It took an author from New Orleans to introduce me to Literary Cleveland! Thank you. I was aware of the treasure which is the Cleveland Library, and still have warm, fuzzy memories of the branch in my Cleveland neighborhood where my mother took me as a child. Libraries still give me the warm fuzzies. Tomorrow my first book will be available. A Call to Needles, Acts of Craftivism and Crafted Kindness in the Age of Trump. I knew nothing about writing, publishing, permissions, etc., when I began. Now I know a little more. Your 1,000 words of Summer helped me stay disciplined and form better writing habits and I am grateful. I cannot wait for next year's Inkubator Conference in Cleveland! I hope to meet you the next time you find your way to the North Coast.
Thank you for this. I’ve been in a bit of a rut deciding between diving into a second draft of a book, or if I should further edit the book I’ve been querying without success so far. And of course not being happy with myself for not making more progress this summer and end of year goals first approaching!
Helpful reminder to breathe first and the rest will come
How am I doing? Well I got partway through reading this email and then stumbled down a research rabbit hole for the project I'm considering tackling for NaNoWriMo this fall. Multiple internet articles, library book requests, and one book order later, I came back and finished reading the email. I may not always drink enough water but it was nice to feel so excited about a potential project, at least for a little while.
My writing project ground to a halt with back to back to back visitors since mid-July. I have been reflecting some, and went pretty deep into the research because I'm writing about land and want to start with an Ojibwe family and how they lived on this land, lightly and in season. I've learned SO MUCH but in some ways, as you say, it's made me more aware and a bit burdened with the responsibility of writing about a different culture. And it's clearly got to be so much more complex than I started out -- a Native boy finds the rabbit traps set by a German settler boy... And because it's good and complex, it's much harder work, to make the perspective rich (3 families, not one, traveling together down the river) as I want it to be for the German section and then the modern day section (for which I wrote 16K words during #1000wordsofsummer. I have great faith in this project, but not that much energy or concentration. I will say October has always been a great creative month for me. We'll see if I can get back in a routine and how things develop...
Omg...thank you much Jamie. I just came back from a vacation and started my day all chaotic/sad with my vacation blues taking over. Your words today was exactly what i needed to centre myself. Think about what do I want to achieve this week and what can I achieve realistically? Today is going to be a better day then I thought it would, so thank you again :)
GREAT blog! Thankful to have stumbled upon it. Value the balance of inspiration & empowerment that we are all in this together and the gentle reminder that it’s all connected. Thanks for giving permission to create space for writing goals and reminding us to stay in touch with our WHY.
Hi, I’m… not doing well. I have major depressive disorder. I take medication, I go to therapy, I’m usually pretty even. But not for the past 3 weeks or so. And it wasn’t until I read this Craft Talk that I realized I haven’t had one single iota of drive to write. Not because I want to, or because I feel guilty for not doing so, or because I have too much in my head for it to stay there. Just… nothing. I know this will pass, it always does (though this time may need a stronger support structure), and the first step is usually acknowledging how you’re doing. Thanks for giving me space to do so.
So inspirational and uplifting. My project is actually my husband’s. I’m kind of late arriving on the scene to help him with research, photos, layout, finishing and fine points. But I’m totally engrossed and involved now. Enthusiastic. And we have a 10/15/22 deadline looming and my personal attention to me has changed drastically. No more golf twice a week. I barely walk twice a week. Yoga here and there. Meditation is essential. But I’m devoted and committed to the deadline and I’m willing to say I’ll get back to me next month. There’s a lot to do still. I think that’s ok. I hang around waiting for your newsletter. ❤️
I so wanted to meet you last night at Inkubator. I was at the conference most of Friday and arrived yesterday for an afternoon session, fully intending to stay for your keynote. I even wore my #1000wordsofsummer t-shirt with a snazzy jacket (25 years old but still in great shape...the jacket. Not me.) The spirit was willing, but the body gave out. You write that you've been musing on unsteadiness. Yes. That's the operative word for me here...
I have an acoustic neuroma—my brain doctor at the Cleveland Clinic calls it vestibular schwannoma. Potato-potahto. It's basically a benign tumor on the auditory nerve that has blasted away most of the hearing in my left ear; gives me geiger-counter-grade tinnitus if I overdo things (or swivel my head one too many times); and drains my energy. After attending my afternoon session I began to feel what I call "wobbly." The old, familiar unsteadiness was lapping at my feet like waves on the beach. Seeing that word, unsteadiness, in your great tribute to all that Literary Cleveland is doing resonated with me more than you could possibly know...
