Vanessa Smith
@normalness.bsky.social
We're all normal to ourselves. I write. I hate hustle. I love shiny objects. Can't even influence an ant. Anthropology & sociology graduate. Author of books. Spoonie. And much more.
www.normalness.com
www.normalness.com
Pinned
Vanessa Smith
@normalness.bsky.social
· Feb 11
This was one of my favourite tweets so it needs sharing here too:
I’ve experienced {symptom}
And
I’ve been disabled by {symptom}
Are two very different things.
I’ve experienced {symptom}
And
I’ve been disabled by {symptom}
Are two very different things.
Outlanders 2: Wheat Farms day 309 youtu.be/9nx31Md1ka4
Outlanders 2: Wheat Farms day 309
YouTube video by NormalNess
youtu.be
January 13, 2026 at 9:01 AM
Outlanders 2: Wheat Farms day 309 youtu.be/9nx31Md1ka4
Reposted by Vanessa Smith
Holy shit, this way beyond the pale.
archive.is/ngaMG
archive.is/ngaMG
January 13, 2026 at 4:45 AM
Holy shit, this way beyond the pale.
archive.is/ngaMG
archive.is/ngaMG
Sharing an old blog post for literally no reason, totes not relevant to newsey things today:
The Three Main Types Of Apologies (And What You’re Really Saying)
normalness.com/2017/10/17/t...
The Three Main Types Of Apologies (And What You’re Really Saying)
normalness.com/2017/10/17/t...
The Three Main Types Of Apologies (And What You're Really Saying) - Normal Ness
The other week, I was having a discussion with a friend about apologies. More specifically, “apologies”. Aka fake ones. Aka “sorry YOU were offended” types. I said that I would rather people didn’t fa...
normalness.com
January 13, 2026 at 5:15 AM
Sharing an old blog post for literally no reason, totes not relevant to newsey things today:
The Three Main Types Of Apologies (And What You’re Really Saying)
normalness.com/2017/10/17/t...
The Three Main Types Of Apologies (And What You’re Really Saying)
normalness.com/2017/10/17/t...
An excellent piece examining language and the cowardice of bureaucracy:
www.lantana.net.au/words/empty-...
www.lantana.net.au/words/empty-...
Empty Words, Emptying Stages — Lantana
By isolating one writer as a potential risk, the institution produces a broader chilling effect in which participation itself becomes precarious. Public debate shrinks not because anyone is ordered to...
www.lantana.net.au
January 13, 2026 at 4:01 AM
An excellent piece examining language and the cowardice of bureaucracy:
www.lantana.net.au/words/empty-...
www.lantana.net.au/words/empty-...
“Writing festivals are a reflection of where our country is at any given moment.”
whisperinggums.com/2026/01/12/m...
whisperinggums.com/2026/01/12/m...
Monday musings on Australian literature: Why festivals?
I did have another plan for today’s Monday Musings, but it seemed wrong to ignore the elephant in the room, that is, the dire situation facing the Adelaide Festival’s Writers Week. Aust…
whisperinggums.com
January 13, 2026 at 2:38 AM
“Writing festivals are a reflection of where our country is at any given moment.”
whisperinggums.com/2026/01/12/m...
whisperinggums.com/2026/01/12/m...
Happy Home Paradise: Julian: Cloud Nine Chalet youtu.be/hWxy9CCK6xw
Happy Home Paradise: Julian: Cloud Nine Chalet
YouTube video by NormalNess
youtu.be
January 12, 2026 at 11:27 PM
Happy Home Paradise: Julian: Cloud Nine Chalet youtu.be/hWxy9CCK6xw
A kid just cycled up the street, yelling “I’m a barbie girl, in a barbie world” at the top of their lungs 😂
January 12, 2026 at 8:16 AM
A kid just cycled up the street, yelling “I’m a barbie girl, in a barbie world” at the top of their lungs 😂
You'd probably be pissed off to find out you'd been eating ground up llama testicles with a hint of paprika your entire life.
The Secret Ingredient Of
payhip.com/b/E2cwC
The Secret Ingredient Of
payhip.com/b/E2cwC
January 12, 2026 at 1:25 AM
You'd probably be pissed off to find out you'd been eating ground up llama testicles with a hint of paprika your entire life.
The Secret Ingredient Of
payhip.com/b/E2cwC
The Secret Ingredient Of
payhip.com/b/E2cwC
Time lapses I take are mostly of clouds and sky, which means they may have flashing effects in them and be unsuitable for some people.
youtu.be/DEuaGO4uBgU
youtu.be/DEuaGO4uBgU
2 May 2025
YouTube video by NormalNess
youtu.be
January 12, 2026 at 12:57 AM
Time lapses I take are mostly of clouds and sky, which means they may have flashing effects in them and be unsuitable for some people.
youtu.be/DEuaGO4uBgU
youtu.be/DEuaGO4uBgU
Oh look, now I get to write another complaint to a chemist. They decided to change the quantity of my script from what my doctor prescribed and not tell me. How about don’t make medication decisions without consent?
January 11, 2026 at 1:21 AM
Oh look, now I get to write another complaint to a chemist. They decided to change the quantity of my script from what my doctor prescribed and not tell me. How about don’t make medication decisions without consent?
This.
Yep. We need to find a way to insist that cultural, intellectual and arts institutions / events are run by people who aren't neoliberal dickheads. Surely that's not too much to ask....
January 10, 2026 at 5:00 AM
This.
Reposted by Vanessa Smith
Yep. We need to find a way to insist that cultural, intellectual and arts institutions / events are run by people who aren't neoliberal dickheads. Surely that's not too much to ask....
January 10, 2026 at 12:36 AM
Yep. We need to find a way to insist that cultural, intellectual and arts institutions / events are run by people who aren't neoliberal dickheads. Surely that's not too much to ask....
