A Small Shift in the Process

Little steps you can take to help you find the next, best idea.

If you’re in New Orleans, I will be interviewing Daniel Kraus about his new book, Angel Down, at Blue Cypress Books on August 3. This is my last event until this fall, but it’s jampacked with events, with more being added all the time.

One fall event in particular I would like to highlight is that I am throwing a party for Patricia Lockwood in my backyard for her stunning new book Will There Ever Be Another You. This will be on September 27 and it will be ticketed and it will be a goddamn riot.

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Hi friends.

When I moved into this house this winter my brother and his family (who are also my family but you know what I mean) sent me a gift certificate to a vintage kitchen supply shop. It took me a few months to use it because I was still trying to unpack and assess everything that I had and how it worked in this new space. And also the shop was uptown, about twenty minutes away, and you would think that doesn’t sound like it’s so far away, but in a small city, where you’re lucky to have most things you need within walking distance, driving twenty minutes can sometimes feel like you’re taking a road trip across state lines.

The brain plays tricks on us, what can I say?

Anyway, when I finally got to the store, I felt a little giddy shopping with that gift certificate. It was silly but I felt really childlike and spoiled for a second. And there was something about using it in real life rather than online that felt extra fun. It made me take my time. I asked questions of the saleswoman. I hemmed and hawed and pretended like I actually knew how to cook.

One of the things I bought was this set of orange candles. (Not actually a cooking utensil, no surprise there.) I have two orange pitchers on my kitchen table and also an orange painting on my wall and I thought it would look nice, and it did, and believe me I am not always thinking about color so I felt proud of myself. Look at me, matching shit, I thought.

But then the candles have sat on my table unused for months, except for once or twice maybe when the power went out. I was obsessed with the matchiness of the situation and forgot about the core purpose of those candles which is, of course, to light a room.

This is very like me to focus on one thing and develop a blind spot because of it. It is something I am working on all the time, and also something I ask for help with from my friends, too. In particular, it is a thing I ask when I give my work to my friends: Where are the holes? Are there any moments that pull you out of the story? What am I missing?

It turns out, I was missing the light of a candle.