. When civil unrest is happening back home we are organizing fundraising, protests, helping those on the ground communicate and get resources. Without it we are cut off and everyone suffers.
People who are "at peace" with the destruction of these major social media platforms have the privilege of not relying on them for socialization and community. So many of us disabled folks (and other marginalized people) will be truly isolated if we lose these platforms. And they don't care.
September 3, 2023 at 8:26 PM