The Simplest of Gestures

On making friends with your work.

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.

If you’re in Atlanta, I’ll be doing this extremely fun event on April 30 with Matthew Shaer.

If you’re in Asheville, I’ll be doing an event on May 19 at Malaprops Bookstore with my old friend Niina Pollari. Registration is required.

I’ll also be doing events in Spartanburg on May 30, and in Asheville on June 6 and June 9. More details to come.

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Hi friends.

I ran into a writer friend of mine in the neighborhood on my walk this morning. We always stop when we see each other, Leo usually gives her a little lick on her hand, and we check in on our respective projects. There’s a brief swap of support, and then we’re on our way again. An ideal morning exchange.

She’s been finishing up her second book, and it’s involved a tremendous amount of research, and then of course digging through that research once it’s done and actually writing the damn thing. It sounded like a lot of work. I respected her so much for all she’s been putting into it.

I don’t think she’d mind me saying she’s been mired in it for a while now. And there’s nothing more ominous than a deadline hanging over your head. There’s always the fear of developing an adversarial relationship with your work.

But this morning her face was all lit up and she had the biggest smile while she was talking about her work. What caused the change, I wondered.