Welcome to my blog titled “Five Things” where you can expect just that - five random musings or reflections from the previous week or so. For a photo gallery of our life on the road, our pets, and miscellaneous things I find interesting, you can also follow me on Instagram @tabithalord.

So here are this week’s five things…

1. We are officially in Rhode Island for the summer! In some ways, it feels like we never left, and in others, I feel a little displaced. It’s home but not really home anymore, if that makes sense? Regardless, summer is in full swing here, and since it’s the Ocean State, I look forward to lazy days on the beach, barbecues with family and friends, music, concerts, and lots of laughter. I know time is going to fly, so I’m attempting to live in the moment, soak up the sunshine, and enjoy it all – just as soon as I get back from residency.

2. Residency is almost here! I’ve completed the rather daunting reading list, caught up on all my assignments, participated in the summer online classes and discussion boards, and I am finishing up the short story due in a few days. I’m really excited to meet my cohort in person and dive into the coursework more deeply. I’ll let you know how it goes.

3. One of the fun things about this grad school program is the discussion board conversations we’ve been having online. We recently had one on vulnerability, something I’ve blogged about many times in the past. I’ll share my small part of the conversation here as I think it’s relevant to all creative types.

   We are not our work, but creative work can feel more personal to us, closer to our hearts. Even when writing genre fiction to entertain our readers, there is still something of ourselves woven into it in a way that's different from other types of work. Layer onto this the fact that in the writing/publishing field there is a very real intersection between art and industry, and that space can be uncomfortable. I've learned I need to behave differently, and think about what I'm doing differently, when I'm creating vs. when I'm working on the business side of things. When I'm writing, I do so with discipline but also with the heart of an artist. I am creating. It's my process. It's my art. I want it to be the best it can be, but I am not thinking about my agent, the publishing house, the current trends, marketing, promo etc. Not yet. But I will think about those things, and I will have to shift my mindset. Rejection is part of the process. Bad sales are an opportunity to learn more about the market. A bad review might have a nugget of truth worth thinking about, or it might be an opportunity to remember my work isn't for everyone. It's always a choice to take things personally, to be upset, angry, frustrated when things don't go as we'd hoped, but it's also a choice to show up and do the work professionally, to be open to learning, and to keep creating.

4. The short story I’m working on is a creepy horror piece. I don’t write a lot of horror but every once in a while the dark side of my brain latches onto an idea, and I can’t let it go. Sinking into that space is a little unnerving, but there’s also something very satisfying about writing outside my comfort zone. I have to share this piece at residency, and I honestly don’t know how it will be received, but I do feel like it will be an opportunity for me to grow as a writer, and that’s the whole point of my new endeavor.

5. "We may never be strong enough to be entirely nonviolent in thought, word, and deed. But we must keep nonviolence as our goal and make strong progress towards it." - Mahatma Gandhi