I propose Arkenberg’s Law of Blogging
Arkenberg’s Law of Blogging goes thus: The number of blogworthy items occuring in one’s life exists in inverse proportion to the amount of time one has to blog, resulting in less blogging the more there is to blog about. I suppose this could even deserve the name of Arkenberg’s Paradox of Blogging. Unless someone else has observed it first, in which case I am highly embarassed. So, what’s going on in my life that is blogworthy, but I have no time to blog on it? I have...
Read MoreList: What’s surprised me most about Ghana
When I was younger, and I wasn’t sure what to write but I knew I wanted to write something, I would make lists–to keep my thoughts in order, to generate some brainstorming, to summarize or highlight my ideas. I have a jumble of ideas and memories from Ghana, so one way to sort them out–and give a preliminary taste of my trip–is to give you a list. A list of the things that most surprised me on my first trip abroad: *The Handshake. One of my classmates had spent the...
Read MoreFarewell, I’m off to Ghana!
Tomorrow morning I meet with the rest of my class for a last-minute orientation and packing of certain supplies, and then in the afternoon we head to Baltimore Washington International Airport, from there to JFK in New York, and from thence to Accra, where we’ll arrive early Thursday. Making this my last blog post for some time. I hasten to point out that they do have internet access in Ghana. The country as a whole is completely into the 21st century, and they have more cell phones than...
Read MoreSpring Break
I’ve returned home to Wisconsin for one last visit with my family and to get ready for the trip to Ghana! My mother and I spent yesterday running errands and picking up supplies. The above isn’t everything we’ve got, but it’s a good start. I’m especially pleased with the knee-length, flowing & cool, olive-colored skirt. It’s modest for any events and speakers we’ll be visiting in more conservative communities, but also rather pretty and it feels...
Read MoreProgress Update and How To Write A Lot
One of the sweetest perks of my internship is waivers for classes at the Writers Center of Bethesda. Today I attended the evocatively titled “How to Write A Lot”. The gist of the advice was simple–set deadlines, outline first, do not revise or reread on your first draft, write every day, keep your fingers moving (no staring blankly at an equally blank page or screen)–and there were some nifty tips I hadn’t heard before, like using Pavlovian conditioning to make...
Read MoreLast weekend for Ghanaian Microloans Campaign!
Our IndieGoGo Campaign to raise funding for a project providing microloans to women in 5 rural villages in Ghana, for which I’ve pledge & provided a free short story, is in its final days. It closes to contributions at midnight, March 4th. My student group will continue to accept funds for this project through PayPal, but this is your last chance to give and earn mementos of the trip and the impact of your contribution in exchange! If you can afford to give any amount at this time,...
Read MoreIs Malaria really that bad?
Today I visited Capitol Travel Medicine of Arlington, Virginia to get my immunizations ready for the trip to Ghana. I’m giving the full name because you can consider this post a wholehearted endorsement; they were very pleasant and extremely helpful. Yellow Fever shots aren’t the most painful thing in the world–mine ended with small welt and a lingering medicinal sting, the kind that reassuringly reminds you that you’ve just had a weakened but potentially deadly virus...
Read MoreThe Family: A Story for A Cause
“The Family” originally appeared on my old LiveJournal page as part of Crossed Genres’ Post A Story for Haiti project. The idea of the project was that writers would post a free short story, and readers could show their appreciation by donating what in their minds the story was worth to a cause assisting Haitians after the devastating earthquake early in 2010. A bit like sponsors supporting someone racing for the cure. But instead of doing something easy like running a...
Read MoreAbout Therese
Therese Arkenberg's first short story was accepted for publication on January 2, 2008, and her second acceptance came a few hours later. Since then they haven't always been in such a rush, yet her work appears in places like Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Analog, Daily Science Fiction, and the anthology Sword & Sorceress XXIV. Aqua Vitae, her science fiction novella, was released by WolfSinger Publications in December 2011.
She works as a freelance editor and writer in Wisconsin, where she returned after a brief but unforgettable time in Washington, D.C. When she isn't reading, writing, or editing (it's true!) she serves on the board of the Plowshare Center of Waukesha, which works for social, economic, and environmental justice.