it's not too late
picking one thing and finishing it as an antidote to dread, plus an invitation to join us for a zoom workshop on creative urgency in dark times
Welcome to Be Less Careful, the newsletter for people who still look around sometimes and are surprised to find that they’re the grownup. Subscribe to join us as we figure it out—and upgrade to a paid subscription to get access to monthly zoom workshops and subscriber-only chats. This month, we’re talking about creative urgency in dark times. I’d love for you to join us.
There’s a conversation I keep having with myself: do I really want a new pair of slippers/cozy clogs/oversized sweater to bury myself in, or do I just want a soft place hide until all this (gestures wildly) feels better?
My love of fall is probably the most basic b thing about me—it is my birthday season, after all!—and it’s so easy, this time of year, to feel the encroaching darkness. It’s doubly easy in this time of national horrors to feel that darkness and want to just burrow in until spring. It has been months and months since the fresh start bright light energy of January, months even since the sharpened pencil smell of early September. The holidays are coming, and all our calendars are about to fill with gatherings and tasks and end of year to-dos. My big dreams from the beginning of the year feel so far away. At this time of year, I’m sometimes tempted to just ride it out and start again in spring.
But here’s my pitch: we’re not done yet. The days are getting shorter, and the year is drawing to a close—but there’s still time for one more creative push.
So here’s a suggestion, as November approaches: pick one thing and commit to finishing it.
Pick the thing you’re the most excited about, or the most angry about. Pick the thing that will change your life if you finish it, or just the thing that will give you the most relief if you can finally cross it off your list. This might be a medium-sized thing—finish an essay you’ve been poking at and send it somewhere—or something smaller, like one more poem for the collection you’ve been working on. And it doesn’t have to be a piece of writing. You could hang some art or plant bulbs or plan a potluck. The goal is pick one creative project you care about and finish it.
hey look! last year around this time I was also thinking about this theme of finishing things! click on through for more practical tips:
✨ join us for a zoom workshop on creative urgency in dark times—Sunday, November 2nd at noon eastern ✨
And because community makes everything better, I’d love for you to join us for a zoom workshop about creative urgency in dark times next Sunday, November 2nd at noon eastern. (If you can’t make that time but still want some creative spark, I’ll send the recording and written notes out afterward.) To join the workshop, become a paid member of the Be Less Careful community. I know there are a bajillion newsletters out there, and I know it’s hard to make space for one more subscription. I also thinking there’s a little magic in putting your money towards things that matter to you. If you could use a nudge and some creative community at the end of this wild year, I’d love to have you join us. Your creative life is worth it.