I so wanted to stay...I so wanted to meet you and thank you in person for #1000 words, which has propelled me to near completion of Part I of my novel. But I've learned that I have to listen to what my brain, by way of my body, is telling me. So let this be my thank you. #1000thankyous.
"Are you being generous with yourself? When you ask yourself important questions about your work never judge yourself for the answer. I really believe most of us are working as hard as we can, even if the work is not necessarily reflected in our word count." Tattooing this behind my eyelids. Thank you. I think of my project constantly, it doesn't always land on the page. It's in notebooks and on napkins and 100 open docs. Sometimes it feels like it's coming together and sometimes it feels like it will never happen, but I'm working, I'm working, I'm working as hard as I can. Thank you, as always, for being a beacon in the haze of this writing life I'm trying to point myself towards.
After reading your admission, I realized that I also (almost) never lie when I'm writing by hand! I have to qualify mine because of those middle school yearbooks from the 80's that'd prove me wrong. Your letter and the other comments are the practical, positive boosts I needed to get back on task today. Thank you!
Thanks, Jami. Today’s message really resonated. Here on our summer island, we’ve had week after week of houseguests. We love our friends and family, but it turns out houseguests and quiet writing time are utterly incompatible. I just dropped the last of them off at the ferry, and knowing in the days ahead I’ll have space for reading, writing, and contemplating my characters and their stories made me feel a little giddy. Also, a fellow #1000WordsOfSummer writer and I are starting a little women’s writing club to provide support and accountability partners. That feels great too. Thanks for asking!
If all the tech data trafficking Big Tech does is allowing Jami to somehow see me so she knows exactly what I'm doing and/or need to hear, then that's OK with me.
I have just removed myself from a class I won't have the bandwidth for, placed boundaries around work and other obligations that don't respect them (so I built more of a fortress this time), and scheduled two getaways for myself to WRITE. Autumn is my time, my favorite time, and this is how I'm choosing to use it.
Thanks as always, Jami, for the encouraging words just when they are needed. Safe travels!
It took an author from New Orleans to introduce me to Literary Cleveland! Thank you. I was aware of the treasure which is the Cleveland Library, and still have warm, fuzzy memories of the branch in my Cleveland neighborhood where my mother took me as a child. Libraries still give me the warm fuzzies. Tomorrow my first book will be available. A Call to Needles, Acts of Craftivism and Crafted Kindness in the Age of Trump. I knew nothing about writing, publishing, permissions, etc., when I began. Now I know a little more. Your 1,000 words of Summer helped me stay disciplined and form better writing habits and I am grateful. I cannot wait for next year's Inkubator Conference in Cleveland! I hope to meet you the next time you find your way to the North Coast.
Thank you for this. I’ve been in a bit of a rut deciding between diving into a second draft of a book, or if I should further edit the book I’ve been querying without success so far. And of course not being happy with myself for not making more progress this summer and end of year goals first approaching!
Helpful reminder to breathe first and the rest will come
How am I doing? Well I got partway through reading this email and then stumbled down a research rabbit hole for the project I'm considering tackling for NaNoWriMo this fall. Multiple internet articles, library book requests, and one book order later, I came back and finished reading the email. I may not always drink enough water but it was nice to feel so excited about a potential project, at least for a little while.
My writing project ground to a halt with back to back to back visitors since mid-July. I have been reflecting some, and went pretty deep into the research because I'm writing about land and want to start with an Ojibwe family and how they lived on this land, lightly and in season. I've learned SO MUCH but in some ways, as you say, it's made me more aware and a bit burdened with the responsibility of writing about a different culture. And it's clearly got to be so much more complex than I started out -- a Native boy finds the rabbit traps set by a German settler boy... And because it's good and complex, it's much harder work, to make the perspective rich (3 families, not one, traveling together down the river) as I want it to be for the German section and then the modern day section (for which I wrote 16K words during #1000wordsofsummer. I have great faith in this project, but not that much energy or concentration. I will say October has always been a great creative month for me. We'll see if I can get back in a routine and how things develop...
Omg...thank you much Jamie. I just came back from a vacation and started my day all chaotic/sad with my vacation blues taking over. Your words today was exactly what i needed to centre myself. Think about what do I want to achieve this week and what can I achieve realistically? Today is going to be a better day then I thought it would, so thank you again :)
GREAT blog! Thankful to have stumbled upon it. Value the balance of inspiration & empowerment that we are all in this together and the gentle reminder that it’s all connected. Thanks for giving permission to create space for writing goals and reminding us to stay in touch with our WHY.
