Let's Wallow

Dec 18, 2022

Wallowing.

It’s a word that evokes both pleasure and pain. You might wallow in contented luxury or in misery about the endless slog of suffering and sorrow.

One of my favorite Victorian genre writers, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, described the process of learning how to write as “wallowing in ink.” It’s such an evocative description, capturing the highs and lows of the writing life in one colorful metaphor. I haven’t been able to shake it since I stumbled across it in her memoir.

So, of course, I’ve stolen it.

A row of ink bottles on a sunlit desk. In front of them, paper cutouts of letters spell the word wallowing. On a piece of paper below them the words in ink with Courtney Floyd

Every month in Wallowing in Ink, we’ll wallow in words together. I’ll pass along stories I’m wallowing (delightedly) in. There will be occasional forays into the muddy, murky realms of craft and process. And sometimes, we’ll wallow in ink of entirely different kinds: art, tattoos, and the many awesome inks you can use in fountain pens, for example.

Finally, this wouldn’t be an author newsletter without updates. I’ll keep you posted about my novel publishing journey (current status: querying); my short story and nonfiction publications; my audio drama, and more! Later this month, I’ll kick things off properly with my writing year in review (including a long overdue recap of my time at Viable Paradise).

Thank you for wallowing with me!

Cheers,

Courtney