iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Wrote 600 words that are keepers on a new idea. Now for another 80K to follow... 🙃 #5amwritersclub #writingcommunity

Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Decided to go analog with my next idea…even though my handwriting is sloppy these days and I can definitely type faster. I need/want to slow down a bit and see what happens next. #writingcommunity

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

My latest for Ambrook's Offrange follows the "accidental landowner" -- as in someone who inherits #farmland, but has no plan to farm it. How do you decide what to do? Spoiler: keep the land or, at least, wait to sell until you've weighed in on all the options. ambrook.com/offrange/lan...

ambrook.com

So You Inherited a Farm

How non-farm heirs can navigate the decisions that come with farmland ownership.

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

What's a recent book you've read (and loved) that I can request from the library? Looking for literary, realistic fiction, romcom, happy...

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I joke with my daughter that my legacy will be a pile of unpublished manuscripts that she can do what she wants with at some point. kristenaschmitt.substack.com/p/septembers...

kristenaschmitt.substack.com

September’s Life Edits

On taking the path of least resistance...

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Trading songbirds for blue jays and cardinals. Definitely on the cusp of fall here in Wisconsin.

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

For the past year, I've worked with the Southern Group of State Foresters, interviewing individuals, nonprofits and schools working to increase #urbanforestry initiatives. Happy to share the first of many articles, featuring OKC Beautiful. 🌳 urbanforestrysouth.org/whats-new/ok...

urbanforestrysouth.org

OKC Beautiful Increases Tree Canopy in Southern Oklahoma City — Urban Forestry South

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

When life pivots, sometimes it can be monumental. kristenaschmitt.substack.com/p/augusts-li...

kristenaschmitt.substack.com

August’s Life Edits

On origin and the next chapter

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

It counts as writing if you iron out an idea while walking the dog.

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

I don't sent New Years resolutions, but every year, I do come up with a set of goals on my birthday. T-minus two days for some focused goal setting.

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Today has been a lot of sending emails into the void, which I guess is better than screaming into the void...

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

There's a reason to fear long grass anywhere ticks are prevalent. My latest for @smithsonianmag.bsky.social tackles the latest tick trends and introduces a new at-home test that could aid in early Lyme disease detection. #LymeAlert www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/t...

smithsonianmag.com

The First At-Home Test for Infected Ticks Could Improve Lyme Disease Diagnosis

LymeAlert will hit the market in August. The latest tool against the tick-borne illness could become a medicine cabinet staple

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

I had the pleasure of catching up with Tara Vander Dussen for Geswein Farm & Land. 🐄 We used to work together back in the day on Season 3 of the Field Work podcast. These days, she’s busy as co-host of Discover Ag TV and Discover Ag on the Road. 🔗 gfarmland.com/blog/meet-ta...

gfarmland.com

Meet Tara Vander Dussen, a dairy advocate and co-host of Discover Ag TV and Discover Ag on the Road - Farm Real Estate for Sale, Wooded Property & Land Broker Agency

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

FUNNY STORY x SANDWICH Mackie’s starting over at exactly the wrong time. To salvage her dumpster-fire life, she takes an ADULT GAP YEAR. While her life starts to improve, a long-buried family secret threatens to unravel the only stable thing left: her relationship with her daughter. #questpit

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

I think my 🙃 about sending stuff to literary magazines is being rejected AND added to their mailing list. #writingcommunity

static.klipy.com

Gary the Snail's Ba Dum Tss Joke

ALT: Gary the Snail's Ba Dum Tss Joke

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

What I’m saying is this: it’s hard to notice your own success when there are still so many far-reaching goals that you still yearn to achieve....let’s not be so hard on ourselves if they don’t happen, but also not lose sight of them and give up. kristenaschmitt.substack.com/p/junes-life...

kristenaschmitt.substack.com

June’s Life Edits

On writing and success

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Spending the weekend solo so working on a new idea that I hope grows into something more. #writingcommunity

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Name a book you've just requested from the library. I'll name two: The Wilder Way by Eva zu Beck Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke #writingcommunity

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

So I'm reading Outlander for the first time....

