Be Less Careful

Be Less Careful

Home
Notes
good creatures
Write More
Archive
About

good creatures

"there’s nothing like having a poem-in-progress to wake up early to"
poet Bobby Elliott on carving out time in the in-between spaces and yearning to get deep into the new book + a chance to BE LESS CAREFUL together in…
 • Nancy Reddy
"caregiving puts an urgency around writing—there simply isn’t time to say, 'I’ll do it later.'"
Rebekah Hewitt on the poet whose ferocity gave her permission, writing when the laundry isn't done and the sink is full of dishes PLUS an invitation to…
 • Nancy Reddy
"it’s important to claim time and show that writing has value by letting one’s family know that it’s a priority"
poet Elline Lipkin on writing after losing her home in the Eaton fire, how her writing groups have sustained her & why she rejects the "‘writing in the…
 • Nancy Reddy
"both parenting and writing require care and creativity"
SING ME A CIRCLE author Samina Najmi on the "rich matriarchal inheritance" of watching her mother and grandmother keep diaries, and learning to write in…
 • Nancy Reddy
"cultivate your comfort with fallow times"
FOXES FOR EVERYBODY author Catherine Pierce on taking up the challenge of essays as her kids left toddlerhood + your invitation to the Be Less Careful…
 • Nancy Reddy
"I finally realized I needed to keep my sense of self alive if I wanted to be any good to anybody else"
Jackie Hoermann-Elliott and Jenna Morton-Aiken, editors of PARENTING WHILE PhDing, on the non-writing hobbies that keep the spark alive and insisting on…
 • Nancy Reddy
"you're trading away time for inspiration"
poet Laura Cresté on how caring for her toddler has sparked a sense of play and experimentation in her own work
 • Nancy Reddy
"Caregiving helped me understand myself. It’s made me want to be open about my disability."
writer Chris Vaughan on parenting with cerebral palsy and creating his newsletter Unclenching
 • Nancy Reddy and Unclenching by Chris L Vaughan
"dream big and start small"
children's book author and editor Heidi Fiedler on taking her work seriously *and* enjoying the process
 • Nancy Reddy and Heidi Fiedler
it's Good Mother Myth day!
two quick ways you can help, where we can hang out in person in the next couple of months, and some great early reviews and recognition
 • Nancy Reddy
"Caregiving has completely quieted the angsty existential questions I had in my 20s."
Catherine Newman, author of SANDWICH and WE ALL WANT IMPOSSIBLE THINGS, on the model of "utter graciousness" her mother provided and collecting tidbits…
 • Nancy Reddy and Catherine Newman
"though my writing time decreased, my imagination bloomed"
a good creatures interview with novelist Christina Consolino about being present for both writing and caregiving, and making sure your family sees the…
 • Nancy Reddy
© 2026 Nancy Reddy · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture