Glorious December
And some major encouragement from Carrie Seim / Issue 1,151
Oh, hi friends!
Life is so funny. I got quiet this week because suddenly I had more things to do in a week than I’ve had during most months this year.
Or maybe that’s just the definition of December?
Are you also compelled to close the loops, tie off unanswered emails, buy the presents, book the tickets, and perhaps find another handful of items to check off the to-do list to prove that yes, indeed, you did something in 2022?
Perhaps if we acknowledge upfront — here and now — this is how it’s going to be, then these next few weeks won’t have to feel as stretched.
They’ll feel expected.
Because I can deal with great expectations.
I know you can, too.
“I have this greeting card that my sister gave me when I first moved to Los Angeles after college, and I knew no one in L.A. On the front of the greeting card is a little bird that's riding a Ferris wheel at a carnival. And the phrase is, She was scared silly, but she kept buying tickets. And I think about that a lot. I'm scared silly all the time, but I'm like, just keep buying those tickets, you know?”
This is a big week for Carrie Seim, who is a bright light and encouraging voice and perpetual ticket buyer.
The Flying Flamingo Sisters 2, the sequel to her wonderful bestselling audio series The Flying Flamingo Sisters just debuted yesterday on Audible!
Carrie keeps it real and I was so happy to chat with her for a short podcast episode.
We talk about her “wild and weird” creative path from the Groundlings to journalism to becoming an author (she’s developing her wildly popular book Horse Girl into a TV series!).
We talk about “lifeguard friends,” those close friends who pull you back on the boat when you don’t know what to do next.
We talk about her secret to finishing drafts.
We talk about how working on a gigantic project is like building a canoe.
And there’s this one moment where Carrie talks about going through a creative rejection when she was younger — and what she wishes she could tell that version of herself now that she’s found her way back to her calling.
Honestly, it kind of wrecked me?! Because it was exactly what I needed to hear in that moment. (Thank you, Carrie.) If you only have a minute, you can jump to that part of the conversation at 21:30. I came away from talking to Carrie so reenergized.
Our chat is on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, my website, or wherever you get your podcasts. Lol I still can’t believe I started a podcast this year. Ya never know, friends. We are all on our own wild and weird creative paths.
Lula’s Lesson of the Week
Speaking of wild and weird, I’ll leave you with one Lula lesson from this week. (Lula is our cat. That is her, up above. Yes, she might also be a ghost. Back to her lesson.)
Lie to yourself about your deadline.
I thought my revises were due back to my editor this Thursday, because that’s what my calendar said. But no! The actual deadline is this Friday. I knew I’d need that extra day (and leave it to the last minute after Thanksgiving, whoops) so I tricked to myself a month ago by putting the earlier date on the calendar.
Did I finish on Thursday? Of course I did not.
But I finished by Friday — the actual deadline.
So that’s Lula’s lesson of the week. Just lie to your calendar.
See you next week!
This podcast was 💯!! 🛶🛟