Dangerous Deer, Writing a Novel in 90 Days, and Magazine Recs

Well, I’ll be real. Everything going on lately has been heavy (and even that is an understatement).

I’m sending you lots of love. 🖤

I picked this book up at the local library recently, and wow. It was transcendent. While I wouldn’t call it horror or “weird girl” by traditional terms, I would argue that the protagonist in Claire Oshetsky’s novel Poor Deer is a coming-of-age glimpse into the makings of a weird girl’s psyche.

Meet Margaret. She’s a kid who likes to play games, just like any other. One day, her and her best friend Agnes decide to play a new game, but it ends in tragedy when Agnes gets stuck in a cooler.

Margaret panics and runs home, without telling anyone. Hours go by. Eventually, Agnes’s body is found, and Margaret doesn’t know how to contend with the fact that her best friend is gone—and she may be to blame.

The novel explores how this traumatic event affects Margaret for years to come, fundamentally altering her childhood. We also get to know the surreal personification of her grief and shame, a looming deer figure she refers to as Poor Deer.

In order to grapple with the loss of her best friend, Margaret frequently invents stories with happy endings to self-soothe. She befriends a local kooky pigeon keeper, Maarten De Smedt, who offers temporary relief with his kindness and love of birds. He tells her that one of his birds can deliver a message to her friend up in heaven.

Eventually, she realizes this was just a way for him to comfort her. I thought Oshetsky did an excellent job at providing the perspective of a child, yet she does so with grownup precision.

This is just one of many events that go on to shape Margaret and her view of the world. I read the book in a few days, and found myself having to pause several times during each reading session to take everything in.

I’d highly recommend this book if you’re in the mood for a coming-of-age read that explores childhood trauma and the stories we tell ourselves in order to cope.

Just be warned that the reading experience can feel both brutal and beautiful all at once.

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As you may or may not know, I’ve taken it upon myself to write the first draft of my novel in 90 days. By the time you’re reading this, I’ve just completed day 2. The process has felt simultaneously exciting and nerve wracking.

The only experience I have writing fiction is with short stories, which I haven’t written in years. The idea of stretching this story I’ve had in mind into a full novel sounds daunting, I’m not going to lie.

I’ve done my fair share of outlining and character sketches, so it’s been interesting knowing where I want the story to eventually go, but having to pace myself and build up to it in a way that properly sets the groundwork, yet still feels interesting enough.

I’ve also been thinking a lot about how my story’s protagonist is both similar and different to me… and it’s made me wonder where the line is drawn between the old adage of “write what you know” vs. feeling like “wow, self-absorbed much?”

Regardless, I know I’m only two days in. There’s so much more for me to learn and I’m sure there are so many ways this current rough draft will morph as the writing and editing process progresses.

If you’ve ever wanted to write a novel (or any other creative work) but have been making excuses, let this be your sign to do it. You don’t need all the answers, and it doesn’t need to be perfect. Who knows what it could become?

Continuing the physical media trend that I really hope isn’t merely a trend, I now present to you: five magazines I think you should know about.

I recently picked these up at a local newsstand, and they’ve been such a treat to flip through.

Orion is a magazine about nature and culture. The latest issue is all about cryptids, so you know I immediately had to lock in and purchase it. If you aren’t familiar with the term, cryptids are unexplainable creatures that exist in local folklore, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, Mothman, etc. The art featured in this edition is also stunning!

72 is a magazine with range. Covering fashion, art, and culture, it feels extremely current and well-curated. I mean, just look at this stunning cover! It absolutely reeled me in, and I wasn’t disappointed by the contents inside, either.

Art Bar is an art lover’s dream. Full of art from a wide range of artists, it offers a fresh look into the latest happenings in the art world. Their one year subscription is currently on sale here, so I’d highly recommend snagging it at a discount while you still can!

Mousse features art, essays, and short stories. I’d previously never heard of this magazine before, and I believe it’s based out of Milan, Italy. One of my favorite things about purchasing from local newsstands is finding gems like these that I otherwise wouldn’t come across.

I should preface this by saying that I'd consider Purple to be more of a coffee table book than a magazine. It’s massive. This particular issue drew me in for meta reasons… it’s all about the analog. What better way to celebrate physical media than by flipping through the actual pages of this magazine?

Nekima Levy Armstrong is an award-winning civil rights attorney and activist who was arrested for participating in an anti-ICE demonstration at a local church in St. Paul.

Although she was recently released, the current administration posted an AI-altered image of her to make it look like she was sobbing during her arrest. It doesn’t get more dystopian than this, folks.

Thank you to Nekima Levy Armstrong, everyone protesting against ICE in Minnesota, and anyone else using their voice to stand up against state sanctioned violence.

Below are a few Minnesota-based organizations for anyone who is willing and able to contribute:

That’s all I have for you this week. Want more in the meantime?

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The Weird Girl Edit is a weekly newsletter written by Maya Rector, and it gets published every Wednesday. View past editions here. If you haven’t already, subscribe for the latest wacky musings in literature, media, and pop culture each week!