A B Tuell

Blog

  • Swing Slump

    If I thought I was struggling with my creative rhythm last week, this week, I felt like I’d fallen off the swing entirely. Even this blog post was hard to begin. For days, my energy has been low and I’ve… Read more

  • Momentum Swings

    My favorite piece of equipment on the playground as a kid had to be a swing. There was something about the predictable motion, the view of the world at the apex, and the independent experience that really grabbed me. I… Read more

  • You’re Not You When You’re Not Creating

    Somehow, September is already here, and if you’ve been following along for a bit, you know what that means! It’s time to pick a Theme of the Month for August. To recap: my theme for January was celebrating every accomplishment. In February, I… Read more

  • For the Fun

    Hockey is finally back!! Well, sort of. Almost. This past weekend, I had the pleasure of watching a bunch of alumni from the University of Denver Pioneers and Colorado Avalanche face off for an evening of hockey fun and shenanigans… Read more

  • Credit Due

    If you’ve been with me for a minute, you know I love writing, and it brings me a lot of joy to do what I love. Currently, I’m juggling a number of different projects: a couple novels, some short stories,… Read more

  • Short Little Life

    I am the last person people want to ask what I’ve been up to this summer. Not only am I not kayaking or swimming or hiking or whatever outdoorsy people are doing in Colorado this time of year, much of… Read more

  • Growth

    Throughout July, I often found myself reminiscing—and not just on the first half of 2026 (which is flying by me; how is it already August?). July’s blog posts took great inspiration from the past, and, looking back at this month,… Read more

  • First Drafts and Freedom

    When I was in high school and undergrad, I often wished that I had the option to write an essay instead of taking a test. When I was regularly writing essays, I could sneeze most of them into existence. Essays… Read more

  • It’s Not Just a Phase

    Last week, I wrote about resistance, some of the many ways it can show up in the writing life, and some tactics for resisting resistance. Recently, I’ve been dealing with a lot of it, and not just when I try… Read more

  • Resisting Resistance

    Writing brings me a lot of joy. It’s one of my favorite activities. I love telling stories and exploring what could be. I love building effective, clear, precise, simple sentences. I love writing about writing. And yet, that doesn’t mean… Read more

  • Your Mileage Will Vary

    I’ve long wanted to become a better and better writer. I’ve sought to learn more about the craft and process of writing. So, it made sense for me to major in English and creative writing in undergrad and grad school.… Read more

  • Independence Day 250

    This is going to be a short one. Today, I took an extra day of rest to celebrate the place I call home. I am feeling very blessed to be an American on this 250th Independence Day. Let freedom ring.… Read more

  • Throughline

    The tricky part about calling anything “of the month” is that it creates the expectation that the months that follow will also get their own thing. My theme for January was about celebrating every accomplishment. In February, I was encouraged to just start,… Read more

  • Lessons Learned and Learning

    There are many things I wish I could have told my younger self years ago before she started the largest project she had ever completed on an immovable deadline. Back when I was working toward my MFA in Creative Writing,… Read more

  • Pivoting for Progress

    It’s hard to believe that the sun has already set on the 2025-2026 NHL season. Just a few weeks ago, I thought I’d be watching the Colorado Avalanche battling for the Cup this June. Instead, it’s the offseason, and the… Read more

  • Postseason Pain and Positives

    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’ve been blessed this year as a fan of professional sports in Denver. At the same time, it’s been a rough postseason. On the one hand, the Denver Broncos, Colorado Mammoth,… Read more

  • Good Things

    When I looked back on May 2026 to find my Theme of the Month, at first I struggled to see beyond a recent disappointment in my hockey world that had me asking “Is it October yet?” After exiting the regular… Read more

  • For the Love of the Game

    This year, I’ve been blessed to watch my favorite hockey teams extend their seasons and make the playoffs. First up, my Denver Pioneers won their conference championship in March and their 11th national title in April. Later, the Colorado Avalanche… Read more

  • Finding Joy

    Is it just me, or is this year passing quickly? Somehow, we are about to start the final third of May and the third round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. When not writing, this lifelong Avalanche fan has been… Read more

  • Detours

    In my writing life, I have been keeping several plates spinning simultaneously: researching agents to query, looking for comp titles, searching for short story markets and contests, posting weekly on Instagram, writing blog posts, planning a short story, polishing one… Read more

  • Grace

    It’s that time again: time to choose a theme for the previous month. With every calendar page turn this year, I asked no one in particular how we can already be another month deeper into 2026. It seems like just… Read more

  • Happy Habits

    If you’re just joining me, I’ve been watching a lot of, first collegiate, then NHL playoff hockey recently. Not long after the Denver Pioneers won their 11th national championship, the Colorado Avalanche began their playoff run. The Avs just finished… Read more

  • Seasonal Symmetry

    In case you thought I was done writing about hockey for a while, I assure you there’s always something hockey to write about. My Pioneers may have recently entered the offseason on the highest of high notes, NCAA trophy in… Read more

  • You Can’t Spell ChamPIOnS Without PIOS

    The final chapters in the 2025-2026 collegiate men’s ice hockey season were written in Las Vegas over the weekend. It all came down to a blue-blooded Frozen Four. The last teams standing—Wisconsin, North Dakota, Michigan, and Denver—lead the country in… Read more

  • Persistence

    When I was considering my March theme, for days, I came up with nothing in particular. March came and went in a blink. If it hadn’t been for the April Fool’s posts ranging from the satirically almost believable to the… Read more

  • Magness North

    While other sports fans are keeping an eye on college basketball and the young MLB season, this writer is closely following hockey. Previously on Denver’s playoff run: the Pioneers defeated the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs in the NCHC championship game in 2OT,… Read more

  • Playing the Full 82ish Minutes

    There’s something surreal about going to a collegiate conference championship hockey game in March when it’s almost 90 degrees outside (and some years it could just as easily be in the 30s and snowing heavily). It’s a strange juxtaposition: unusually… Read more

  • Putting in the Work

    Going into Saturday night’s hockey game, Denver vs Western Michigan, I was nervously excited. I had no idea if it was going to be the last home game at Magness Arena for the Pioneers, but I had a glimmer of… Read more

  • The Rest of Intermission

    Last week, I saw something we haven’t seen a lot of in Denver this season: snow. This wasn’t just a dusting or one of those mucky Spring storms either—this was inches of the pretty stuff. Whenever I looked outside, the… Read more

  • The Second-Best Time

    When I was thinking about the theme of the month for February, I realized that one phrase kept popping up in my head throughout January and February. This phrase was on my mind when I was actively taking steps toward… Read more

  • Post-Conference Crash and Burnout

    When I got home from Superstars, I was tired. To be honest, I was tired before Superstars. In January, I had undertaken a series of challenges; in the span of about a month I rewrote a novel, bought a domain,… Read more

  • Superstars 2026

    If I told you I’ve been telling stories my whole life, you’d probably be surprised by how long it took me to attend my first official writing conference. For years, the idea of conferences and all they entail exhausted me.… Read more

  • A Win is a Win

    I’d call it the theme of the day, the theme of last week—maybe my whole January. I came up with the theme of the month while watching both Pioneer hockey games the final weekend of the month (check the box… Read more