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

What is the most ridiculous rabbit hole you've fallen into while researching? #writingcommunity

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

What's on your summer reading list, #writingcommunity? Looking for some recommendations! :)

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Spam emails are really wild: either they want to offer me a job at a MAJOR corporation without interviewing me OR ask me if I want to sell my plasma for top $.

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

You know how they always say, start the next thing, and how that feels always a little impossible? Well, I did that yesterday. And the distraction to #amquerying is fantastic (well, that and I also have a massive work project, too, but...). #5amwritersclub #amwriting

static.klipy.com

New Amsterdam: Lauren Bloom Wants a Distraction

ALT: New Amsterdam: Lauren Bloom Wants a Distraction

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Reposted by Kristen Schmitt

Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Yes, I do appreciate the irony that I washed, dried and styled my hair only to walk the dogs right after in the rain. 🔗 kristenaschmitt.substack.com/p/aprils-lif... #WednesdayWisdom #catattack

kristenaschmitt.substack.com

April’s Life Edits

It’s too early to wake up

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Yes, I do appreciate the irony that I washed, dried and styled my hair only to walk the dogs right after in the rain. 🔗 kristenaschmitt.substack.com/p/aprils-lif... #WednesdayWisdom #catattack

kristenaschmitt.substack.com

April’s Life Edits

It’s too early to wake up

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

There's a new #45Z #taxcredit that could be HUGE for American #farmers and become a way to increase the adoption of #regenerativeagriculture to a scale the U.S. hasn't seen before...EXCEPT it all hinges on the still-pending USDA rules and carbon calculator. My latest: 🔗 ambrook.com/offrange/far...

ambrook.com

A Tax Credit for Sustainable Crops

There’s a generous new credit called 45Z that is largely dependent on farmers’ regenerative practices.

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Reposted by Kristen Schmitt

Jesse Hirsch @jessehirsch.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

Dept of Treasury finally approved 45Z, a generous tax credit that rewards producers who use regenerative practices. It could be a huge boon for sustainable ag — if the USDA can agree on its rules. New from @kristenschmitt.bsky.social: ambrook.com/offrange/far...

ambrook.com

A Tax Credit for Sustainable Crops

There’s a generous new credit called 45Z that is largely dependent on farmers’ regenerative practices.

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

This month, I interviewed Ken Dychtwald for an upcoming piece on legacy for AARP. And there’s a piece of advice he gave me during our conversation that rings true and nearly mirrors the goal I mention above. kristenaschmitt.substack.com/p/marchs-lif... #writingcommunity #thursdaythoughts

kristenaschmitt.substack.com

March's Life Edits

On writing and living with intention

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Celebrated finishing the first draft of the WIP with a blizzard and food poisoning. #writingcommunity #5amwritersclub

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

I think 👍 is my least favorite emoji (even though I'm guilty of using it) because nine times out of ten, it's just the laziest of acknowledgments. 🙃

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

For Ambrook's Offrange, I wrote about the growing trend in using goats and sheep as lawnmowers, and interviewed the farmers who raise them and the organizations that help: Goats On The Go and the American Solar Grazing Association. 🔗 ambrook.com/offrange/liv...

ambrook.com

Raising Goats to Graze

Using goats and sheep as lawnmowers has become a booming cottage industry, particularly in conjunction with solar operations. Meet the farmers renting out their ruminants.

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

T-minus 45 pages or +/- 10K and this first draft is DONE. #5amwritersclub #writingcommunity #TGIF

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

I think you should be able to track library holds like you can packages. It would make things a lot easier if those ahead of you had to update their daily reading page count daily so you knew how long you had to wait. Maybe someone should invent that technology. #writingcomunity

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

Do you go by page count or word count when it comes to completing a first draft? I go by a bit of both...but today, I'm thinking in pages and I have about 75 pages left to go and two plot points left to wrap up. #5amwritersclub #writingcommunity #mondaymotivation

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

It's been a busy day, but I hit 60K!!! (And apparently love a good rhyme!) #writingcommunity

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Failure happens, but to make it define us in anything we do is silly. #amwriting #5amwritersclub #onward

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Kristen Schmitt @kristenschmitt.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Applying this quote to my current round of edits...In the words of Kevin McCallister: "All this time I've been worrying about it, but if you turn on the lights, it's no big deal." #freelancewriter

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