Evergreen
what the fuck is wrong with people these days
January 10, 2026 at 4:27 AM
Evergreen
I wrote this about disability, but it also applies to things like government interference in writers festivals.
Gotta perform palatable for one and all. It’s getting disgusting out there. I really hate the way the world is heading.
The palatability problem
normalness.com/2025/10/16/t...
Gotta perform palatable for one and all. It’s getting disgusting out there. I really hate the way the world is heading.
The palatability problem
normalness.com/2025/10/16/t...
The palatability problem - Normal Ness
The charity model of disability relies heavily on the palatability of those in the front and centre. (A lot of disability organisations and disability focused products and services also focus on palat...
normalness.com
January 10, 2026 at 4:12 AM
I wrote this about disability, but it also applies to things like government interference in writers festivals.
Gotta perform palatable for one and all. It’s getting disgusting out there. I really hate the way the world is heading.
The palatability problem
normalness.com/2025/10/16/t...
Gotta perform palatable for one and all. It’s getting disgusting out there. I really hate the way the world is heading.
The palatability problem
normalness.com/2025/10/16/t...
I made a phone call I’ve been putting off all week. Please celebrate me 😂
January 9, 2026 at 6:04 AM
I made a phone call I’ve been putting off all week. Please celebrate me 😂
Reposted by Vanessa Smith
"We had to readjust the branding to fit the new schedule following the boycott."
January 9, 2026 at 4:23 AM
"We had to readjust the branding to fit the new schedule following the boycott."
The commonplace journal
thechronicallycreative.substack.com/p/the-common...
thechronicallycreative.substack.com/p/the-common...
The commonplace journal
This is a type of journal that I started a year or so ago, after seeing this Instagram post.
thechronicallycreative.substack.com
January 9, 2026 at 4:32 AM
The commonplace journal
thechronicallycreative.substack.com/p/the-common...
thechronicallycreative.substack.com/p/the-common...
If you've ever wanted to try journaling but also have a bit of an eye roll attitude towards such things...
YES, I HAVE MADE A SNARKY GRATITUDE JOURNAL. A4 sized, you can use it printed or digital (eg I use planners in my Goodnotes app).
payhip.com/b/TinUX
YES, I HAVE MADE A SNARKY GRATITUDE JOURNAL. A4 sized, you can use it printed or digital (eg I use planners in my Goodnotes app).
payhip.com/b/TinUX
The Ultimate Snarky Gratitude Journal
On January 22nd I had a bright shiny idea because I am good at those. (I have them on days that aren't January 22nd as well. That's how good at them I am!) After some delays due to migraine, a burning hot pain flare, leaving my
payhip.com
January 9, 2026 at 4:09 AM
If you've ever wanted to try journaling but also have a bit of an eye roll attitude towards such things...
YES, I HAVE MADE A SNARKY GRATITUDE JOURNAL. A4 sized, you can use it printed or digital (eg I use planners in my Goodnotes app).
payhip.com/b/TinUX
YES, I HAVE MADE A SNARKY GRATITUDE JOURNAL. A4 sized, you can use it printed or digital (eg I use planners in my Goodnotes app).
payhip.com/b/TinUX
Listening to a podcast on three mile island & it reminded me of a time I may have had to go to a nuclear power station for work & I'm like NOPE. It’s not really nuclear I'm against, it's that human error exists.I don't think human behaviour is perfect enough to have something as permanent as nuclear
January 8, 2026 at 9:24 AM
Listening to a podcast on three mile island & it reminded me of a time I may have had to go to a nuclear power station for work & I'm like NOPE. It’s not really nuclear I'm against, it's that human error exists.I don't think human behaviour is perfect enough to have something as permanent as nuclear
Time lapses I take are mostly of clouds and sky, which means they may have flashing effects in them and be unsuitable for some people.
youtu.be/rSSNDCtuTHY
youtu.be/rSSNDCtuTHY
27 March 2025
YouTube video by NormalNess
youtu.be
January 8, 2026 at 2:29 AM
Time lapses I take are mostly of clouds and sky, which means they may have flashing effects in them and be unsuitable for some people.
youtu.be/rSSNDCtuTHY
youtu.be/rSSNDCtuTHY
“both argued that the traditional workshop in which the author is enforced to silence will not only suppress minority voices—but that its domination across education happened not by accident, but by design”
reactormag.com/the-ghost-of...
reactormag.com/the-ghost-of...
The Ghost of Workshops Past: How Communism, Conservatism, and the Cold War Still Mold Our Paths Into SFF Writing - Reactor
Part 1. The Emotionally-Charged World of the SFF Workshops That Make Professional Writers In 2016, Neil Gaiman tweeted: “If you want to be a writer, you want to go to Clarion, NEED to go to Clarion.” ...
reactormag.com
January 8, 2026 at 1:55 AM
“both argued that the traditional workshop in which the author is enforced to silence will not only suppress minority voices—but that its domination across education happened not by accident, but by design”
reactormag.com/the-ghost-of...
reactormag.com/the-ghost-of...
I was reading some writerly articles yesterday & one said something to the effect of “no one plans to write a series of eight books” and I’m thinking oops because the series I have in early development needs a minimum of thirteen books 🤷♀️ guess my brain doesn’t adhere to rules 😂
January 8, 2026 at 1:02 AM
I was reading some writerly articles yesterday & one said something to the effect of “no one plans to write a series of eight books” and I’m thinking oops because the series I have in early development needs a minimum of thirteen books 🤷♀️ guess my brain doesn’t adhere to rules 😂
Reposted by Vanessa Smith
It will live in my skull forever.
January 7, 2026 at 8:49 AM
It will live in my skull forever.