To Share or Not to Share
Do we want to be left alone or not?
Hi friends.
Three quick things:
Substack, for some reason, sent my last letter out only to paid subscribers, and there are some thoughtful prompts in it so here it is for free.
Also I posted a list of books coming out soon I’m excited about with an invitation for you to share your own anticipated list. (I hate to waste a list.) I also read Patrick DeWitt’s forthcoming Dodge City (September 29) this weekend and enjoyed it quite a bit so you can add that to your to-read pile if you’ve liked his work in the past.
As we watch book coverage shrink I’ll try and make more of an effort here to track what I’m reading, for whatever that’s worth to you all. Shout outs are the very least I can do as a part of this community.
And finally, if things feel quieter around here, it’s because they will be for a while.
Do you discuss or share your work with other people or do you keep it close for yourself? Tricia and I have been talking about this a bit lately as we enjoy sharing bits of our writing as we go along with each other, and I certainly have other people in my life I have swapped work with over the years. Some people are up for it. Some people write more directly to entertain as I do or perhaps need a little encouragement in the long haul of a project.
I have other friends who would very much like to be left alone for a few years and then claw their way to the surface of the earth with a manuscript in hand.
Leonard Cohen wanted to be left alone, dammit:
"It is a mysterious process, it involves perseverance and perspiration and sometimes, by some grace, something stands out and invites you to elaborate or animate it. These are sacred mechanics and you have to be careful analyzing them as you would never write a line again. If you looked too deeply into the process you'd end up in a state of paralysis." — Irish Times, January 2012
I honestly just feel playful about it, like, look at this cool paragraph I wrote today. Look at this exchange of dialogue that made me laugh, or look at this idea I’m referencing that came up in our conversation, or look how I solved this goddamn problem at last.
In a way, sharing a bit of my work is my shortcut answer to, “How are you doing today?” These are the words I wrote. I’m still alive. I’m still here.
What about you?
Jami
You are reading Craft Talk, the home of #1000wordsofsummer and also a weekly newsletter about writing from Jami Attenberg. I’m also on bluesky and instagram.
I read somewhere, and I wish I could remember who said it, that if I talk about my actual story, my brain thinks I have already done the work. And somehow, I start to lose interest in what I’m doing. This has really resonated with me. So for this work, this large work, this dare I say novel, I am not telling anybody anything about it.
I’m part of two small writing groups of four people each, and in one, we share work weekly, in the other, it’s every other week. We share by invitation rather than requirement (it’s always honorable to pass), and we try to be very specific about the kind of feedback we want to receive. We don’t give feedback that isn’t asked for.
The best part about it is being with other writers, the second best part is getting great feedback, and the third best part is the accountability. It keeps us all in, if you know what I mean. I love it. One of the groups is currently planning a writing retreat for this fall loosely based on the one Kristen & Kayla did that you so kindly shared here.