Hi there, Jami! For weeks I’ve been meaning to reach out and thank you for the August version of #1000words. This was one of the most meaningful weeks of 2020 for me because I constructed a weeklong at-home writing retreat around it, using your morning reflections and the author interviews to bookend each day’s work.
That week I unplugged. Family members oversaw household responsibilities, delivered lunch to me, and followed directions, mostly, about the dinners I’d pre-planned and -prepped. Other than during the evening mealtime, I hunkered, alone in the one-room “retreat center” formerly known as my bedroom, rearranged and filled with books and writing supplies. I made no excuses, offered no further explanation than I was on a writing retreat.
That week I reconnected with a challenging writing project which has been especially difficult to work on since the March shutdown. I focused on productivity beyond word count or number of pages revised, seeking more to reclaim ownership of my time and space and creativity. And each day I was encouraged by you and the five other writers, all of whom have broadened my my perspective on craft as well as humanity with their various subject matter and stories.
My world opened up that week even while I was living inside one room, mostly, for hours on end, and that’s because of you and your work. Thank you.
A month later I’m continuing to make choices that support my writing practice and, along with it, my soul. It can be a struggle still, of course — “the world is too much with us,” even during a pandemic — but taped on a wall in my bedroom/retreat center is a printed copy of the Ada Limon poem you sent on one of those retreat days, “How to Triumph Like a Girl.” Seeing it reminds me of the community that you foster, that community of writers of which I’m a part, and it helps me to remember to “believe it too,” that I’m “going to come in first” by practicing my craft, every. single. day.
And OF COURSE I’m subscribing to your new weekly newletter! That’s very exciting news and will be something to look forward to reading each week. I know it will be meaningful and inspiring.
Thanks again, Jami. You're doing important work, and you're making a difference for many.
Thanks for the gift of these #1000wordsofsummer, both sets. Most welcome, much needed, and found new ways of thinking and working. I will do all I can to maintain the momentum and new muscles, but having your notes as a prod and a coach were terrific motivators. I am sorry to see the days of summer go, but they always do, don't they?
Hi there, Jami! For weeks I’ve been meaning to reach out and thank you for the August version of #1000words. This was one of the most meaningful weeks of 2020 for me because I constructed a weeklong at-home writing retreat around it, using your morning reflections and the author interviews to bookend each day’s work.
That week I unplugged. Family members oversaw household responsibilities, delivered lunch to me, and followed directions, mostly, about the dinners I’d pre-planned and -prepped. Other than during the evening mealtime, I hunkered, alone in the one-room “retreat center” formerly known as my bedroom, rearranged and filled with books and writing supplies. I made no excuses, offered no further explanation than I was on a writing retreat.
That week I reconnected with a challenging writing project which has been especially difficult to work on since the March shutdown. I focused on productivity beyond word count or number of pages revised, seeking more to reclaim ownership of my time and space and creativity. And each day I was encouraged by you and the five other writers, all of whom have broadened my my perspective on craft as well as humanity with their various subject matter and stories.
My world opened up that week even while I was living inside one room, mostly, for hours on end, and that’s because of you and your work. Thank you.
A month later I’m continuing to make choices that support my writing practice and, along with it, my soul. It can be a struggle still, of course — “the world is too much with us,” even during a pandemic — but taped on a wall in my bedroom/retreat center is a printed copy of the Ada Limon poem you sent on one of those retreat days, “How to Triumph Like a Girl.” Seeing it reminds me of the community that you foster, that community of writers of which I’m a part, and it helps me to remember to “believe it too,” that I’m “going to come in first” by practicing my craft, every. single. day.
And OF COURSE I’m subscribing to your new weekly newletter! That’s very exciting news and will be something to look forward to reading each week. I know it will be meaningful and inspiring.
Thanks again, Jami. You're doing important work, and you're making a difference for many.
Best,
Annette Pearson
Thanks for the gift of these #1000wordsofsummer, both sets. Most welcome, much needed, and found new ways of thinking and working. I will do all I can to maintain the momentum and new muscles, but having your notes as a prod and a coach were terrific motivators. I am sorry to see the days of summer go, but they always do, don't they?