A gentle close to the week
Plus, 10 things I wanted to share with you. / Issue 1,533
Oh, hi friends!
Interesting week over here, full of alternating bursts of fog and clarity.
This is the vibe I’m sensing all around…
Summer is a rich time, and perhaps the most adaptable season.
You already know what the fall feels like, in all its back-to-schoolness. The early winter months crackle with new goals. Spring is the balm after winter.
But summer can be a time of recentering, detoxing, demystifying.
A gear up or a wind down.
Basically, I’m saying: You get to choose.
And you can re-choose if you don’t like your choice.
See? Adaptable. Endlessly.
10 Good Things I’d Like to Share With You
Do you need to take off the coat of desperation? OH BOY. If you watch one thing this week, I suggest this keynote from director Ava DuVernay from 2013. (It’s like 20 minutes, the second half is audience Q&A.) I can’t stop thinking and talking about it. As she says:
“I rarely meet people who tell me what they’re doing. I meet people who say they need help.”
Wow. This rocked my world.
I came to the keynote from Black List founder ’s excellent Hollywood curriculum, a list of his recommended films, shows, or books. What a goldmine. If you’re interested in telling stories in any capacity, here’s the full list. (Lindsay Doran’s TED talk is another must view. I went to her full Psychology of Storytelling talk in 2016 and it changed my life!!)
Could You Have Landed a Job at Vogue in the ’90s? OK, this NYT quiz is so fun. Getting 32/32 might be my greatest accomplishment…ever? Like, should I become EIC of Vogue?!
Y’all know I’m a big fan of literary agent
’s newsletter . It’s the first place I send people who are writing query letters or want to know how publishing works. Her new book Write Through It: An Insider's Guide to Publishing and the Creative Life delivers advice that is both pragmatic and encouraging. If you want to write and publish a book, read this, please. I’ve had three books come out into the world (and had two others go out on submission — maybe one day I’ll tell you about THAT lol) and learned a lot! The audiobook is great, too.Trader Joe’s Beach Day gummy candy is an exceptional snack. (Also great — and cheaper — running fuel than my typical Skratch chews.)
Do you need to create a writing contract with yourself? (Got this from someone else’s newsletter — sorry I don’t have the source! If it’s you, thank you.) A very good accountability strategy.
Because I’m on the cutting edge of culture, we watched the 2016 film Sully and while I can’t say it’s a perfect movie, it’s a perfect example of a person being really good at their job — in his case, flying a giant airplane — which is my favorite theme for everything I consume. (Also, Captain Sully turned out to be extremely unproblematic, which, yay.) It’s on HBO. Maybe don’t watch if you’re doing any summer travel.
My fave group text is titled “And Just Like…What?!” featuring my friends also watching the Sex and the City reboot. Binging TV is so much less fun than the slow-drip of the watercooler schedule.
“Pay attention to your dust.” A great little reminder from
’s newsletter. “We often acquire things we’re sure that we’ll use—exercise equipment, kitchen gadgets, beautiful but uncomfortable shoes—and it can be hard to let those things go, even if we don’t use them. What’s sitting around and gathering dust in your space? If something is getting dusty, that dust may be your sign that it’s time to let go.” WISE.Also, thriller author and friend
has a guest post on her terrific Substack that got my brain exploding in new ways. Jo Piazza is guerrilla marketing her new #tradwife thriller Everyone Is Lying to You and her machinations: wrapping her back windshield in book promo, talking to people reading thrillers in the airport, and more — are BRILLIANT.
Because people can’t help you if you don’t ask for what you want.
And people can’t find your work unless you tell them about it.
We can all afford to be a little more direct, a little louder, and a little sharper in the ways we share our important messages in the world.
I know we can do it.
That’s it for me, for now…hope you have a lovely weekend. Would love to know what made your week brighter and better! Snacks? Films? Naps? Cats?
Love these ideas!! I’m especially struck by “pay attention to the dust” 🤔 We’re in a holding pattern at the moment, with kids living with us who will move out soon?? And thinking about what’s next as we enter our 60s. Probably a downsize, because we absolutely don’t need as much space as we have for just two of us, so thinking about where. The possibilities are exciting! And it’s time to gently start decluttering the things gathering dust 🙂
Thanks so much for the shout, Kara! Jo's post had me raring to talk up my projects, too!