This week is weird, right
Oh, hi friends!
It’s taking me a minute to find the flow of this week.
Still working on it. (Maybe you are, too?)
A few things that are helping...
The tiniest, most pathetic baby steps on a big new project. (They still count.)
A phone call with someone on the cusp of launching their own big project. (Because enthusiasm is contagious.)
And forecasting the rest of my day in little hourly increments, so I don’t self-soothe from overwhelm by, say, reorganizing my closet or scrolling my local Buy Nothing group on Facebook.
Ask, What needs to happen right now?
“When I spoke about creativity with another remarkable talent, Carlos Santana, the legendary guitarist, he implored me to understand the keys to happiness, satisfaction, and success that come from his tapping into this power. ‘The main cancer on this planet is that people don’t believe in their own light,’ he said. That’s what he calls your individual creative spark: your light. ‘We’re at the age of enlightenment, where we can put that nonsense aside, Santana added. ‘The keys to the kingdom come from your imagination.’”
From Matt Richtel’s new book Inspired: Understanding Creativity, A Journey Through Art, Science, and the Soul, which I first saw mentioned in Gretchen Rubin’s newsletter, then bought the book, let it sit in the corner for a month, and finally picked it up when I needed it. The first third, From Cradle to Muse, was especially mind-altering. (Amazon, Bookshop)
Calling All Fiction Writers, Readers, Voice Actors, and Composers
There’s a new podcast for you. It’s co-founded by Mark Armstrong, previously the founder and CEO of Longreads, who I first chatted with like 12 years ago because we come from the same small Central Valley area in California. (I've always remembered how nice he was to me, a young assistant editor, in a short email exchange!)
Mark is a champion for writers and I was so excited to see the launch of the Ursa Short Fiction Podcast, co-founded by Dawnie Walton and co-hosted by Deesha Philyaw. Ursa celebrates outstanding short fiction with an emphasis on spotlighting underrepresented voices.
Here are the first four compelling episodes.
And! They’re looking for more short fiction, voice actors, and composers. (Hey, I know people who do that…)
Currently seeking original short fiction between 3,500 and 12,000 words for potential inclusion in Season Two of Ursa Short Fiction and other audio projects. (Due July 15)
They are also seeking voice actors to help bring their stories to life, and are on the lookout for composers, sound designers and musicians to add beautiful scores and sound design to their short fiction.
Submission guidelines for everything are here — and three cheers for launching something new in the world with clear instructions and a transparent process!
Do you like these daily emails? Please share with a friend!
You can also support my work by checking out my motivational journal, Do It For Yourself, designed to guide you through your creative and work projects, and my upcoming journal Do It Today, which encourages you to find time for the things that matter most to you.
Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara