All posts tagged: writing life

Musings & Meanderings: A new project–I could use your help! Plus, Cynthia Reeves on THE LAST WHALER, the power of doing it now, old photographs, writing craft, reading recommendations, 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~ THIS IS WHERE WE LIVE Ah…August. It used to be the time for languid days at the cabin or beach and then the school year started creeping into the middle of the month (what the heck?!). I don’t know about you, but I miss that traditional June-July-August summer schedule. I’m starting a new project and I need your help! As we wrap up summer, I am continually obsessed about vintage postcards, you know the ones… Greetings from… I recently unearthed some from the early 1940s from ancestors I never met. They are such a hoot to read and I love them so much I decided to start my own postcard project, which runs adjacent to my my new WIP (that’s work-in-progress). Here’s how it works: We all hold a special place–home, town, country, room–in our hearts. Your grandparent’s farm, your first married home, that cozy cottage, …

Musings & Meanderings: Can You tell a Writer what to Write about? (No). Also: where to submit, love languages, books about books, how to write without ego, and Lauren Aliza Green on THE WORLD AFTER ALICE

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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~ You Really Should Write About ___ What I should WRITE is almost like asking a chore. When people learn I am a writer, one of two things happens. That person might say, “Oh! You know…you really should write about…” OR “I’ve always wanted to write a book!” Sometimes there’s a variation of this…and it goes like, “Would I know anything you’ve written?” Probably not. It’s okay. I’m not into this writing thing to be famous or well-known; I just am a writer. I think about words and story and I’m constantly collecting ideas and images that often often just stick in my brain (but the older I get, the more they fly through like a sieve). Sometimes I just write a nonsense thing that allows me to make a little sense of the chaos. So when someone has a “great idea” for me to write about …

Musings & Meanderings: Writing rituals, the meaning of home, recommending books to writers, and what’s behind the rejections + Sheila Sundar on HABITATIONS

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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~ Can you recommend a book? People know I read. A lot. People know I write. And so they are often very well-meaning when they ask or comment on one of the two following: 1- You should read: 2- Can you recommend any good books? I want to be the best literary person in that moment, but guess what? I’m not. Sure, I’m smile and nod and listen and say all the right things, but inside I am <<SCREAMING>>. And here’s why: What I should read is almost like asking a chore. Trust me when I say I have a precarious titling pile of #TBR books at home. It’s out of control. They are stacked in the kitchen, the living room, on my desk as I type this, on the bonus desk in the corner, on the dining room table. It’s a lot, these glorious books. And …

Musings & Meanderings: Quarter-Year Check-In, Writing Advice, Julia Malye’s new historical fiction PELICAN GIRLS, about Baleine Brides & survival, how she would be a visual artist if not a writer; do’s & don’ts of writerly self-promotion, how to write for Modern 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~ Is it spring yet?! You know, you really should… Welp, here we are, a quarter of the way into 2024, or at least we will be at the end of the month. I know how January can be, everything is shiny and new and you have GOALS, you’re pumped, and ready to GO and then that March thing happens. Your momentum sways. You think maybe you’re a big bozo for thinking you can do this writing thing. Yep. Been there. Might be there now. It’s part of the creative curse. Here’s some pep talks to keep you going, from some of the best. “Try as hard as you can not to compare yourself with other writers and their success. We are all on our own journeys, and I believe in supporting one another. Any distraction is time away from writing and focusing on your goals. The …

Musings & Meanderings: Determining your obsessions and what’s a chronic conflict, anyway? Plus, Kate Brody on her debut thriller, RABBIT HOLE; top reads of 2023, writing a historical novel, distance in memoir, poetry, art & architecture

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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~ Fresh & New Brand-new Year…blank slate…what are your obsessions? I recently had the opportunity to learn and write alongside the fabulous Nami Mun and Eula Biss, real-life writer friends and creative writing instructors. One focuses on fiction, the other nonfiction, one is kind of wacky, the other more serious, both are brilliant. Together, they balanced one another perfectly. That’s really what I think this is about: balance. And also: obsession. How does obsession work in your writing–or creative pursuit–does it?! It should! Here’s an exercise I gleaned from Nami, which I am going to attempt to share with you. Six questions. Go ahead, number your papers one through six, just like you’re still in grade school. Got your list? Now, the fun part. You might immediately see the patterns that emerge, maybe not. Maybe you can circle some keywords in that list and create a new …

Musings & Meanderings: Jami Nakamura Lin prefers longhand horizontal writing in large unlined notebooks (same!), plus checking-in on your writing goals, wrapping up 2023, book recs, honing your craft, 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~ December…a flurry of activity Checking in…how’s your work/creativity/writing going? Let’s pretend for a moment we’re checking in on each other. Here’s what I would ask you: How’s your work going? How many words do you have right now? (Go check. Any number of words is good.) What do you want to accomplish by the end of the year? And when do you want to be done with this project? Do you have a timeline? No?! Why not? Let’s get all the boring stuff out of the way. (Seriously, the boring stuff is what needs to get hammered out because without that, it won’t get done). Now how do you feel about what you’re writing? Do you love it, are you excited about it? Are you passionate about it? Good. Remember that feeling because I guarantee you will need tap into that feeling sometime in the future. …

Musings & Meanderings: Susan Blumberg-Kason talks to me about her new book, BERNARDINE’S SHANGAI SALON, how she wrote near her kids, how dedications get ‘lost,’ and the literary scenes of 1930s; plus reviving a manuscript, curating a writing community, a family ravaged by mental illness in Meg Kissinger’s memoir, 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…November! Do you have a writing community? If you’re a writer, you likely have a love-hate relationship with the craft. And that’s totally normal! Awhile back. A loooong while back, I was struggling with the decision to muster on with this…uh…calling? Vocation? I bumped into a writing friend in the parking lot of the grocery store and he said, “Are you writing?” We had been in a writing group that had since disbanded. “Uh, no.” I said. He gave me that rolled lip nod and hands-in-pocket stance. “Why?” Did I really have to go into all of that, in the parking lot, while a brisk breeze whipped leaves at my feet? I shrugged, said it was good seeing him. “You’re not off the hook!” he called after me. “Get with your butt to a writing group. Get with your peeps.” I’m with my peeps. That was …

Musings & Meanderings: Butcher Block or Actual Writing Studio? Celine Keating on advice to her younger writing self, her new novel THE STARK BEAUTY OF LAST THINGS; plus reflecting on your writing year, book recommendations, text + image

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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~ Welcome November! Are you taking stock? The end of the year is fast approaching. I don’t know about you, but I always get a little reflective, even melancholic this time of year. At least here in the Midwest, the trees have mostly gone bare, the sky remains a skull gray, and well, it’s bleak. As I write this, a strange brew of leaves and rain/sleet slap against the windows. Are you ready to take stock as a writer? Have you thought about where you were in January and where you are now? What does ‘success’ look and feel like to you? You might be a numbers person (I am not), but let’s say you are. You can measure yourself by how many publications you got this year versus last. Did it go up or down? Does that matter? What if the actual publications went down but …

Musings & Meanderings: How can we create if we never rest? Balancing the creative life, plus Debbie Chein Morris on her WE USED TO DANCE about her disabled twin; the psychology of memoir, the arc of songs, the poetics of family archiving

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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, Fall! Rest & Rejuvenate When we think about rest, we may not be thinking about creation. How can anything get made, produced, while you’re resting? I’ve been thinking about this a lot. If I’m constantly in that flight-or-flight mode of creation, then I am not allowing new ideas to percolate. Or even form. We’ve often been taught that it’s worthless to ‘rest.’ Being active and productive is so much more virtuous. I agree in some regards. Full disclosure: it’s hard for me to rest. I like to do, it feels good, I feel accomplished. I’m considering carving out a time each day/week/month to simply gather information. This might be a ‘sit spot,’ each day for fifteen minutes. Maybe I just watch the birds or the chipmunk scurry about my patio. That’s something I can easily do in a small increment of time. Or, maybe I’ll …

Musings & Meanderings What does it mean for a writer to ‘rest?’ Plus, Lang Leav on OTHERS WERE EMERALDS–swooning!-she works on architectural models in her free time, what books Eula Biss turns to, Kathy Fish flash contest, Leah Paulos on book publicity, 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, Fall! Rejuvenate and Reset How’s the writing going? This is a common question once people figure out you’re a writer. They’re generally interested, want to know, and so the question, innocent and naïve as it is, gets asked. Sometimes a lot. What if you’re not writing? What if it’s going poorly? What if you have nothing to say about it, you’re between projects? Do you tell them that? What if you said, “It sucks, thanks for asking!” Do you say, “I doubt myself all the time. It’ll probably never amount to anything.” How about, “Why do you ask?” What I really think people want to hear is, “Great! My book is coming out in six months and I have another on the way.” Writing, friends, is not glamourous. It’s not easy. It’s not even fun, but sometimes it can be. Writing is not about sitting …