naomithepoet.bsky.social
Poet. Writer. ESL tutor. Former nonprofit exec. Prepping to query CNF manuscript.
102 posts
69 followers
90 following
Regular Contributor
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Stand up for public servants, so many of whom are #veterans, who have devoted their lives to serving you. Do your duty. Show them that they are worth fighting for. 3/3
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#Duty is not just a belief, it's action done in collaboration and on behalf of others. If you're an American, please make your voice heard to protect the #VeteransCrisisLine and other #veterans resources and benefits that are under attack right now. 2/3
#AskAnAuthor
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Stay focused. Keep trying. This time you're really gonna finish this thing. You owe it to yourself.
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If we allow it, this will be an immense loss not only to our allies, but ALL of us.
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Good catch! And, "plastic grin" is such a great description. I'm fascinated.
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YES! Woohoo! Congrats to you, and thanks for the writing motivation to stop me from doom scrolling.
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And @fetterman.senate.gov: if you didn't know, your hometown region of southwest PA is one of the densest veteran populations in the US. Those dates tattooed on your arm--are you going to add more? 3/3
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People are going to die. This is what it means to cut staffers from the Crisis Line. Call your senators and representatives. Fight for the people who fought for you. 2/3
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flushing instructions, which I guess were central to any GWOT potty experience. Now I'll never get the phrase "yellow-eyed corn snake" out of my head. Thank you #veterans
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When you never find the book you need when you're a kid, the best thing you can do is grow up and write it yourself. It's not just a gift to your inner child, but an act of love and healing for our future.
Noni and the God Tree series by Breshea Anglen
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Arts & creative thinking are vital to build a more just and livable world. We can't build it if we don't have a shared vision. We can't share a vision if no one has taken the time to imagine it. We Do This Til We Free Us @prisonculture.bsky.social & What If We Get It Right @ayanaeliza.bsky.social
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Same😅 Except for the novel part. Both of the novels I abandoned were pretty ridiculous. But the poetry though. If I hadn't written those two collections, I'd never be able to do what I am now. When life slows down a little, I'll reach out.
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Anytime! I believe in the work you're doing and the community you're building!
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There's definitely something to walking! Idk, moving your body forward through physical space with the breath and rhythm of steps. It just helps the mind to move, too.
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I respect that daydreaming is an actual step in your process. I think it's such a vital skill to be able to sit in the quiet of your own mind and work on a thing that way. Maybe a skill we're losing as people?
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And sometimes I have to take a nap. Sometimes I'm too exhausted with the grind of my own life to step out of my own perspective and try to feel what it's like to go through things I've never experienced as a civilian. Rest helps to restore that faculty.
4/4
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Other times, if I know the question I need to ask, I'll just call COL Stokes and ask or save it for when we meet next. Or, I'll take a break and chat with one of the vets who's kindly adopted me because of this book. A lot of the time, there's an underlying universal experience I'm missing.
3/4
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It's like having 2000 pieces of a puzzle and only a description of what it's supposed to look like, no picture.
Of course, I'm lucky because I have 300+ hours of recorded interviews with COL Stokes, so I can go back and listen, and that often triggers something I can work with.
2/4
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Are you talking about #AskAnAuthor ? Hang on, I'll quote you the month of February. @davidgalle.bsky.social put this together.
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First drafts are for making shameless messes. Revision is about learning how to listen to the story we've written despite all the mess and deliver what it's asking of us. No one is good enough to write the story they start. We become good enough by seeing it through. No one will ever write like you.
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*cackles and goes back to actual writing...or freelance work to buy time to actually write...*
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That says a lot about your character. You are a protector. Remember to protect yourself. Don't let thriver's guilt hold you back from becoming the person you truly are (a lesson I am trying to learn).
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This is a hard fear to overcome. You are right about stories connecting people. Try to remember that love is universal and therefore relatable. Try not to fear the resistance that you get--it only indicates the healing we all need to do around female love. Read Audre Lorde Uses of the Erotic.
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If traditional publishing doesn't pan out, we will publish it ourselves. This is not the book I quit on. It means too much to me and too many real people to give up. #IndieAuthor
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The way the eye is drawn to the horizon captures how Stokes is perpetually drawn to where the men and women who need him are. It captures his willingness to go on what he calls the "journey to self-awareness" alongside veterans, to remind them that THEY are worth fighting for.
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Stokes took this photo while deployed in 2010-2011. I believe this is FOB Gardez. It captures the beauty, complexity, and richness shared when you look through someone else's lens. When you listen, you see the barriers, the grit, the adversity. But you can also see the immensity, brightness, hope.
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Wow!