Makena Metz

Say Less by Makena Metz Don’t talk to me about pain—how you breathe it in and it breaks you. Pain fragments into fractals in my cellsas my nerve endings speak to my brain; my muscle says ouch, but the pain isn’t real.It i…

And thanks to @flarelitmag for publishing my poem "Say Less" in Issue 5. I really enjoyed playing with the wording in that one ❤️ flare-magazine.com/say-less-by-...

The Intangible Force of an 11pm Snack — SillyGoosePress I fell in love with you over a grilled cheese. Do you remember that summer night? A dry wind blew through the open windows of the house, smelling like jasmine and sage. We were up late on your couch, ...

Thank you to @sillygoosepress for publishing "The Intangible Force of an 11pm Snack" as flash for their Melt Issue! 🧀🍞 sillygoosepress.com/melt/the-int...

Empty Nester By Makena Metz Aquarius 𖤓 | Capricorn ⏾ | Sagittarius ↑ Epiphany Spurling woke every morning to the sound of birdsong. She usually blinked awake in the warm sunlight streaming through her open wind…

I've been a little behind on recent publications but am feeling so lucky that so much of my work is getting out there! ☺️

Thank you to @acuriousmoon for publishing my odd little story about grief and birds! "Empty Nester" can be read in Issue 3: The Quickening! 🐥 acuriousmoon.com/2026/03/11/e...

I've been trying to find a home for this one short story for 3 years and it FINALLY got an acceptance for publication! 🥳 Just a reminder that sometimes this industry runs on patience 🫠

Finished revising the first half of my book WOOOO! 56k words and not too much to do... except go back and integrate all the notes from my agent on chs. 1 to 19, then cut some words, and revise the second half 😅

I got a very cool audition today and I am trying very hard not to panic about that so I just repeat my fav writing mantra over and over: ✨ AUDITION FOR THE NEXT AUDITION ✨

Issue 5 Editor’s Note Dear Reader, Thank you for stopping by for another issue of FLARE! If you’re new to FLARE, welcome, and if you’ve returned, welcome back! I am always so incredibly h…

Today is rare disease day! I have a rare chronic illness that affects 2/1,000,000 people. And my poem about chronic pain just got published by flarelitmag so check out the new issue here! 🥳

flare-magazine.com/current-issue/

#rarediseaseday

Thanks for sharing! ❤️

More LOVE, more CONTRIBUTORS, more MELT!!! Hittin’ the SGP site on Feb 26! 💋💋💋

featuring:
#FiyinAdekoya
#EllaGammel
@makenametz.bsky.social

Defiance & Dialogue: Redefining Mentality — The Blunt Space This issue of the digital, literary magazine touches on mental health, disorders, and the experiences of people living with mental and cognitive disabilities

Thank you to @thebluntspace for publishing two of my poems in Defiance & Dialogue Issue 3: Redefining Mentality! ❤️ Check out the amazing pieces in this issue and thanks for reading ☺️

www.theblunt.space/publications...

#poetry #publication #poet #poets #thebluntspace

Today I wrote and wrote and hit 55k words and sent my latest chunk to my agent!!! I’m at the halfway point and will def have to cut some stuff as I tend to be an overwriter, but it’s so nice revising this book (draft six for those wondering) and knowing it’s HALFWAY DONE 🥳🥳🥳

Getting better at throwing together rough demos to hand off to producers! An essential musical skill 🥲

Decided to lean into delusion and apply for something I'm 99.999% sure I won't get picked for, but hey! Better to shoot your shot then regret never taking it 🥲

My debut poetry chapbook is now ouuuttt and people can read my work through an actual press! So today I feel like a Real Poet™️ which is kinda cool 🥹

Through My Marrow, by Makena Metz Poetry, chapbook, 40 pages, from Bottlecap Features. This chapbook is an autobiographical poetry collection about the author’s decade-long journey with illness and recovery. From becoming sick wi...

I am over the moon to share that my debut chapbook “Through My Marrow” is available to order through @bottlecappress 🥹

Thank you for ordering a copy and supporting my work! 🙏🏻❤️

bottlecap.press/products/thr...

#poetry #poets #poetrycommunity #publication #press #poetrylovers

Had to apply to a writer match thing and they asked “anything else you want your potential match to know” so of course I put “I am a silly goose and an old soul” 🪿 like, hope that helps 🤷🏼‍♀️

I just got to approve the layout of my debut poetry chapbook - and the cover looks AMAZING 🤩 I can't wait to shout about it once I know the release date!! #poetry

If you’re using AI to write books, you’re not an author 😒

I write books the way the ancients did 🤷🏼‍♀️ internal pressure from a weird combination of confident delusion, impostery self doubt, and the voices in my head

Devastated to report that walking my dog outside and smelling the grass and feeling the sun helped me feel better after being on my laptop all morning 😭

The time has come again to lead a Women in Animation mentorship circle! 🔥 Spend the spring with me chatting about writing songs for animation! Apply at the link below. Looking forward to your application! 🥳🎶

wearewia.org/become-a-men...

#wia #wearewia #womeninanimation #songwriting #mentee

I think being a writer myself helps a lot! I know what it’s like to be them 😅

Tonight I finished line and copy editing a behemoth fantasy novel for the imprint I edit for and finishing a project like this is soooo satisfying, esp since genre fiction is my specialty. I really feel like I pushed the author to make the book the best it could be 🥰

Today I am 31 years old and can confidently say my 30s are already 100x better than my 20s 🥰

Tonight I wrote a ch of my book where the friend group uses seagulls to attack their way into a marketing studio and if that’s not the most LA thing ever, I don’t know what is 🤷🏼‍♀️

The Flowering of Nightmares and Dreams I eyed his gun and followed him inside. This was all wrong—the fate I’d been avoiding for months. I resented the baby for it. My stomach cramped, and I welcomed the pain.

Thank you @thekismetmag for publishing my short story! This one’s pretty dystopian, so take care when reading since it hits close to home 🙏🏻

CW: eugenics, fascism, death of an animal

thekismetmagazine.com/2026/01/23/t...

#shortstory #publication #dystopian #sciencefiction #literarymagazine

Oh yay my dystopian short story is getting published tomorrow! 🥳

an opossum laying in a bathtub next to a yellow rubber duck that says i 'm trying ALT: an opossum laying in a bathtub next to a yellow rubber duck that says i 'm trying

I actually finished my editing work within my alloted time today YAY! 😅 This is the problem with part time work, you have to be super aware of how much energy you're putting into a project, manage the time and be aware of the due date, all while giving the author 110%.

I'm in a weird limbo now where I don't know what I'm doing work wise for the spring until mid-February and aaaaall of the opps I'm waiting to hear back on collide with my part time job's deadline then 😵‍💫 I just wanna get paid to write or read/edit books, ya know?

I don’t write for me. No, I write to shut up the voices in my head AND for my unhinged friends who I expect to gasp out loud while beta reading my book 🙂‍↕️

I just read the first acknowledgements where I got thanked as an editor and yeah, I think I love working in publishing 🥰