Hi, I’m… not doing well. I have major depressive disorder. I take medication, I go to therapy, I’m usually pretty even. But not for the past 3 weeks or so. And it wasn’t until I read this Craft Talk that I realized I haven’t had one single iota of drive to write. Not because I want to, or because I feel guilty for not doing so, or because I have too much in my head for it to stay there. Just… nothing. I know this will pass, it always does (though this time may need a stronger support structure), and the first step is usually acknowledging how you’re doing. Thanks for giving me space to do so.
So inspirational and uplifting. My project is actually my husband’s. I’m kind of late arriving on the scene to help him with research, photos, layout, finishing and fine points. But I’m totally engrossed and involved now. Enthusiastic. And we have a 10/15/22 deadline looming and my personal attention to me has changed drastically. No more golf twice a week. I barely walk twice a week. Yoga here and there. Meditation is essential. But I’m devoted and committed to the deadline and I’m willing to say I’ll get back to me next month. There’s a lot to do still. I think that’s ok. I hang around waiting for your newsletter. ❤️
I watched Heartstopper this week, and it filled me with a positive energy that I've carried with me, and that I've tried to infuse into my writing.
Oh Jami...
I so wanted to meet you last night at Inkubator. I was at the conference most of Friday and arrived yesterday for an afternoon session, fully intending to stay for your keynote. I even wore my #1000wordsofsummer t-shirt with a snazzy jacket (25 years old but still in great shape...the jacket. Not me.) The spirit was willing, but the body gave out. You write that you've been musing on unsteadiness. Yes. That's the operative word for me here...
I have an acoustic neuroma—my brain doctor at the Cleveland Clinic calls it vestibular schwannoma. Potato-potahto. It's basically a benign tumor on the auditory nerve that has blasted away most of the hearing in my left ear; gives me geiger-counter-grade tinnitus if I overdo things (or swivel my head one too many times); and drains my energy. After attending my afternoon session I began to feel what I call "wobbly." The old, familiar unsteadiness was lapping at my feet like waves on the beach. Seeing that word, unsteadiness, in your great tribute to all that Literary Cleveland is doing resonated with me more than you could possibly know...
I so wanted to stay...I so wanted to meet you and thank you in person for #1000 words, which has propelled me to near completion of Part I of my novel. But I've learned that I have to listen to what my brain, by way of my body, is telling me. So let this be my thank you. #1000thankyous.
Unsteadily yours,
Marci
"Are you being generous with yourself? When you ask yourself important questions about your work never judge yourself for the answer. I really believe most of us are working as hard as we can, even if the work is not necessarily reflected in our word count." Tattooing this behind my eyelids. Thank you. I think of my project constantly, it doesn't always land on the page. It's in notebooks and on napkins and 100 open docs. Sometimes it feels like it's coming together and sometimes it feels like it will never happen, but I'm working, I'm working, I'm working as hard as I can. Thank you, as always, for being a beacon in the haze of this writing life I'm trying to point myself towards.
LOVE!
After reading your admission, I realized that I also (almost) never lie when I'm writing by hand! I have to qualify mine because of those middle school yearbooks from the 80's that'd prove me wrong. Your letter and the other comments are the practical, positive boosts I needed to get back on task today. Thank you!
Thanks, Jami. Today’s message really resonated. Here on our summer island, we’ve had week after week of houseguests. We love our friends and family, but it turns out houseguests and quiet writing time are utterly incompatible. I just dropped the last of them off at the ferry, and knowing in the days ahead I’ll have space for reading, writing, and contemplating my characters and their stories made me feel a little giddy. Also, a fellow #1000WordsOfSummer writer and I are starting a little women’s writing club to provide support and accountability partners. That feels great too. Thanks for asking!
If all the tech data trafficking Big Tech does is allowing Jami to somehow see me so she knows exactly what I'm doing and/or need to hear, then that's OK with me.
I have just removed myself from a class I won't have the bandwidth for, placed boundaries around work and other obligations that don't respect them (so I built more of a fortress this time), and scheduled two getaways for myself to WRITE. Autumn is my time, my favorite time, and this is how I'm choosing to use it.
Thanks as always, Jami, for the encouraging words just when they are needed. Safe travels!
I really needed to read this today, Jami. Thank you!