Whatever You Need to Write Through It

Avocados and potato chips.

Hi friends.

I’ve been down south for so long now, I’ve kissed those cold winters behind, or at least I thought I had. A few freezing days do creep in here and there. It’s cold here today and will be the next four days, with snow, too, and even though this is nothing like the winters of my Chicago childhood, I can still feel the chill in my bones. I don’t like it, but I have to live with it.

Now there’s new rituals, during these cold days. At night I turn on all the faucets so the pipes won’t freeze. I bring in a few plants where I can, cover the others if I care about them. I take a hot bath before bedtime and then wrap myself up in layers and get under the blankets immediately. These New Orleans houses are so drafty. I call the dog and he digs his way under the covers, too. He doesn’t even bother to try for one last visit outside. He’s over the cold. We are over the cold.

At the grocery store, most of the bread was gone, and strangely, the avocados, too. I put some cans of soup in my cart.

I had dashed out last minute and looked a mess. I kept my eyes down.

The store was packed, people were buying what felt like everything, and I kept excusing myself as I made my way through the aisles. It made me anxious, saying sorry over and over again. All those apologies take a toll.

I have an ex who lives near that grocery store, but it’s the closest one to my house.

I had really wanted an avocado. I bought potato chips instead to keep my spirits up.

Write through it, was the first thing I said to myself this morning. Don’t let it get to you. Just work instead. Turn the cold into an opportunity."

I’ll try. You try, too.

January 20, 2025. Whatever you need to write through it. Potato chips. A warm bath. Telling yourself you can because you can. I know it. Even if it’s just a simple exercise describing what you (or your character) might buy at a grocery store before the bad weather rolls in.

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.