No-Fuss Florida

The Emerald Coast, fried fish, no AI.

There’s still time to sign up for my May 9 workshop on WHY WE WRITE. You can register for it here. This workshop will be excellent prep for 1000 Words of Summer, which starts May 30 and runs through June 12. More about that here.

I’m doing four in-person events this spring on behalf of 1000 WORDS,

Atlanta: I’ll be doing this extremely fun event on April 30 with Matthew Shaer.

Asheville: I’ll be at Malaprops Bookstore on May 19 with my old friend Niina Pollari and hosting a write-along on June 6 at Flatiron Writers Room.

Spartanburg: I’ll be hosting a write-along at Hub City on May 30 and space is limited for that one so I’d register now.

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Hi friends.

I just got back from my trip to Florida with Kristen. She is one of my favorite people to travel with in the whole world. We are no-fuss travelers together.

We sat at the water’s edge and marveled at its green-glass color. We played with my dog. We ate grilled grouper and fried shrimp and big salads and one night we ate ice cream for dinner, just because it sounded like fun and it was.

We gossiped a lot, because real friends know how to hold onto the good gossip until they see each other in person.

We watched as people fell down drunk at beach bars, even early in the evening, when it was still light out. We talked about our dogs who are no longer with us. We asked after each other’s families. We did not talk about politics, except when we talked about politics.

We talked to no one but each other. We didn’t care. We were all we needed.

We talked a lot about the value of re-reading books and taking things slow and being more intentional with our words. Writing and reading with real care. Being patient with our work. I talked to her a little bit about the idea of working less, if possible, and she kindly listened, even though both of us love to work and don’t feel entirely whole unless we are making something.

And we talked about people using AI instead of doing their own creative work and all the dangers that surround that. Like what about their brains, are they worried at all about their brains, because even without using AI, I’m worried about mine, my attention span, my focus. I’m fighting for it every day. Are you?

I would say more, but I don’t feel like writing about AI right now. But I suspect I can’t ignore it. Maybe I’ll write about it soon.

Instead I’ll leave you with a new poem by our friend Morgan Parker in The New Yorker.

I especially liked this part:

I like how the record player never asks me to log in.
Sitting at the typewriter there is no notification.
No one is laughing at me but myself.

I’m off to see some people in Philly for a few days. I’ll try to say hello this weekend.

Sending peace,

Jami