Over 100 new readers have signed up for my little newsletter over the last month—welcome! This space is where I share updates about my editing and consulting work, as well as my thoughts about what makes writing sustainable and fun (like hosting solo writing retreats and the case for starting more than you finish). Everyone I work with gets added to the newsletter, but always feel free to unsubscribe if this isn’t your jam! If it is your jam, and you want to help me get 100 more readers, you can feel free to share it as well!
Hi friends!
Happy week two of AcWriMo! Today I want to share some ideas about a question that has been on my mind lately: what role does anxiety play in our writing and editing lives?
Lots of places on this Internet of ours will offer you ideas for writing-related anxiety (including me!) But the other side of developing swagger is admitting vulnerability and incompletion and imperfection and then showing up anyway, in whatever form that takes: coming as you are (is this the best song off of Nirvana’s Unplugged?).
At the beginning of AcWriMo, where around 120 people are writing together this month, I asked everyone to give themselves a certain number of “get out of writing free” cards to use whenever they need them. Flat tire? Migraine? Sick kid? Running for school board? These are excellent reasons not to write for a day or two. So don’t—but then always know that you’re welcome back. We’re not keeping score.
A funny thing has happened in our Slack channel. For the first few days, everyone was full of lofty goals and aspirations and energy (five hours of writing! three submissions! a whole dissertation proposal!) and it was a ton of energy. But then, when real life set in, the tenor of the conversation shifted. People are sharing why it’s tough to write, why they had to take a few days off, personal and professional setbacks—but then they’re showing up to keep writing anyway. We’re not just writers, we’re humans too. And acknowledging that makes it more possible to write.
This morning, I had an 830-930 writing session scheduled. I poured coffee, logged onto Zoom, said hello to my fellow morning writer…and then my phone rang. And it rang again. And no matter how much you say you’re going to protect your time, you can’t always do that when people need you. So instead of writing, I talked, which was urgent and important. Then, mid-morning, Google reminded me of three emails I hadn’t written back to that had somehow skipped my inbox over the weekend. This derailed me further. THEN, I found out that my dream publisher has a book with ALMOST the same title and structure as mine coming out a few months from now. And in the middle of all of this I forgot to go for my morning walk, which meant I forgot to move my car and we got a parking ticket (boooo street cleaning days).
…A Little Help From My Friends
Thank you for listening to me complain about my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad basically fine, but annoying day. I share the story, though, to remind you that the answer to many of our writing woes is community. My dad always says “be excellent to others, and let others be excellent to you,” and I think we have a really hard time with that second part. Participating in a community of mutual support means that you’re not only focused on your own problems and anxieties, but you can help others —and let others help you too.
The cascading events of my morning were enough to make normal-me anxious and myopic enough about the writing process (ahhhh why couldn’t I be a faster writer? Why couldn’t I have submitted earlier?) that I would do anything else besides work on the book . And I let myself feel sad and frazzle and doomscroll for a bit (actually glee-scroll —last nights elections were amazing!), wondering if anyone besides my mom will ever read this book I’ve been working on since 2017.
But then I remembered my commitment to write with my awesome AcWriMo community. I looked at my goals and, one week in, I know that I’m doing what I can control on the book. I’ve written every day, I’m on track to meet my first product goal of printing out the manuscript for a close read, and I’m doing the work. The rest is up to the universe.
So I texted my husband (who helpfully made fun of the rival bookcover’s font choices and offered to deal with the ticket). And I posted on our AcWriMo group, where everyone was really smart and nice and reassuring. Relying on my community shifted my mood enough that I got back to work.
…And the Brief Plug
If you’re looking for a writing community that can support you next semester, consider joining our spring writers’ circles! More information is here. I’m hosting two in the spring that are capped at six people each. There are only a few seats left, so now is a great time to apply. Until November 15, you can register for a discounted rate. And bring your friends!
Thanks for reading, and whether your AcWriMoing or just writing at your own pace, I hope it’s wonderful.
Kelly
Just a few brief, repeat announcements this week:
December: A little editing pause. I’m going to be taking December 17-January 10 off from editing to decompress, spend family time, and focus on the writing retreat (we still have one place if you want to write in Austin with us!). If you have something in the pipeline and we haven’t talked about it yet, let’s touch base. If we’ve already talked, you’re on my schedule!
…Spring editing! This is a great time to make plans for us to work together in the spring. Let me know if you’d like to get on my editing calendar for mid-February and beyond. Bring me great stuff to read! Let’s get it published!
Referrals: Because writing is better with friends, I’d love for you to refer people to write with us. Substack has a fun new recruiting plan where you can get stuff (writing prompts! A Zoom call with me!) just for referring people to the newsletter—if that’s your jam, you can use this button: