Hi, all! How has your week been? How is your writing going?
My kids are back in school this week, and I’m back to teaching (with a mask and vaccine mandate) in person, and I’m so happy about both.
I’d love to know how your writing is going this week. Is there a word or phrase that captures what you wrote this week, or how you feel about it?
One thought: if you’re getting back into your writing practice after a little while away, it can be hard to know where to start. If that sounds like you, I’d suggest prompts and journaling. Poets & Writers has a selection of really great prompts, all linked to recent books, available online in their The Time is Now series. You could also look around in the poem a day prompts in this newsletter, which start with this entry.
I’ll be back on Monday with suggestions for building structures for accountability. My thoughts build in part on Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies framework, so if you’re already a Gretchen Rubin fan, you can think about what you know about your type and how that connects to your writing life. (And if you’re not, you can take her fun quiz!)
Whatever your type or tendency, we all benefit from talking about our writing, including our progress and our struggles. If you have other writers in your life who you think would benefit from this encouragement, I’d love for you to invite them to write along with us over the next several weeks.
notes and reading suggestions
I’m reading tonight at 7PM at beautiful Inkwood Books in Haddonfield. If you’re local, I’d love to see you there. There’s an open mic as well, so you could share a poem!
It’s not directly writing-related, but I’ve got high hopes for vaccines coming soon for the under-12 set.
Big news for Ada Limón fans: she’s going to be the new host of The Slowdown podcast, and, even better, she has three (!!!) new books forthcoming with Milkweed. The Hurting Kind will be out next May.
What’s your word for the week? What progress are you making on your goals? I’d love to hear how it’s going! You can always reply to this email, comment below, or find me on twitter (@nancy_reddy) and instagram (@nancy.o.reddy).