Abby Alten Schwartz

"In a haughty voice, I inform my mom that I’m anti-fur." Warm and nuanced new #CreativeNonfiction from Abby Alten Schwartz @abbys480.bsky.social | www.doesithavepockets.com/cnf/abby-alt...

The Brevity Blog team, is pleased to be recognized once again, with thanks to @writersdigest.bsky.social

Beautiful, from the title on, every word loaded with meaning.

"Your parents have puritanical hangups about your body and insist that you cover the shameful parts."

Submitted two pitches to an editor I met with last week, turned in a first draft for a writing assignment from a corporate client, and feeling utter contentment with this writing life I chose. How's your day going?

I 💙 this essay in Brevity Blog by @abbys480.bsky.social about #writing #pitching #mothering and using the ladder of what is hard to #write higher. #WritingCommunity @dintywmoore.bsky.social brevity.wordpress.com/2025/07/02/s...

Proud to share my latest for @dintywmoore.bsky.social

He adorably complains it’s a boring operation, my cyst will likely grow back, but says he’ll still do it if I want (I want).—"McDreamy" by @abbys480.bsky.social in case you missed it https://www.fiveminutelit.com/mcdreamy

The hand surgeon, unexpectedly hot, reminds me of Nate from Six Feet Under, which I’ve been bingeing for weeks. —"McDreamy" by @abbys480.bsky.social www.fiveminutelit.com/mcdreamy

They are indeed hobbling social security. The wait in the phone queue today was 120 minutes.

This is How They Ban Birth Control "One of the reasons some people don’t believe that Republicans are banning birth control is that they’re imagining some sweeping bill that says contraception is now illegal. But that’s not how it works."

The best news today is that NYT is finally letting us pick the tile pattern in Games

Another reason to love the Eagles. My family has known Ryan since he was a boy and we're so grateful he is alive and saddened by his tremendous loss. Go Birds! 🦅 www.espn.com/video/clip/_...

Grateful to my state legislators for this announcement of new laws to safeguard the protections of the ACA. Please share. pasenate.com/senate-democ...

This is the level of content I can stomach right now. More good boys making friends.

“We stockpile memories, squirreling them away for later. But memories can turn. Exposed to time and air, they alchemize from joyful to bittersweet, a reminder of all that’s gone. Is nostalgia ever not tinged with melancholy?” substack.com/home/post/p-...

Powerful flash by @tcboudreau.bsky.social

I couldn’t be more content spending today in my cozy living room reading, writing in my journal, crafting pitches on my laptop, and working on my newsletter and memoir. Hope everyone is enjoying a peaceful day.

Sunday gifts for my Monday self: the pot of homemade ham and split pea soup I cooked today and the basket of clothing I washed so my favorite leggings and tops and socks are ready to wear. The little things, y’know?

I just discovered a box of old greeting cards I saved from my 20s from family, friends, work pals. I realize now that before social media and cell phones we mailed each other cards and wrote inside them and I sadly rarely do this anymore.

Just finished the delightful audiobook of Lessons in Chemistry, including the interview at the end with author, Bonnie Garmus. She was a copywriter (like me) for more than 30 years before she published this book in her early 60s, and she’s inspired me to no end.

Great ideas here for gifts for writers. My own wish list would include ruled Moleskines (large hardback or x-large softback) and pens (rollerball refillable ink or .7 mm gel pens), subscriptions to great literary magazines, and, of course books.

Listening to the car radio and my husband points out that the spoken part of Emotional Rescue sounds just like Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords and now I can’t unhear it.

I’m reading this gorgeous memoir by Jessica Fein and so much resonates. Passages about being in the hospital with her daughter mirror passages from my own WIP and I’m reminded that the details of a story are what make it universal, even while the circumstances are unique.

Finally watched the final episode of Somebody, Somewhere and I’m a puddle. Only one other TV show (Better Things) has ever hit me in the feels like this one. Anyone else a fan?

One great thing about winter is I don’t feel like I’m missing anything by being indoors. I slept in today, then worked on my memoir for several blissful hours.

At the DMV for my Real ID and this is some Soup Nazi level efficiency. I’m thoroughly impressed.

A medical mystery that began on a pickleball court. I love healthcare journalism and feel honored to write stories about medicine and real human struggles and triumphs. This was one of my favorites to write and just went live. #journalism #healthcare www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-bl...

Excited about this webinar tomorrow from @aileenweintraub.bsky.social and Megan Margulies, aka The Witches of Pitches. Learn how to levitate above the slush pile. www.eventbrite.com/e/learn-how-...

Sunday night after a long holiday weekend still makes me melancholy no matter how old I get, despite the fact that I work for myself and can ease into the week at whatever pace I decide. Is it ingrained? Sunday Scaries? Is it saying goodbye to my daughter who visited for a long weekend? Oh. Bingo.

Here are the 100 notable books from 2024 — including standout fiction, poetry and nonfiction, all chosen by the staff of The New York Times Book Review.

Thanks @kgitch.bsky.social

“I refuse to subject myself to another four years of being on high alert, engaged in a never-ending high-stakes game of emotional Whac-A-Mole.” My newest Substack issue is live and I'd love for you to read it and let me know how you're doing. Link in bio.

We are the checks and balances, the loudest one left. Our refusal to normalize and accept the unacceptable, our pressure on Congress, our speech and content…this is how Donald discovers how unpopular he is.

Tacowisdom.

I just solved today’s Strands and still have no clue what the theme was. Like it was 9 unrelated words with a hint “Start Small” and I think NYT is just making things up now

Update! I interviewed @calliefreitag.bsky.social about this for Oldster Magazine... oldster.substack.com/p/how-trumps...

“People speak of hope as if it is this delicate, ephemeral thing made of whispers and spider's webs. It's not. Hope has dirt on her face, blood on her knuckles, the grit of the cobblestones in her hair, and just spat out a tooth as she rises for another go” Matthew - @CrowsFault

This is how you become a writer: just pick one of the things that is deeply wrong with you. Make it a character. Now send it on a self-help journey or try to kill it. Now call it a book.

"If you don't follow your dreams, they won't... explode into joy." - my four-year-old

Hold a door open Tip an extra dollar Send a note to someone in an envelope with an actual stamp Stop to say hello to every dog you see Follow through Forage through this mess we’re in for even one small thing worth saving Be generous with your blessings Be unwavering with your defiance

The philosopher Viktor Frankl said, “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” Buddhists have a name for that space: the sacred pause.

Courageous @nytimes.com opinion piece by a 16 year old girl. Here’s a gift link. www.nytimes.com/2024/11/16/o...

I’m working on my memoir today and feel a renewed urgency to commit more time to it. I need to create space in my busy workweek to keep my momentum going so I don’t have to merge back into it each time with a long on-ramp.

My daughter turned 28 today. Before she turned 2 I was told she had cystic fibrosis and that the average lifespan was now 31. But everything changed, thanks to science. Here’s a piece I wrote about that. wapo.st/4esPrPe

Wise words from Robert Frost. The practice of surrender (non-resistance) makes it easier to move through, in my experience. I don’t always remember that but when I do, life flows easier. #TEAMMOLLY

So we have a lot of impersonators here at @bsky.app - wondering if there’s gonna be a verification type thing? @safety.bsky.app ?

Here’s a link to one of my favorite pieces. www.havehashad.com/hadposts/we-...