Andrew Careaga (writer)
@andrewcareaga
Writer of fiction and creative (?) nonfiction. Pocho. Half-assed guitarist. Retired #highered marketing/PR guy (Missouri S&T). Writing about writing and my WIPs at andrewcareaga.com. No DMs. #writingcommunity
“Forget your personal tragedy. … you’re not a tragic character. Neither am I. All we are is writers and what we should do is write.” Hemingway, in a letter to Fitzgerald via Junot Diaz on Substack. #writingcommunity
Our beautiful Cletus has passed, and it makes me very sad. Rest easy, dear girl. I hope you are no longer in pain. ❤️🩹🐈⬛🌈
Check out the latest issue of @epistemiclit.bsky.social! It’s all about righteous rage. epistemiclit.com/current-issue/ #WritingCommunity
It’s #caturday with Cletus (the birdbath cat) 🐈⬛ and Elijah 🐈⬛
My mind has been steeped in the world of Jack Conroy and the proletarian writers of the 1930s as I try to whittle this essay-in-progress down to 5,000 words or fewer. Here’s some of the source material. #writingcommunity
First #Caturday morning of spring, and Pete, Clete, and Elijah are here for it.
Another journal finished. Six months of entries over 80 pages. A new journal begins tomorrow. #5amWritersClub #1000words #journaling #continuouspractice #writingcommunity
Would love it if you #WritingCommunity friends would check out my 75-word micro in today’s @paragraphplanet.bsky.social! It’s appropriate for Christmas Eve.
Caught in the act of reading Notepad poetry #writingcommunity
Grateful to Painted Pebble Literary Magazine for nominating my story “Spindled” for inclusion in the 2026 Best Microfiction anthology! #WritingCommunity paintedpebblelit.com/a-careaga-sp...
The actual, full subject line from this email from The New Yorker is “Inside Trump’s Assault on Higher Education,” but this is how it appeared in my inbox. (Cue the Beavis and Butthead laugh track.)
My latest Goodwill find: 50 short stories by some powerhouse writers for $3.99 #shortstories #amreading #booksky #writingcommunity
Saddened to learn of the recent passing of my friend and longtime Missouri S&T colleague Tom Shipley, of Brewer and Shipley fame. Tom and his partner Michael Brewer became counterculture icons with their 1970 hit “One Toke Over the Line.” Photo: me with Tom & Jan Shipley at my retirement reception.
Latest poolside reading (“Burning Down the House,” by Jonathan Gould) with appropriate musical accompaniment (“The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads,” the group’s less-famous live album, the more famous one being the “Stop Making Sense” soundtrack) #talkingheads #burningdownthehouse #booksky
Nice morning swim 🏊♂️ followed by reading a couple of short stories from LitMag (issue 6, 2024) #amreading #literaryfiction #litmags #litmag #litmaglove #shortstories #shortstory #writingcommunity
Friends, my micro fiction piece “Spindled” is out today in Painted Pebble LitMag. I’d love it if you gave it a read. #WritingCommunity paintedpebblelit.com/a-careaga-spin…
I still get a little dopamine rush every time Google Scholar notifies me that one of my long-ago-published books or articles has been cited. It makes me feel still relevant, in a way. #WritingCommunity #GoogleScholar
Cletus the cat is enjoying the birdbath. #catsofbluesky
It’s been a while since I’ve read a good historical biography, so digging into Ron Chernow’s latest doorstop, “Mark Twain.” Cletus the cat is not impressed. #booksky 📚💙
Can any of my #WritingCommunity colleagues tell me which tier is this rejection? I’m thinking it’s one of the levels of rejection hell but not sure which one.
Everything is moving so rapidly in the realm of artificial intelligence that this book may be obsolete before I finish it. “More Than Words” has been loaded on my kindle for a couple of months now, but I’m digging into it this weekend. #ai #books #artificialintelligence #writingcommunity #booksky
Today's Friday Five features @kriskozlowski, a writer of some terrific flash fiction and CNF, as well as a novella-in-flash and novelette! andrewcareaga.com/2025/05/16/f... #WritingCommunity #FlashFiction #writing #WritingLife
Afternoon cleanup on Elmwood Drive, one of the hardest hit areas from last Friday’s tornado. It’s heartbreaking to see all the loss but heartwarming to know there are many helping hands in our community. #RollaStrong
Happy birthday to American treasure Dolly Parton, who turns 79 today!
I don’t agree with everything the writer of this essay (Erik Rittenberry) says about poetry, but he has included a great collection of #writing quotes, Including this from Ursula K. Le Guin. medium.com/@erikrittenb... #writingcommunity
Happy birthday to J.R.R. Tolkien! The creator of “The Hobbit” and the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy was born on this day in 1892. #WritingCommunity #BookSky 📚💙
"When I’m writing the first draft, I’m constantly reminding myself that I’m simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles." - Jordan Peele andrewcareaga.com/2025/01/02/s... #WritingCommunity