iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

This week, I'm feeling funky. How to know when you're in a funk, how to embrace it, and how to gently start working back toward normal. marissadechant.substack.com/p/creative-f...

marissadechant.substack.com

The only way out of a creative funk is through.

How to know when you’re stuck and the freedom of embracing unplanned unproductivity.

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Reading and conversation tonight with Bunny’s Mona Awad in my lovely city, Pittsburgh! 🐰

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

If I play Sufjan Stevens loudly enough, the temperatures will drop. It’s science. 🍁

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Sharing my spooky season TBR this week—Wilkie Collins, Patrick Süskind, Ray Bradbury, and more! marissadechant.substack.com/p/2026-fall-...

marissadechant.substack.com

The spooky stack: a TBR line up that I hope will haunt my dreams.

Wilkie Collins, Ray Bradbury, Patrick Süskind, and more.

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Love Devon Halliday's piece this week on how to give feedback - crucial, practical tips for critique groups, workshops, etc. Worth the read! devonhalliday.substack.com/p/how-to-giv...

devonhalliday.substack.com

How to Give Feedback

Best practices for giving editorial feedback on a book-length manuscript

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

After a rough week, grateful for the little things, like the fact that I don't hate the submission process. Spent the morning in Chill Subs and got my submission count for the year up to 72.

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

This week, I'm sharing my top picks for cozy, thoughtful literary fiction for your autumn TBR. I'm working on my horror/spooky picks next—fall makes for the best book reading! marissadechant.substack.com/p/cozy-lit-f...

marissadechant.substack.com

Looking for cozy, thought-provoking lit fic? Here are three books for your autumn TBR.

Ann Patchett, Maggie O'Farrell, and Douglas Stuart—need I say more?

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

A new short from yours truly, inspired by all the times my grandpa told me to smile and that other time a boy took me on a date to a sub shop in college and I watched him wax poetic with mayo on his mouth. Thanks, BULL Lit Mag!

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

I decided to write an hour per day in the week leading up to my vacation and documented it in this week’s article! (Also please ignore the .04 percent in the tagline. I famously cannot do math, and it’s since been fixed in the article itself lol.) open.substack.com/pub/marissad...

open.substack.com

Seven good hours: follow along as I write my way toward vacation.

Because one hour is only .04 percent of my day, and I can commit to that, right?

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Sharing three recent podcasts this week whose storytelling capabilities speak to me as a writer. If you’ve listened to any of my recommendations, I’d love to hear your thoughts! marissadechant.substack.com/p/podcasts-f...

marissadechant.substack.com

What makes a compelling story? These three podcasts show us the right ingredients.

New listening for the long commute, load of dishes, or road trip ahead.

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

My friend Marijean putting the “flash” in flash fiction. 🍒

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Tiered rejections make the world go round.

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

In-person workshops handled with care and full of live discussion are really really special.

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

One thing you can’t say about me is that I didn’t keep my pets well-read.

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

This week, I’m sharing how I planned for a week off of writing and how I also planned my return. Why so much planning involved in getting to relax? It might be a “me” problem, but hopefully this helps other high-strung writers enjoy their leisure time. marissadechant.substack.com/p/week-off-f...

marissadechant.substack.com

I took a week off from writing. Here's what I learned.

My first intentional break from creating was just what I needed.

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Me: why is editing this story for workshop taking so much from me? Oh, there’s a literal chunk of MY HEART in this story and it’s emotionally draining!!

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

This week, how I'm preparing for a week off from writing. (Hint: It involves more writing.) Because rest is important even when the thing you're doing is sitting and staring at words you strung together. marissadechant.substack.com/p/when-to-rest

marissadechant.substack.com

When to rest: a necessary interlude to restore your creative spirit this summer.

How to take an actual break from writing, thinking about writing, and feeling guilty for not writing.

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Anne Lamott said something about how we don’t need to try harder to write, we just need to resist less. Girl I’ve been resisting since I got the umbilical cord wrapped around my neck, this shit is hard.

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

I’ve distilled my five years in four different writing workshops into this post. Will it help you? Maybe. Should you read it regardless? Yes! marissadechant.substack.com/p/writing-wo...

marissadechant.substack.com

Writing workshops: the good, the bad, and the funky.

