A gentle close to the week

With 11 things that made life better / Issue 1,353

Kara Cutruzzula

Dec 01, 2023

Oh, hi friends!

Boy oh boy oh boy the calendar turns,

And here we are.

With the tick tick tick and the parties and the gifts.

And the wrap-it-up and wind-it-down.

And the belated doctor appointments and friendly dinners.

And the big dreams deferred until next year, maybe, because who has the time?

But…but.

Maybe you need fewer hours than you think?

Maybe what you need is the last page of the calendar and no more squares to fill and urgency.

Maybe what you need is to decide this is it.

The year the big dream gets done.

11 Things That Made Life Better This Week

One quick thing: Holiday shopping? What about BOOKS? All three of my journals are 50% off on abramsbooks.com (and so are the rest of the books on the site!). Use code SKIPTHELINE at the checkout.

Do It For Yourself is great for someone who’s starting a project or life change.

Do It Today is for someone who needs encouragement to keep persisting.

Do It (or Don’t) is ideal for someone who’s time-strapped or lost their spark and wants to refocus.

(I am all three lol.)

I’m also giving away a bundle of some wonderful books by author friends on my Instagram! Go here to enter.

On to this week’s good stuff:

Nyad. Watched and REALLY enjoyed.
“You've got to tell a story that keeps the people around the campfire interested in what you're telling them.” Thank you, Terrence McNally.
And this advice from Martin Scorsese: Shape the thing you’re making into a pure expression of the thing you’re making: “Cut away, strip away the unnecessary, and strip away what people expect.”
And this, from Air screenwriter Alex Convery: the best time to create is when no one is watching.
Sondheim’s Connecticut country house is for sale.
Seth Godin on “project resistance” and the different ways it can manifest was a favorite recent newsletter.
Agent Andrew Wylie: “So what should a writer’s goals be? Just on the quality of the work. The kind of ineffable beauty of something extremely well expressed.”
Speaking of quality work,
Liz Callaway
was nominated for a Grammy Award!! We chatted last year for my podcast when she was putting the finishing touches on her album, To Steve With Love, and one message was it’s never too late to learn something new. It’s so inspiring to see her effort recognized.
Oh! Oh! Marathon runner saves kitten during race! (h/t Becky Paredes)
Stereophonic at Playwrights Horizons is one of the best new plays I’ve seen in years. It’s sold out but there’s a standby line!
Finally, from James Clear: “The imperfect project you actually complete is worth more than the perfect project you never finish.” This, above all other advice, is what I need to take most to heart.

And I also wanted to ask: What are your big and little dreams for December? I’d love to know.

BRASS RING

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