Wait, so, all I have to do is…write?
Oh, hi friends!
I am back from my writers’ residency! Here’s a little bit of what I learned after spending five days on a farm taking walks, sleeping soundly, and writing 40+ pages of my play:
Writing during the day under zero pressure feels completely different than sprinting towards a deadline in the wee hours of the night. (Different is good.)
When you have fewer distractions, ideas arrive. And arrive. And arrive.
Being around like-minded people is the best motivation you can have to continue.
Being taken seriously as a writer is the second best motivation.
The world is small and surprising and delightful.
We all give our time, space, resources, advice in different ways to different people. Receiving any of those from someone else is a gift.
Adventures await.
Write. It’s the only thing you can control. It’s also the thing you love most. That makes you lucky.
Be grateful.
I didn't know I could stare at a lake for five days. Turns out I can! And I loved it!
“I knew nothing,” he said, “but I knew the excitement of it, the heat that came from the camera.”
Stephen Payne has been an understudy on Broadway for years and years. Here’s what patience and hard work gets you: After two actors didn’t work out, he’s now one of the leads in Straight White Men. Love this story of his journey. (h/t Eric)
My Tip of the Day
I wanted to unplug while I was away, and realized I needed to break my addiction to mindless website clicking (and scrolling). One thing that helped me? Hiding my Bookmarks Toolbar.
Usually my toolbar is up there with important links to Slack, often-used Google Drive docs, etc. But it also has all sorts of distracting candy—news sites, blogs, Twitter. Hiding it gives me fewer options, fewer distractions. If you use Chrome, go to View and uncheck Always Show Bookmarks Bar. Let me know how it goes for you!
The Most Random PS —
Do you or anyone you know have an accordion that would like a new home or like to be played in a new project?
I’m writing a musical with my composer friend Alex and he’s jonesing to get his hands on one while we get started. Any leads or advice welcome!
Do you like these daily emails? Please share with a friend!
Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara