All posts tagged: book recommendations

Musings & Meanderings: Only your writing friends understand, finding your peeps, DISPATCHES FROM PUERTO NOWHERE, keeping track of your writing/creative time part 2, retreats & workshops

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By Leslie Lindsay A curated newsletter on the literary life, featuring ‘4 questions,’ reading & listening recommendations, where to submit, more Leslie Lindsay|Always with a Book ~MUSINGS & MEANDERINGS~ Hello March! Only Your Writer Friends Understand Occasionally I get asked, “Are you still writing?” or, “How’s the writing going?” Sometimes there’s variation: “Have you anything published recently?” Maybe you’re not a ‘real’ writer if you have nothing to show for it. But here’s the thing: writing requires long hours – a long process – to create.   Few people understand what it takes specifically for writers to create. For example, I’ll bet there are several among your group who don’t get it. (I call them “non-writers,” original right?) They don’t understand that when you’re staring out a window for half an hour, you’re at work. Maybe you’re at work as you’re driving, unloading the dishwasher, even reading something else non-related to what you’re writing (you’re deconstructing how that author did her work). You might very well be staring out that window for half-an-hour or running the vacuum, or walking …

MUSINGS & MEANDERINGS the host of podcast ‘The Only One in the Room,’ Laura Cathcart Robbins talks about her memoir on addiction, STASH; plus micro-memoir classes, visual writing, time management for the writer/creative, Story Studio happenings, Complete Sentence, and more

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By Leslie Lindsay A curated newsletter on the literary life, featuring ‘4 questions,’ reading & listening recommendations, where to submit, more Leslie Lindsay|Always with a Book ~MUSINGS & MEANDERINGS~ It’s Still February, Friends! Earlier this month, we talked a bit about tracking your writing and creative time. I shared these TIPS from Danielle Lazarin, originally published in Catapult Magazine. I made my own tracking sheet and wanted to share some of my results. Newsflash: writing is hard. Newsflash #2: writing isn’t just about writing. Writing and the creative life is about juggling all sorts of things–emails, deadlines, reading, consulting, learning, experimenting, revising, outreach, networking…you get it. Here’s my sheet: For each day of the month, I made a chart with various writing-related tasks down the side. You can probably do this in a Spreadsheet and make it so much prettier. I write all over the place and don’t always compose on a laptop, so I carry this ratty piece of paper around everywhere. What’s on it? Writing. Submissions/including seeking places to submit work. Pitching outside …

Musings & Meanderings

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By Leslie Lindsay A curated newsletter on the literary life, featuring ‘4 questions,’ reading & listening recommendations, where to submit, more Leslie Lindsay|Always with a Book ~MUSINGS & MEANDERINGS~ Hello, Friends! I am getting excited for the winter solstice, this gentle turning-in, these cozy darker days. What is it about the darkness that conjures creativity? Maybe it’s the way it encourages a hibernation, a slower pace, a time to go fallow? For me it’s a bit like crawling into the cave of creativity, having nothing else vying for my attention–at least outside–no garden to water or plants that require nurturing. Reading, contemplating, playing on the page, listening, looking out the window, observing patterns. Just this past weekend, I took a workshop with Esme Weijun Wang, most recently the author of The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays (Graywolf Press, 2019), and it was so warm, generous, validating, with really great tips for setting intentions and looking back on the last year. Here are just a few things that we discussed, which I wanted to pass along to you: …

Musings & Meanderings: What writers need, where to submit, an archive of author interviews, book lists to tempt, building teen confidence, more

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By Leslie Lindsay A curated newsletter on the literary life, featuring ‘4 questions,’ reading & listening recommendations, where to submit, more Leslie Lindsay|Always with a Book ~MUSINGS & MEANDERINGS~ Hello, Friends! I recently had dinner with my extended family. They don’t really ‘get’ the writing life. Maybe they think writers are all heads-in-the-clouds dreamy type people, or maybe they just don’t understand it, respect it/value it, but it got me thinking about what we–readers and writers–need, as a way to sustain our art. Let this be a wish list for you…now and in the New Year. We all need support. This doesn’t have to be financial, but that’s good, too! What I’m getting at is someone who says, “yep–I support this.” We all need time to think, because half (more?) of all writing is thinking. So clear the clutter in your mind. Meditate. Walk. Exercise. Journal. It’s never ‘wasted time.’ We all need the time to write. This could be a few minutes a day, a weekend, or however you determine it. Carving out a …

Musings & Meanderings: Is time linear? Does it fold over itself? What about time-travel? For real? In a book? Susen Edwards talks about that, plus her debut, WHAT A TRIP, plus the frenzy to the finish line of 2022, planning for the new year, more

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A curated newsletter on the literary life, featuring ‘4 questions,’ reading & listening recommendations, where to submit, more Leslie Lindsay|Always with a Book ~MUSINGS & MEANDERINGS~ Hello, Friends! I don’t know about you, but I feel I have upped my normal frenzy to my fancy holiday, year-end frenzy. It can be a little overwhelming between work, kids, end-of-semester, prepping for the holidays, and more. I like busy. I might thrive best when I have a few spinning plates. Sometimes, though, those plates get a little full. And they all seem to be made of my grandmother’s fine china, delicate and fragile, should I drop one. Is it always crunch time? How do you manage? Is there a way to balance or pre-plan? Hey…I’ve got some tips for that in my obsessions section–and a workshop you may want to attend with Esme Weijun Wang. I just signed up! There’s another one I have my eye on, too (DailyOM has some really great offerings). Be sure you scroll to those offerings below. In the spirit of thinking …

Musings & Meanderings: Writing about nostalgia, exploring film, motherhood, ambition, and more with T. Greenwood plus…a fall check-in, establishing goals & boundaries, where to submit, what I’m reading, listening to, working on

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By Leslie Lindsay A curated newsletter on the literary life, featuring ‘4 questions,’ reading & listening recommendations, where to submit, more Leslie Lindsay|Always with a Book ~MUSINGS & MEANDERINGS~ Hello, Friends! How is your fall shaping up? Has it been a whirlwind? Utterly relaxed? Oh, I know…you’ve been twirling through the streets as fall leaves rain down, a book tucked under your arm, and a PSL in your hand, right? Completely and totally unencumbered, a little nostalgic and pensive, and productive, too, right? Maybe not. I don’t what it is, but fall should be a slowing down, but sometimes isn’t. Not everyone gets the summer off or Summer Fridays or holidays of leisure. I enter fall eager for all the coziness, but I’m often exhausted. Just being honest about that makes me feel better. And that’s why I write these words. Writing works that way for me. It’s a fabulous little tool to process. And also, I write because I want YOU to write, too. If I feel a little run-down and worn-out, maybe you …

Musings & Meanderings: Does a writer need a room of her own? How about two desks? Plus: where to submit, what I do with the books I review,

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By Leslie Lindsay A curated newsletter on the literary life, featuring ‘4 questions,’ reading & listening recommendations, where to submit, more Leslie Lindsay|Always with a Book ~MUSINGS & MEANDERINGS~ Hello, Friends! I bought a desk. Another one. Because what writer needs two desks? Apparently, this one. For months I avoided my messy office in lieu of working at the kitchen table (chaos, distraction), or maybe going to the coffee shop (not a bad alternative if I had the time), but then fall hit and it was like–bam!–I gotta do something about this junky office. In all reality, it wasn’t that bad. But it was cluttered and there might have been a cobweb or two in the corners–eek! Scraps of paper with scrawled notes and ‘good lines,’ were everywhere. Notecards with scenes were taped to the wall. Cords were strung everywhere to illuminate spaces and power the heater. I know: it’s not winter. That’s how long it’s been. There was a real, psychological reason I wasn’t in my creating space. I was burned out. It was …

Musings & Meanderings: taking Rilke’s advice to ‘ruthlessly compress,’ what to do when Mercury is in retrograde; plus how visual art isn’t all that different from written art, motherhood, acceptance, and what books I recently read and loved

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By Leslie Lindsay A curated newsletter on the literary life, featuring ‘4 questions,’ reading & listening recommendations, where to submit, more Leslie Lindsay|Always with a Book ~MUSINGS & MEANDERINGS~ Hello, Friends! Here’s the thing: Mercury is in stupid retrograde again. I know how it sounds: hoodoo voodoo and and magical weirdness. But there’s something to it! As a writer, who is no doubt a ‘communicator’ in every sense (I am the family connector/communicator/organizer), I try to get everyone on ‘the same page,’ I like coordinating and organizing things…to say this can be a trying time is an understatement. What does it mean when… ‘Mercury is in retrograde?’ It started September 9 and will go through October 2. Mercury is the planet of communication. When it’s in retrograde (appearing to go backward), appliances tend to run haywire, scheduled things run late, miscommunications run rampant. You might have ‘good’ problems, but mistakes will happen. Things might be more exaggerated than ever, but there might also be goodwill. Learn more about Mercury retrograde in this Bustle article. For …

Musings & Meanderings: Are you always ready to write? Jeff Seitzer is, plus rest/reset/resort, THE FUN MASTER, where to submit, miniature love, more

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By Leslie Lindsay A curated newsletter on the literary life, featuring ‘4 questions,’ reading & listening recommendations, where to submit, more Leslie Lindsay|Always with a Book ~MUSINGS & MEANDERINGS~ Hello, Friends! This time of year can kill me. It’s exciting, yes. It’s draining, too. Here’s why: After a full summer of being the ‘fun master,’ for kids all summer (more on that in today’s author chat below), I am drained. There is precious little time to regroup or to tend to my own needs over summer–that includes creativity and intellectual stimulation because I am driving, planning, executing, scheduling, and doing all the regular things that need doing–house maintenance, work, etc. I can’t find it now, but I came across a meme that read, “I didn’t go on vacation…I supervised and bankrolled my kids while they were on theirs.” Then…school. You’d think that would be great. It’s not. At least not at first. New kid schedules, teachers, coaches, expectations. There’s a full academic and sports schedule to follow. Times two kids. Every teacher sends emails about …

Musings & Meanderings: Tips to tackle your TBR during a busy season, prepping for the school year, how to make your writing more interesting, plus Megan Goldin chimes in on her new thriller, STAY AWAKE, books I’m recommending, and more

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By Leslie Lindsay Leslie Lindsay|Always with a Book ~MUSINGS & MEANDERINGS~ Hello, Friends! Summer going too fast for you? I just spent an evening with some very good friends. While eating peanut butter cup ice cream and chatting about the busyness of the season (BBQs, weddings, travel, bike riding, etc.), the concept of ‘banking up the summer’ came up. Sometimes we yearn for things to slow down, but when they do…we want the vibrancy of summer to return. Most of you know I read like mad. But I also like to experience the world. We travel a good deal. That means I have to work harder to find time for my towering TBR. Here are some of my tried-and-true tricks for reading on the go: I carry a book with me everywhere. Whatever format you choose, make sure to stuff a book or two (or ten!) in your bag before leaving the house. You never know when you can carve out a little chunk of reading time, and you can’t read a book if you …