The pros and cons of in-person vs. online, synchronous vs. asynchronous from someone who's done it all.

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Reposted by Marissa Dechant

Taco Bell Quarterly @tacobellquarterly.org · 14/06/2026

Just actually write down the things you are thinking. That's how you do it

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

At the beginning of the year, I made it a goal to get three short stories accepted into literary magazines. Halfway through the year, where do I stand? marissadechant.substack.com/p/2026-summe...

marissadechant.substack.com

We're halfway through 2026. Let's look at my submission stats.

Where am I in meeting my acceptance goal for the year?

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

I am making matcha cookies! Come eat my matcha cookies!!!

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

My husband and I went to West Virginia last weekend and enjoyed a slower paced getaway. My thoughts below! marissadechant.substack.com/p/you-need-a...

marissadechant.substack.com

Chronic over-thinker? You need a 'boring' vacation.

Removing the choice, pressure, and performance of the 'perfect' getaway.

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

"My dad is the last of our family to see Chris in February 1985. My dad is 23, Chris, 27." This week, I share my thoughts on Harrison Hill's "The Oracle's Daughter," a book detailing the cult that my uncle took part in for 30 years. marissadechant.substack.com/p/the-oracle...

marissadechant.substack.com

The Oracle's Daughter: my experience reading about the cult that took my uncle.

On family heartbreak and the weirdness of memory.

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

My reminder to you (fellow creatives) to eat a vegetable, plus my recipe for chocolate blended oats, which are basically pudding. Read below! marissadechant.substack.com/p/taking-car...

marissadechant.substack.com

Taking care as writers: are you all right over there?

Finding a sustainable routine while nurturing your passion for making up stuff.

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

Currently reading The Oracle’s Daughter, a book detailing the cult that my uncle joined and whom I never got to meet. My dad and aunt are referenced in the notes, having been interviewed by the author.

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

I’ve been dealing with a bit of creative burnout lately. Here’s out I’m slowly crawling out of it! marissadechant.substack.com/p/cure-for-w...

marissadechant.substack.com

Writer's block, burnout, beyond inspiration: how to bite back.

Diving back into your creative routine.

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Reposted by Marissa Dechant

Max Zell @maxzell.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Hey, Pittsburgh writers! Check out writersinpittsburgh.org! If you're looking for a consistently meeting writing workshop, a book club, local write-ins and writing related events, or just wanna make more writer friends, WiP has all that and more! All writers. All genres. Come through!

writersinpittsburgh.org

Writers in Pittsburgh – A friendly group of local writers

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

If you’re experiencing writer’s block, take a look at what you’re reading. Instead of exciting you, is it slowing you down, confounding you, frustrating you? If you’re not completely taken by a book you’re reading right now, that may be your answer.

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Eating delicious things at restaurants and remaking them at home for cheaper. 🤠

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Evening walks with my husband where we meet new friends. 🐱

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

I call this one “Mom’s Green Thumb.”

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Me, currently experiencing shame around my body size and determined to lose some pounds over the next few months. The communications conference I’m at for the week:

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Read at an open mic over the weekend. I had so much fun! I read a humorous piece I wrote recently and enjoyed hearing the laughs it produced, as well as hearing fellow great writers and friends read their works. Can’t wait to do it again.

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Ever imagine attending a residency without leaving your house? A couple weekends ago, my husband and I held an at-home residency to focus on our personal projects. It was fun! It was productive! It included good food! marissadechant.substack.com/p/at-home-re...

marissadechant.substack.com

How to create your own at-home weekend residency.

It might not be as dreamy as the real thing, but it's an affordable alternative.

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

“A mind lively and at ease, can do with seeing nothing, and can see nothing that does not answer.” - Jane Austen telling everyone to get off social media

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

I always love reading a party scene. I get to be in the middle of fun and whimsy without having to put on real clothes and lessen my social battery, and I can still be in bed at a reasonable time.

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

I am completely sane, grounded, and not at all overwhelmed by the number of incomplete stories in my folders.

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Writers often swing between feeling like absolute geniuses and absolute dunces. Right now, I feel like a raccoon scratching in the dirt with a stick.

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Marissa Dechant @marissadujour.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

One slice of cake for each rejection I received this week. 😇

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