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Blair Hurley @bhurley.bsky.social · 5d

I was shocked when I finally read Rip Van Winkle and learned he only goes to sleep for 20 years. Through cultural osmosis I thought he went to sleep for 100 years - did anyone else think this?

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Blair Hurley @bhurley.bsky.social · 9d

Delighted to announce that the Writerly Bites podcast is back! Look out for new episodes each week on how to make your writing better, one small step at a time. This week's episode is about re-connecting with old work: redcircle.com/shows/1fb3ce...

112: Re-connect with Your Writing

Listen to The Writerly Bites Podcast on RedCircle

redcircle.com

Blair Hurley @bhurley.bsky.social · 12d

My two year old just poured his miso soup into his milk and Cheerios and is happily eating it. Should I be…horrified or just pleased that he’s an adventurous eater?

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Blair Hurley @bhurley.bsky.social · 12d

You know you're onto something when an idea just won't leave you alone. You find you have more and more questions about it that must be answered. It's a sign that you're writing something you need to write.

Blair Hurley @bhurley.bsky.social · 13d

So true- language has meaning, and adopting the language the tech companies want us to is lazy journalism and writing.

Linda Holmes @lindaholmes.bsky.social · 14d

This is not a romance. Nobody is "in love" with apps. There are no A.I. boyfriends. You cannot "date" a chatbot. Accepting this framing and treating it as real is tech-industry propaganda. slate.com/technology/2...

She Broke Off Two Engagements. She Couldn’t Commit. Now She’s Dating Chatbots Instead.

As chatbot romance grows more common, women are redefining what they want from a partner—even if they are just ones and zeros.

slate.com

Reposted by Blair Hurley

ProPublica @propublica.org · 18d

Earlier this year, ProPublica found that the sepsis rate in second-trimester pregnancy loss hospitalizations increased by more than 50% under Texas’ abortion ban.

Here’s how we did our analysis.

(Published Feb. 2025)

Texas Won’t Study How Its Abortion Ban Impacts Women, So We Did

Since Texas banned abortion, no one has studied the statewide effects on pregnant women experiencing complications. Here’s how we sifted through data on millions of pregnancy hospitalizations and anal...

www.propublica.org

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Blair Hurley @bhurley.bsky.social · 23d

Back to a writing routine that feels really great - a ten minute yoga routine in the morning followed by some handwriting in my notebook. It’s exciting to be working on new projects and putting my writing first in the mornings.

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Reposted by Blair Hurley

Corey Farrenkopf @coreyfarrenkopf.bsky.social · Sep 2

After 8 years of buying the fiction for libraries, I’ve decided the most sellable title, based on trends, for a book has to be The Woman’s Daughter’s Girl. I will write this and make millions.

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Blair Hurley @bhurley.bsky.social · Sep 1

Just got back from a big family trip to Australia. Had a wonderful time seeing the animals and the sights and family members; and now it's back to normal life and writing. I love traveling but I love the first days back almost as much.

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Blair Hurley @bhurley.bsky.social · Aug 29

I love how toddlers learn the simplest aspects of language simultaneously with imitation of more complex language style. My toddler is just learning to say "vacuum cleaner" but when his Legos come apart he will rest his chin in his hand and say "Oh, dear."

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Blair Hurley @bhurley.bsky.social · Aug 29

Interesting article on pragmatics in linguistics and how they convey the thinking mind behind expressed language: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/o...

Opinion | The Single Word That Explains Why Chatbots Sound So Human

www.nytimes.com

Blair Hurley @bhurley.bsky.social · Aug 23

In Melbourne for a day longer than I planned thanks to my flight being canceled- but we’re making the most of it with additional trips to Brunetti’s for pastries and lattes

Blair Hurley @bhurley.bsky.social · Aug 20

Newly Discovered Origami Patterns Put the Bloom on the Fold www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/s...

Newly Discovered Origami Patterns Put the Bloom on the Fold

www.nytimes.com

Blair Hurley @bhurley.bsky.social · Aug 13

Just finished Yael van der Wouden's THE SAFEKEEP and found it riveting. A tightly coiled, restrained novel that explodes into eroticism and then historical horror — both somehow not overblown or maudlin. Such tight characterization. #amreading

Blair Hurley @bhurley.bsky.social · Aug 12

I'm in Melbourne, Australia for a couple of weeks, visiting family. Happily between the biggest work obligations so I'm committing to just experiencing the trip: taking pictures, writing in my notebook, eating interesting food.

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Blair Hurley @bhurley.bsky.social · Aug 5

Currently reading a novel that makes me wonder if the author has a true contempt for their own characters — or perhaps they're just seeing the characters with such clear-eyed honesty that it can feel contemptuous. Do we need to love everyone we write? I think empathetic understanding is enough.

Blair Hurley @bhurley.bsky.social · Aug 5

Great class with a bunch of talented novelists last night. We talked among other things about rest and productivity — how living life for a while can enrich our writing.

Blair Hurley @bhurley.bsky.social · Jul 26

Reading Susan Choi's FLASHLIGHT and it's a pleasure to sink into her sentences — sometimes like teasing out a knot but always worth it to discover the layers and folds of meaning within every moment.

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Reposted by Blair Hurley

Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · Jul 23

One way to tell if you've got too many mannerisms, hand movements, sighs, and the like in a scene: Have your friends act out just the physicality of a scene. If they're all doubled over laughing by the end, you know what you did.

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Blair Hurley @bhurley.bsky.social · Jul 21

Over a week of vacation I devoured and was deeply charmed by Anne Patchett's TOM LAKE — theatre, stability, love, farming, Our Town — and now I'm thrilled to be picking up Susan Choi's latest, FLASHLIGHT. I thought TRUST EXERCISE was mind-blowing.

Blair Hurley @bhurley.bsky.social · Jul 21

Great week back in my home state of Massachusetts, on the beach finding quahogs and poking around the whaling museum, connecting my kids to New England. Now it’s back to writing and life a little more refreshed.

Blair Hurley @bhurley.bsky.social · Jul 11

So what are you doing for your art today? I’m writing one new scene of a new story, trying to figure out what’s central to the conflict. #amwriting

Blair Hurley @bhurley.bsky.social · Jul 9

Almost all of my books are currently packed while we navigate a move. Had a moment of panic when I realized all my library holds had yet to come in and I had finished every book in my house. Then discovered a book I'd bought and stashed in a drawer and forgotten — phew!

Blair Hurley @bhurley.bsky.social · Jul 7

Do I write, or play with my kid who is home sick today? Do I let her watch stuff or play with her or make her sit quietly and stare at a wall? Parenting/writing decisions are never easy.

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Blair Hurley @bhurley.bsky.social · Jul 7

Yeah I don't live anywhere near family and it seems like all the other parents I know tell me it's so difficult, they can only pass off the kids to grandparents for two days a week and...that has never been possible for me. So dinner and dishwasher and a bit of laundry are all I can do.

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