<![CDATA[The Signal & The Spiral]]>https://www.melissarosati.comhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7bAG!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea1a7d0f-c4b8-4b3d-9641-e0a655b5d521_256x256.pngThe Signal & The Spiralhttps://www.melissarosati.comSubstackMon, 18 May 2026 14:14:05 GMT<![CDATA[April Video: The Compass ]]>https://www.melissarosati.com/p/april-video-the-compasshttps://www.melissarosati.com/p/april-video-the-compassFri, 10 Apr 2026 18:43:26 GMTWe are now four months into The Writer’s Spiral. This video addresses several questions.

Why am I writing?

Who am I really writing for?

What kind of voice do I want to cultivate on the page?

In Lecture 4, The Compass, we turn toward those questions with care. This month’s focus is on direction, not speed—on helping you clarify your purpose, your audience, …

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]]><![CDATA[From Gutenberg to GPT]]>https://www.melissarosati.com/p/from-gutenberg-to-gpthttps://www.melissarosati.com/p/from-gutenberg-to-gptTue, 24 Mar 2026 15:41:38 GMT

If Gutenberg were my ancestor, I would need more than twenty greats to reach him. But the truth is, I don’t feel that distance. I feel like I’m sitting in the same room, still working with paper and ink. My fingers guide my pen across the page while emitting a scratchy whisper. Then, I shift my hands to the computer keyboard with its soft clacks before …

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]]><![CDATA[Why I'm Bad at Spreadsheets (and housework)]]>https://www.melissarosati.com/p/why-im-bad-at-spreadsheets-and-houseworkhttps://www.melissarosati.com/p/why-im-bad-at-spreadsheets-and-houseworkTue, 03 Mar 2026 14:35:23 GMT

I have a confession to make.

Spreadsheets intimidate me.

The Signal & The Spiral is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Not in the dramatic, Downton Abbey, fainting-couch way. More in the quiet, eat-your-spinach-organize-your-projects-is-good-for-you way. The cursor blinks…

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]]><![CDATA[March Video: The Rhythm ]]>https://www.melissarosati.com/p/march-video-the-rhythmhttps://www.melissarosati.com/p/march-video-the-rhythmMon, 02 Mar 2026 18:50:34 GMTWe are now three months into The Writer’s Spiral.

As the instructor, it’s rewarding to watch your concepts in development as your Substack newsletters begin to take shape.

If you are just joining us or would like to review, the videos are available to paid subscribers.

  • January Video: The Threshold provided the orientation. (click here for video)

  • February …

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]]><![CDATA[February Video: The Spark]]>https://www.melissarosati.com/p/february-video-the-sparkhttps://www.melissarosati.com/p/february-video-the-sparkTue, 03 Feb 2026 18:58:58 GMTGreetings, Spiral Writers and Subscribers:

Our February Theme is The Spark. And, in the immortal words of Bruce Springsteen: “You can’t start a fire without a spark.” Just as you cannot start your writer’s journey on Substack without a spark of organization.

This lecture is an invitation to slow down and take stock—so you can move forward without feeling…

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]]><![CDATA[Punxsutawney Phil Lists His Burrow (Again)]]>https://www.melissarosati.com/p/punxsutawney-phil-lists-his-burrowhttps://www.melissarosati.com/p/punxsutawney-phil-lists-his-burrowMon, 02 Feb 2026 13:41:17 GMT
ChatGPT Prompt: Create an image of Punxsutawney Phil based on this post.

Built in 1886, this historic Punxsutawney burrow has now housed 24 Phils, all of whom have maintained its impeccable charm through blizzards, polar vortices, and COVID. Think of it as a heritage estate—but with more dirt and significantly better insulation.

