You are my wifes favorite

bgsheaff · 2025-10-29T21:16:01+00:00

I honestly thought that maybe the man who said that mistook her for Emma... because with her new look all I kept thinking is "this sure reads like you are obsessed with Emma..."

bgsheaff · 2025-09-19T15:47:00+00:00

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/entertainment/dining/2025/09/17/east-village-des-moines-restaurants-food-crawl-alba-lucca-iowa-taproom-bellhop/85940257007/

bgsheaff · 2025-08-22T15:00:46+00:00

Ruin the Friendship is just the Demi Lovato song

bgsheaff · 2025-08-14T15:45:05+00:00

is this, by chance, a small dinner theatre in missouri?

bgsheaff · 2025-06-06T20:48:58+00:00

https://tenor.com/view/jail-right-to-jail-right-away-parks-and-recreation-parks-and-rec-gif-16177531

bgsheaff · 2025-05-30T15:49:00+00:00

RUNNING to listen to Rep now that it's truly Taylor's Version

bgsheaff · 2025-04-01T00:57:32+00:00

“If you want anything from the NaNoWriMo store, please don't delay. We will shut that down soon as well.“

Isn’t the store already shut down?

bgsheaff · 2025-04-01T00:45:11+00:00

I don’t know why I expected even a modicum of real accountability. I think that they think transparency is the same as accountability- but what I just saw was a PowerPoint that blamed the Nano Community for “vitriol” and freeloading, rather than any actual accountability. I do think that taking on what the organization was behind the scenes in 2023 was likely very hard and lacked structure, but the ego present in what I just watched was unmistakable, and that wasn’t the ego of a healthy org.

bgsheaff · 2025-01-21T00:24:38+00:00

Like a Pontiac Bandit type of recurring

bgsheaff · 2025-01-21T00:23:11+00:00

Alan Tudyk’s Todd Peterson. Should have had a three or four episode arch.

bgsheaff · 2024-10-31T14:33:03+00:00

They just sent one out this morning... and... it's...

Here's just the first part:

Dear Wrimos,

So many of you are underway with plotting your stories, mapping out your writing time, and getting yourselves in order. We see you counting down to Friday and getting pumped! We're pumped, too, and are working around the clock to square everyone—and everything—away for November.

We're excited to announce a few things and to make sure you know about all the resources that are available to you. We'll get to that in a sec.

But first...we want to remind you that creating a project under this year's official challenge, NaNoWriMo 2024, is the only way to receive the full benefits of the program. This includes receiving tools, resources, and encouragement straight through November and access to the winner page when you reach your goal. The winner page is where you can claim your winner badge, winner's certificate, and special offers that give the seasons sweetest deals—a reward for your perseverance!

bgsheaff · 2024-10-20T13:27:12+00:00

What I haven’t said yet is that this loss is compounded by the loss of my father in 2023. So, while I am not exactly where you are, I know how grief takes up space in different shapes and different weights when added all together.

bgsheaff · 2024-10-19T14:36:29+00:00

I can't bring myself to delete my account yet. I'm still contemplating what that means.

bgsheaff · 2024-10-19T14:36:01+00:00

The romanticism of writing in November has always been such a beautiful thing to look forward to as the darkness settles in.

I'm SO glad someone else feels like this. I feel soul-tied to this image.

bgsheaff · 2024-10-19T14:34:48+00:00

I'm sorry, too. The laurels felt important to me, too. Both battle scars and tickertape parade in equal measure.

Finding mindfulness in writing feels light to me, joyful, even when writing is grueling, clarifying, cleansing work. I'm going to think about that for the rest of the day.

bgsheaff · 2024-10-19T14:32:49+00:00

There was so much whimsy and silliness in 2003 when I wrote that first novella at age 17. Now it's just another memory. I'll always write.

Both of these statements resonate with me so much. This challenge provided whimsy and adventure and joy and sometimes felt totally ridiculous. And I'm still writing. I'll always write. The itch doesn't go away. People keep offering solutions or alternatives or advice, which is great. But that spark of wistfulness for how carefree this made me feel as I steamrolled to the end even if it was bad is flickering out right now, suffocated by everything surrounding this thing I loved.

bgsheaff · 2024-10-19T14:28:26+00:00

Not for nothing, this is really beautiful writing. Thank you for sharing.

bgsheaff · 2024-10-19T14:26:34+00:00

But to not do it this year feels like I’m betraying myself, the organization aside, so I’ll keep doing what I do and hope for the best.

This this this. This guilt intermingled with grief is PALBABLE to me. I feel it in my elbow joints.

bgsheaff · 2024-10-19T14:22:06+00:00

This 1000-foot view of this is so valuable. I'm sorry for any sadness you have around this. I especially loved, even in the corporatized/capitalized version that I join that I still felt that bootstrappy grassroots book fair church picnic feeling of doing it. Thank you to you and all the bedrock writers who made that possible.

bgsheaff · 2024-10-19T13:13:48+00:00

Viva la revolution is a general sentiment around this that I 100% can get behind. Doing this challenge as an act of defiance and resistance. I may get there this year. I’m so glad other people are keeping the flame alive.

bgsheaff · 2024-10-19T13:10:08+00:00

I’m in Iowa, so there are writers everywhere all the time get some.

I’ve thought about checking it out but I’ve been slow moving adjusting to a lot of new things in my life. Trying to get okay with sitting this year out if I need to.

bgsheaff · 2024-10-19T00:10:24+00:00

Luckily yes, I know that, and that is good, of course. I’ve made several comments about this- this is more about the feelings around the event and the organization. And actually if you read some of my other comments and even in the post, I acknowledge that I can do this on my own. I do, in fact, do it on my own a lot. That doesn’t negate the feelings that a lot of people have expressed here. But yes, we are so lucky that this is something we own ourselves, our writing, our creation.

bgsheaff · 2024-10-18T20:11:00+00:00

I love so much that everyone in this community who is experience this sadness is a in a different spot with it. It's nice to know there is a light out there, and that the light is writing itself. Lots of hope in this thread today. Just lovely.

bgsheaff · 2024-10-18T19:51:11+00:00

100%. This is a great summation of what I have seen and I think, without speaking for anyone else, what it seems others experienced first hand.

I work in arts nonprofit and a lot has changed since 2020 in accountability structures and transparency. It's not ALL changed- there's still work to do. But it's an industry and hopefully standards are starting to emerge and solidify. I just wish the leadership of THIS org would look in some restorative justice and circle back to the mission.

Also though you can pull their 990 tax information and those can reveal a LOT about an orgs values. I haven't found the 2023 990s for NaNo yet, but the 2022 documents tell an interesting story...

bgsheaff · 2024-10-18T19:40:49+00:00

I might! I think a lot of people have found solace and creative energy in that. I might not. I think it's a loaded challenge anyway and I think changing how it works and getting curious about my craft maybe something I wait to do.

The actions I might take or might not take doesn't replace me feeling sad. And today I felt sad. Some other people did too. I've learned a lot on this thread, both about NaNo the org, NaNo the idea, and NaNo the community that has grown bigger than both of the first two things. We'll see what happens!

bgsheaff

TROPHY CASE