A gentle close to the week

And 9 things that made the week brighter / Issue 1,437

Oh, hi friends!

Summer vibes are here, aren’t they? 

The end-of-school, beginning-of-humidity, everything-is-happening vibes.*

(*Sidenote: I wrote this newsletter yesterday, but our WiFi is currently out so am sending it from a hotspot, which explains why it’s late and maybe why there are any errors and typos! Forgive me. Back to it.)

How are you gently moving into the weekend? 

I guess (I am!) continuing my 10x10 experiment through the weekend.

If I had planned or debated doing this experiment too much (as is my indecisive nature), I would have convinced myself that next week is a better time to start.

But next week might turn into the week after next. 

And then next month. 

Next season.

Next year.

Never.

So instead, you and I, we do what we can when we can while we can. 

And we can let that be enough.

Have a peaceful weekend, my friends. 

9 Things That Made the Week Brighter and Better

Here are some of my favorite bits and bobs from the last few weeks. 

• I had a wonderful Launch the Plane session with a new client, a writer working out the last 10 percent of her nonfiction book. We discussed new strategies for finishing, and I mapped out her different paths to publication, either with a traditional agent-to-editor process, or pursuing academic and university presses. If you need a major creative nudge, Launch the Plane summer sessions are open now! 

• Actor and director Ed Burns was on our flight back from Ireland, and my brother Eric told me that he wrote a book about filmmaking. Umm, Independent Ed: What I Learned from My Career of Big Dreams, Little Movies, and the Twelve Best Days of My Life, which I read in a day, is an instant classic in my library, full of lessons about staying true to your art, your perspective, your voice. Burns has been diligently making indie films for two decades — talky, human dramas about topics he cares about. This was exactly what I needed to read right now, and I appreciate the kismet of seeing him on the plane…

• …also on the plane, I watched Disney’s Turning Red, which I missed when it came out last year. (This flight was extremely useful!) Such a delight, and as someone who spent her teenage years obsessed with boy bands, it struck all the right chords. (BSB4EVA!!)

• Speaking of staying true to your own voice, this Miranda July profile in The New Yorker is gooood. 

• A perfect four minutes: Fredrik Backman sharing his thoughts on creative anxiety and procrastination. (h/t Austin Kleon’s newsletter)

• Gather ‘round, fans of creative process documentaries: The Greatest Night in Pop chronicles the making of the “We Are the World” single in 1985. My favorite part was Lionel Richie admitting he and Michael Jackson basically didn’t start writing the song until the last minute. I understand you, Lionel.

• My friend Aransas, who you know from her newsletter and all the good she puts out into the world, held the most inspiring in-person conference, Uplifters Live, last Friday, with 100 women connecting and sharing their stories and strategies for lifting themselves up, while supporting everyone else in their lives. Seeing her beautiful event — from the speakers and guest list to the gift bags and so much more — was the rare physical testament to hard work and vision played out over many months. 

• The cast recording of Here We Are, Stephen Sondheim’s final musical, was just released. Squeal! I love that they included many of the scenes in the second act. This interlude, “Snow,” with David Hyde Pierce and Rachel Bay Jones, was one of my favorite theater moments last year.

• Best $10 I spent: I had a PDF that I wanted to be “fillable,” so whoever I send it to can fill it out. I tried to do this myself, watched a YouTube explainer, messed around in Canva, before getting annoyed and giving up. And then I remembered Fiverr. I found Muniba from Canada who charges $10 to make fillable PDFs, and I had a perfect document in an hour. Small thing, but immediately eliminated an annoying pain point! Is there something bugging you that you can outsource to someone else? 

That’s it for me — would love to know what’s been making your week brighter and better!!