Wild Inventures Blog - Rowan Mangan

Busting Our Creativity Myths

rowan — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 15:50:19 +0000

Dear ones, I’m laughing at myself today, because after forty-two damn years on this planet, I still regularly go to war with The Way I Am. Here’s what happened this week and how I ultimately made peace with my own nerdy truth. It happens that I’m in the early stages of writing a new novel. […]

The post Busting Our Creativity Myths appeared first on Rowan Mangan.

The Ani DiFranco Wormhole

rowan — Wed, 08 Feb 2023 19:30:34 +0000

Dear ones, Last week, Marty and I stole ourselves a slow weekday afternoon and lay on the bed together, listening to music like we were 19 and had nowhere else to be. One by one, I played her the songs that had shaped me back when I was that aimless teenager. The music slammed me into the […]

The post The Ani DiFranco Wormhole appeared first on Rowan Mangan.

Our Own Private Era

rowan — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 18:39:41 +0000

Dear ones, Of all the differences between us (those we unearth and those we invent), we have one MASSIVE thing in common. You reading this, me writing it, all our friends. We are all sharing this particular instant in the history of the planet. Right now. You and me. Right here. This moment belongs to […]

The post Our Own Private Era appeared first on Rowan Mangan.

10 (Kind) Rules for Writers

rowan — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 19:46:31 +0000

I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of “do the best you can.” It can be a slippery concept—especially when we let anyone else determine what our best consists of. In this spirit, I’ve created for myself the list of rules you can read below. The rules are designed to challenge me while also explicitly acknowledging […]

The post 10 (Kind) Rules for Writers appeared first on Rowan Mangan.

The Story is Smarter Than You

rowan — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 15:37:06 +0000

Dear friends, Yesterday I had a moment. It was a dreary Sunday and I was putting together the ingredients for a meal that would spend the afternoon in the slow cooker, sending delicious smells through our house. My toddler was napping, and I was listening to an audiobook. Cooking + audiobook = Ro’s happy place. This […]

The post The Story is Smarter Than You appeared first on Rowan Mangan.

Inventures in Inconsistency

rowan — Fri, 02 Dec 2022 14:39:53 +0000

Dear friends, It’s been a minute, right?! I’m so happy to be reconnecting with you all, old friends and new, after a little glitch in the matrix which kept this newsletter out of circulation for a few weeks. It seems fair to tell you a little about where I’ve been, even though it’s not a […]

The post Inventures in Inconsistency appeared first on Rowan Mangan.

Gathering nuts

rowan — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 19:50:51 +0000

Dear one, Last night I happened to glance out of a window and caught a glimpse of a little chipmunk sitting alone on a stone wall in the garden. She honestly seemed to be taking a moment to herself to enjoy the lavish sunset that was visible between the trees. It’s a busy time for […]

The post Gathering nuts appeared first on Rowan Mangan.

The measure of our lives

rowan — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 15:57:49 +0000

Dear ones, In her Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Toni Morrison said this. We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Sometimes I’m so divorced from the meaning of my own swirling emotions that I […]

The post The measure of our lives appeared first on Rowan Mangan.

Multitasking identities

rowan — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 18:57:14 +0000

Dear ones, So many of my inventures are about the endless quest to get on top of things in my life. Or, if not on top of them, at least not pinned to the floor by their weight. Y’know? I picture people who are good at life like this: they are gardeners of all their […]

The post Multitasking identities appeared first on Rowan Mangan.

Blowing past stop signs 🛑

rowan — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 21:26:09 +0000

Dear friends, I have a few “Oops, I did it again” patterns that play out repeatedly in my life. One of them is dreaming big, overcommitting, and finding myself greedily trying to squeeze two or three lives into the space of this one lifetime I’ve been given. Luckily, I’m starting to learn to read my […]

The post Blowing past stop signs 🛑 appeared first on Rowan Mangan.