cswritesbooks

[cswritesbooks]

a moment to check the gears and cogs

feel like i want to talk a little on the message of a recent post because i think it is an important point. when i say that you do not need to QUALIFY OR DEFEND your love of tinglers or my work in general, i am pointing out an interesting social anomaly that happens with my art and with queer art.

as an autistic buckaroo i notice patterns, and on social media i see them a lot. little phrases that come up again and again with my art. ‘yes THAT chuck tingle’ ‘its ACTUALLY good’ ’my favorite author i have never read’ ‘so bad its good’. these are always added after a POSITIVE comment about me

they also all have something in common. they are trying to distance the posters SINCERE JOY and give them an out socially. it is very very very subtle, but they are all saying ‘yes i like this but here is a sliver of acknowledgment that it is also weird or bad or ironic. in not REALLY fully in'

essentially these are added because it means the poster can escape their very real joy if needed. try applying these phrases to any other popular author. its much more subtle with the first two: ‘i liked all fours by miranda july, yes THAT miranda july. its ACTUALLY good’. what does this imply?

the other examples are a little more blatant but lets try them with other authors anyway. imagine saying ‘youre my favorite author i have never read’ to stephen king. would you EVER say that to someone? what does that imply? how about 'i love your books theyre so bad theyre good'. horrifyingly rude

lets dive into saying 'CHUCK TINGLE is my favorite author i have never read’ sounds unusual when substituting other authors because theyre usually not queer or autistic or making outsider art. to be blunt, why CHUCK gets it all the time is because it really means 'i like chuck tingle but im not gay’

while we have mostly culturally evolved past the idea that saying ‘no homo’ is some kind of joke, that FEELING is still around. it has just burrowed a little deeper. honestly it might never go away, or at least take centuries. remember these people GENUINELY LIKE MY BOOKS but feel they MUST qualify

should also be pointed out that LEFT and LIBERAL people are the ones who say this stuff to chuck. they do not MEAN to harm, and if you ask them directly how they feel about queer or neurodivergent people they would not express the same opinion as their subliminal comments might imply

the final elephant trotting by is while some of this is homophobia and fear of a neurodivergent other, it is also just plain old IRONY POISONING. its conditioning from being raised on an internet where sincerity was ‘cringe' and loving something was a weakness or joke. these problems work in tandem

so whats the point? what can we do? first of all, just recognizing these patterns is a start. i didnt HAVE to write all of this today but i think its important to be aware and to look inward and think about the gears and cogs that churn behind the things we say. NEXT step is trying to push past it

if you have done these things in the past, i want you to know i am NOT AT ALL UPSET. i am not mad or hurt and i do not think any less of you. you can trot by my side any day and you are trying your best to prove love. we are ALL just tryin our best, just consider this a friendly chat between buds

proving love can happen in BIG WAYS and it can happen in SMALL WAYS that we barely see. just take a moment and think ‘WHY am i saying this? WHY am i in this pattern to distance myself from outsider or queer art?’ a little moment of consideration goes a LONG way buckaroos. LOVE IS REAL

[cswritesbooks]

Hey tumblr … we’ve got MERCH!

I’ve teamed up with Litpinsandco to bring you these limited-edition MMU pin badges. Pre-order NOW and you’ll get your pins in early 2025 - we want to gauge interest before we print, so don’t hold off! Head to this link to choose your pins - Detective Society Forever!

[cswritesbooks]

I am creating a life i don’t want to run from i am creating a life i don’t want to run from i am creating a life i don’t want to run from

[cswritesbooks]

At its core, Hot Frosty is the story of a woman in severe credit card debt

I am watching Hot Frosty and the official tagline should be “Everyone wants to know him carnally!”

his personality is like this

[cswritesbooks]

I am watching Hot Frosty and the official tagline should be “Everyone wants to know him carnally!”

his personality is like this

[cswritesbooks]

yOU?? LIKED MY POST??? COURTNEY SMYTH?? YOU'RE HERE?????

#iwasjustreminiscing #lookedatthenote #figurativeheartattack

I’m here. I’m there. In fact, some might say I’m everywhere. (Thank you for reading!!)

[cswritesbooks]

If you are in the mood for a cozy writing podcast, might I suggest Four Seasons Writers Retreat?

it’s a podcast where I (Courtney Smyth) and my pal Meg Grehan (author of Baby Teeth, The Space Between, The Deepest Breath and more!) have cozy fireside chats about often-debated aspects of writing in the hopes it’ll encourage you to pick up a pen. All episodes of Four Seasons Writers Retreat ( Volume One: Autumn) are available to listen wherever you get your podcasts (or find a handy link here)

we hope you enjoy your stay!

[cswritesbooks]

If you are in the mood for a cozy writing podcast, might I suggest Four Seasons Writers Retreat?

it’s a podcast where I (Courtney Smyth) and my pal Meg Grehan (author of Baby Teeth, The Space Between, The Deepest Breath and more!) have cozy fireside chats about often-debated aspects of writing in the hopes it’ll encourage you to pick up a pen. All episodes of Four Seasons Writers Retreat ( Volume One: Autumn) are available to listen wherever you get your podcasts (or find a handy link here)

we hope you enjoy your stay!

[cswritesbooks]

It’s important for me to remember at all times that before I am an author, I am just 16 various obsessions in a trench coat

[cswritesbooks]

THEODORE WYATT HAS ENTERED THE CHAT

So when I was getting dressed today, I very quickly put on a lab coat and some cat ears, not even trying to have something coherent, just wanting to have some kind of costume, and then I used some eyeliner to draw some whiskers on my face, so, yeah, that's my costume, cat in a lab coat, does it make sense? no. who cares. Still wearing the same skirt and striped knee-high socks from yesterday, but that's just my work clothes.

But then when I got to my office in the physics department, one of my colleagues was immediately like, "Oh! Schrödinger's catgirl!"

Wow, this blew up. Here's my soundcloud:

[cswritesbooks]

It’s writing time (sitting in the dark with headphones in, moving only to add songs to my relevant WIP playlists while I Ponder plot)

[cswritesbooks]

[cswritesbooks]

[cswritesbooks]

[cswritesbooks]

To Be Haunted, Jessie Lynn McMains

[cswritesbooks]

this honestly just came out of left fucking field i would have never expected to hear anything like this in this show. consider me Pleasantly Surprised tbh

[cswritesbooks]

The unique Chippendale doll’s house at Nostell Priory in Yorkshire provides a perfect re-creation in miniature of a house in the 1740s.

Laura Ashley Style, 1987