As much of the country c…

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]]><![CDATA[The Four Horsemen of the Ice Apocalypse ]]>https://www.melissarosati.com/p/the-four-horsemen-of-the-ice-apocalypsehttps://www.melissarosati.com/p/the-four-horsemen-of-the-ice-apocalypseSat, 24 Jan 2026 19:33:02 GMT

By now, many of us are somewhere between searching the utility closet for a flashlight and negotiating delivery tips with Grubhub, bracing for what I’ve come to call—only half-joking—the Ice Apocalypse. Growing up on the farm, we called it winter. But when a storm stretches across half the country, time gets strange, nerves get jumpy, and ordinary incon…

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]]><![CDATA[The Threshold Guardian]]>https://www.melissarosati.com/p/the-threshold-guardianhttps://www.melissarosati.com/p/the-threshold-guardianTue, 20 Jan 2026 14:31:56 GMT

The outdoor temperature in Atlanta chills the bones like a New York Polar Express. Yet in my sunny imagination, it feels like a perfect day to visit the zoo. We have the place almost entirely to ourselves. I wonder if the animals prefer it this way—cold air, fewer humans roaming the paths.

It’s so cold my thoughts drift from elephants munching hay to hum…

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]]><![CDATA[January Video: The Threshold]]>https://www.melissarosati.com/p/january-video-the-thresholdhttps://www.melissarosati.com/p/january-video-the-thresholdWed, 07 Jan 2026 20:26:39 GMTHello, Everyone:

This video marks the beginning of a new benefit I’m offering to paid subscribers, and I want to start by saying thank you. Your investment of time, attention, and resources makes it possible for me to develop work like this, and I don’t take that support lightly.

The Writer’s Spiral course grew directly out of your questions and conversat…

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]]><![CDATA[Standing at the Threshold]]>https://www.melissarosati.com/p/standing-at-the-thresholdhttps://www.melissarosati.com/p/standing-at-the-thresholdMon, 05 Jan 2026 17:33:14 GMT

Dear Readers:

I love reading your messages asking when we begin. Truly. Your enthusiasm tells me we’re standing in exactly the right place together.

The Writer’s Spiral is a course for wisdom writers—writers who are less interested in rushing toward output and more interested in writing with depth, continuity, and lived experience. Some of you are longtim…

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]]><![CDATA[After the Light Turns]]>https://www.melissarosati.com/p/after-the-light-turnshttps://www.melissarosati.com/p/after-the-light-turnsThu, 01 Jan 2026 14:31:03 GMT
Some hands learn by letting things pass through. The Earth Goddess transforms into the Ice Goddess: the Atlanta Botanical Garden, December 2025.

It’s New Year’s Eve.

The quiet authority of winter has already settled in. Walking among the visitors at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, I overhear murmurs as they encounter her: She’s the Virgin Mary. She’s Gaia,…

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]]><![CDATA[Own Your Inner Grinch]]>https://www.melissarosati.com/p/own-your-inner-grinchhttps://www.melissarosati.com/p/own-your-inner-grinchThu, 18 Dec 2025 19:11:14 GMT

Somewhere between the holiday lights and hosting last weekend’s family Cookie Festival, I realized that the biggest saboteur in my writing life is not time, or technology, or even a bout of the winter blues.

My biggest saboteur is my Inner Grinch.

The Signal & The Spiral is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consid…

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]]><![CDATA[First Atlanta Driving Lesson]]>https://www.melissarosati.com/p/first-atlanta-driving-lessonhttps://www.melissarosati.com/p/first-atlanta-driving-lessonTue, 18 Nov 2025 14:31:08 GMT
Please take a look at the note below to spot the ChatGPT error in this image..

There I was on Wednesday morning, chipper as ever at 8 a.m., standing on West Peachtree Street ready for my first city driving lesson in Atlanta. As some of you may recall, a while back, I made a razor-sharp left turn, crossing three lanes of oncoming traffic to get my husband…

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]]><![CDATA[Delphi Bureau | Election Night Exit Poll Results]]>https://www.melissarosati.com/p/delphi-bureau-election-night-exithttps://www.melissarosati.com/p/delphi-bureau-election-night-exitTue, 04 Nov 2025 14:31:21 GMT
ChatGPT5 Prompt: Based on the post title, create an image of the Delphi News Bureau on Election Night using a cartoon/whimsical style.

