Ruth Buchanan's Blog

One of the primary struggles of writing is the work itself. I’ve detailed that struggle sufficiently elsewhere and won’t elaborate at the moment. You’re welcome.

Another struggle of the writing life is keeping your work in front of people and making sure they can find it.

In an attempt to do just that, I’m migrating my public writing over to Substack.

Nothing But Good News

Everything here on the blog will stay here. If you’ve ever posted or linked to any work here, those links will stay active,...

Guaranteed.

A former student used to give me ground coffee at Christmas, but wrapped in Victorias Secret bags so Id have to carry them through the halls saying, Its coffee, I promise, its really just coffee. While in Korea last year, we decided to go out during Typhoon Lingling, and my shirt blew straight up. One foggy morning back when I was teaching, I accidentally hit a bird with my car on the way to school. Feeling sad but thinking little of it throughout the day, I was shocked in the...

I dont want to boast, but Ive been working from home for roughly seven years.

This is how the magic happens.

How to Work From Home: An Expert Guide

1. The night before, set your alarm for super early so that you will be able to get a jump start on the day. Just think, if you knock out all your work before lunch, youll have all afternoon to enjoy yourself! You are so smart.

2. When the alarm goes off, wonder what you were thinking. Why are you getting up early? You have literally all day to do...

Yes, there are times to speak.

When error and injustice reign, we should kick up a fuss. When nuance is needed in constructive conversations, we should make our voices heard.

However, in some areas, silence is more effective.

For this reason, while I don’t willingly throw my money behind companies and causes I can’t in good faith support, I also don’t jump on public boycotting bandwagons.

Here’s why.

There’s actually good evidence that loud, social-media-fueled boycotts don’t work; in fact,...

For all my fellow Literary Lonely-Heart Friends who plan to spend Valentine’s Day 2020 at home alone, snuggled under a fuzzy blanket, nerding it up with a good book.

You are my people, and these are for you.

You’re welcome.

(Also, I apologize.)

Stuff Like This

I want to live a love song.

I want a true love story.

But all I’ve managed to pull off

Is cosplay Jo and Laurie.

I want a couple’s portrait,

In grand, dramatic tableaux.

Instead, I pose for headshots,

Profile, like Cyrano.

I want to...

Total Books: 171

This year I read fewer books than in 2018, but since I invested in some truly long and/or challenging works, I guess it mostly evens out.

Total Pages: 49,427

The longest book I read this year wasHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,at which point my workflow exploded and my series re-read derailed. I plan to circle back in 2020 and finish up, though.

Breakdown by Category

Please enjoy some highlights from my year in books. I’ve arranged the categories in descending order...

We’ve reached the tail end of 2019, which also marks the close of a decade. That means instead of getting a year-in-review retrospective, you’re getting a decade in review, minus the boring bits.

All things considered, the past ten years have been a mixed bag. Witness the following accomplishments and events from the last decade, both good and bad.

Between 2010 and 2019

launched a writing career, publishing six books, four plays, and four sacred scripts, all while amassing an avalanche of...

I recently wrote about my trip to Korea and how everyone kept asking why I would vacation there.

As promised, I’m back with a few vignettes from the trip.

My friend Pricilla and I arrived at Seoul’s Incheon International Airport after nearly 24-hours of uninterrupted travel. After a bit of bumbling around the airport, we managed to find the correct counter to purchase a bus ticket for the 1.5-hour ride to Namsan.

We were two of only four passengers on board the clean, air-conditioned bus. Our flight had landed lat...

Last month, I took a ten-day trip to Korea.

Seoul’s a fantastic city to visit. It’s easy to navigate, welcoming, and relatively clean and safe. It was definitely one of the most enjoyable and restful trips I’ve taken in a while.

In the run-up to the trip, however, as I announced my plans, I was faced with an almost universal question: “Why?”

Why the Why?

I’ve traveled internationally a bit. Most places I go, nobody asks why.

The last few years took me to Scotland, New Zealand, England, and Fr...

Last month, two friends and I took a road trip to Montgomery, Alabama.

Our intent was not simply to eat, drink, and be merry, though we did manage to fit those things in as well. Our main purpose was to fill in some gaps in our knowledge of American history. We’d centered this particular trip around hitting some of the historical stops along the Civil Rights Trail.

I’ve always enjoyed seeing locations I’d previously only read about in books. Inevitably, I come away with lessons that only exp...