I'd Rather Be Writing

I'm not. Yet...here I am.

This gorgeous artwork is by Jacqueline Dooley. It appears in the March 2026 issue of The Memoirist Quarterly

I spent all of last weekend and most of this week in bed sick.

Here I am now, with just the remnants of a cold in the form of still clogged up sinuses. A lot happened last week, and I just didn’t have the strength or energy to talk much about it other than in the occasional note or restack.

But first, let’s talk about writing.

Ironically, as my two Substack publications are called The Memoirist and The Art of Memoir, I haven’t been writing much in the way of memoir. Like, at all. I used to say I was blocked. Out of stories for the time being. I regurgitate the same old pieces. But, the truth is, my mind ricochets—bing, bing, bing…Ricochet Rabbit!—between endless ideas and projects.

This isn’t a humblebrag, nor is it a bad thing.

Believe me, I wish I could sit down and pull a few skeletons out of my closet to cobble a memoir piece together. Is it art if you put too much pressure on yourself? I mean, pressure begins to take the joy out of things. I know better than anyone that all my various skeletons are in there, ready to be freed and prance about. All in good time.

When I first started this Substack years ago, I wrote a lot about writing blocks. I shared prompts, tips, and whatnot to help others. But I’ve never been good about heeding my own advice. I’m kind of like a basketball coach who never made it big as a player, but excels at guiding others.

And there’s that other thing. Niche.

For a long time, I called myself a memoirist. That was my thang. My specialty. But in doing so, I backed myself into a corner where I didn’t write at all if I wasn’t writing a memoir.

In my old age, I’m learning that I’m more than the dust bunnies and labels stuck within that corner. Don’t get me wrong. I love my corner. But it is more than okay to step away from it. In fact, stepping away from it makes the whole room start to come together.

In terms of my writing, I’ve been working on fiction. Well, sorta fiction.

I have a small Substack site called The Monologist, where I post fictional monologues together with dramatic readings of each piece.

In truth, the monologues either come from my aforementioned closet skeletons or are based on characters I’ve known throughout my life. So, maybe not so fictional after all. They have a memoir flair with a lot more embellishment than I’d normally give in my creative nonfiction.

This is my latest monologue—definitely pulled from my closet of skeletons.

He Left Me

If you like fiction, monologues, or even memoir—please check out the site and subscribe!

In Other News….

If you follow me on Notes or are a subscriber to The Memoirist, then you’ve likely heard about The Memoirist Quarterly.

Last week, while lying in bed surrounded by snot rags and needy dogs, our March 2026 issue was released on Amazon.

Oh my gosh, I couldn’t be happier.

It is just as beautiful as our first issue, released a couple of years ago. (I took a hiatus from it, but that’s another story.)

Not familiar with The Quarterly?

It began as a passion project, developed in collaboration with my dear friend Christopher Robin. While Chris has moved on to his own passion projects (he’s a phenomenal artist and writer), his artwork is peppered throughout the book, and he remains my cover artist extraordinaire. My other dear friend, Jacqueline Dooley, also has artwork featured prominently throughout the issue as well as her amazing essay, What Happens After the Pediatric Oncologist Runs Out of Ideas.

My vision was to create a beautiful print journal featuring memoirs, essays, artwork, and photography (the first issue also had a few poems), published quarterly. It’s a lot of work, so the quarterly thing is a bit of a hefty pull, but we’ll see how it goes.

The first issue, published in 2023, was curated solely from online submissions received at our website https://thememoiristquarterly.com.

For this most recent issue, I curated stories previously published on our Substack site, with writers receiving a $50 payment for their contribution. (It isn’t a lot, but it’s something!)

Writers featured in our March issue include: Marcia Abboud, James S. Walker, Gaby King, Glenna Gill, Jacqueline Dooley, Rock and Roll Girl, Leslie Senevey, Gentry Bronson, Jodi Sh. Doff, Krista Schumacher, Abby Paradis, Dana VonAllmen, Abbey Wade, David Perlmutter, Egor Korneev, Danielle Dragona, Harry Hogg, Erin O'Brien, Bud Hager, Dana DuBois, Amy Strommer, Christina Jumper, and Tamara MC, Ph.D. 💖🦄🌈🌍🦋🦄 🌵🍭🛼.

I’d like to thank each and every one of them for contributing to this issue!

If you’re interested in purchasing a copy, the softcover is quite elegant. The hardcover is much like a coffee table book (thanks for that description, Chris!). Proceeds go back into the Quarterly pot to help pay writers who are featured in the next issue.

I am currently seeking essays/memoirs, photography, and artwork for our upcoming June 2026 issue. I will curate from stories published at The Memoirist here on Substack again. Alternatively, writers can submit a story or artwork to me via our online portal. Submissions are open through the end of March.

If you have any questions, please feel free to direct message me!

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I stopped doing much-needed housework to write. Because, hey, I’d rather be writing. And when the mood hits—it hits!

I’m planning to appear in a couple of “Lives” in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

I appreciate you all so much.

xo—KiKi