Dateline: Delphi—9:30 p.m., local Spiral time

Preliminary results are in from the Precincts of Fate and Free Will.

The Signal & The Spiral is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, conside…

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]]><![CDATA[The Courage to Conclude]]>https://www.melissarosati.com/p/the-courage-to-concludehttps://www.melissarosati.com/p/the-courage-to-concludeTue, 28 Oct 2025 13:31:11 GMT
ChatGPT5 Prompt: Stylized portrait of Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum in the spirit of the Gandhi and Jane Goodall portraits created recently for different posts, blending science and myth with symbols of Bigfoot, footprints, and forest shapes in deep blues, ochres, and moss greens.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a serendipitous visit to The Sasquach Museum and Rese…

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]]><![CDATA[The Caregiver's Journal]]>https://www.melissarosati.com/p/the-caregivers-journalhttps://www.melissarosati.com/p/the-caregivers-journalTue, 21 Oct 2025 13:31:03 GMT
This image is a blend of a photograph and an illustration composed in Canva.

Our marriage began underwater, during the rainy aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, on November 5, 2012.

City Hall in lower Manhattan was submerged in silence and silt, as if the city itself had gone underwater to dream of a new beginning. We had one option—head for high ground in the…

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]]><![CDATA[Moonlight and Milestones]]>https://www.melissarosati.com/p/moonlight-and-milestoneshttps://www.melissarosati.com/p/moonlight-and-milestonesTue, 14 Oct 2025 13:35:18 GMT
Between two worlds, the writer steps forward — guided by moonlight, not certainty. Photo by Sachin Khadka, Unsplash.

For the first time in my life, I’m living in a high-rise building about 300 feet above the ground. The building’s curvature makes it feel like I live in a snow globe, with crystal-blue sky so close that the white clouds are flying magic ca…

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]]><![CDATA[The Power of Naming]]>https://www.melissarosati.com/p/the-power-of-naminghttps://www.melissarosati.com/p/the-power-of-namingTue, 07 Oct 2025 13:30:31 GMT
ChatGPT5 Prompt: In the essence and spirit of The Signal & The Spiral, create a mythic portrait image of Jane Goodall.

Do you remember naming your first pet?

I do. Juliette was my first cat. A pregnant calico wandered into the yard of our new farmhouse in Northeastern Ohio. I found her. Offered her a slice of bologna. Named her. And then, as any five-yea…

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]]><![CDATA[Field Notes from The Sasquatch Museum]]>https://www.melissarosati.com/p/field-notes-from-the-sasquatch-museumhttps://www.melissarosati.com/p/field-notes-from-the-sasquatch-museumThu, 25 Sep 2025 13:30:44 GMT
Bigfoot’s face — half wild, half mythic mask — welcomes travelers to Blue Ridge, Georgia. Proof or parody? Step inside to decide.

On Tuesday, the apples were heavy on the trees in northern Georgia, their skins shining a rich red, minty green, and gold in the late September sunshine. A beautiful day to wander an orchard, choosing the perfect apples for fa…

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]]><![CDATA[Pandora: The Mythic AI Deepfake]]>https://www.melissarosati.com/p/pandora-the-mythic-ai-deepfakehttps://www.melissarosati.com/p/pandora-the-mythic-ai-deepfakeTue, 23 Sep 2025 13:30:52 GMT
Lawrence Alma-Tadema's watercolour of Pandora, 1881. Public Domain

The words thank you flash on Daria’s screen when I lift my phone to take her picture. Daria is an Uber delivery robot who pals around my Atlanta neighborhood with her associate Sophie. At the crosswalk, we wait together. I’m on two feet. They’re on four wheels.

Identical twins, save for t…

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