How do I Write Once Summer Ends?
A free workshop that you clearly want to register for today
Friends,
I came across this very annoying Willa Cather quote the other day. And I don’t like it, so I’m sharing it with you:
"When the first of August came round, the Professor realized he had pleasantly trifled away nearly two months at a task which should have taken little more than a week." (The Professor's House, 1925). How have a trifled away all of these tasks! Where did July go?
I received so many emails from all of you writing in your cars and on park benches and in bleachers after the last post about writing through camp schedules. I see you! We’re all in this together! Worry not, summer in New York City is not almost over. In fact, when I type the letter “d” into Google, it prompts me with “Days til September 10,” because that’s the query I seem to be entering every single day (the answer is 35).
Things are kinda unraveling at the seams here (one of my children may have booked an $85 Lyft to JFK while my husband and I were both on calls yesterday). So this lovely yellow bearded man’s mesage has become a mantra of sorts for me. What is the one thing I can keep doing to keep plugging away?
How to write during the semester-A free workshop!
Regardless of how the summer has gone, whether you knocked your goals out of the park, trifled away on one task, satisficed the hell out of things, the semester is going to start. Mirya Holman and I just ran the loveliest writing retreat in Portland, and we spent a ton of time thinking about systems that help people create lives where they can write, even if the world is on fire (spoiler alert - because we are going to write a book…or two…about it)! And we have some ideas we want to share with you.
So come join us!
What: How to Write During the Semester
Who: Kelly, Mirya, hopefully all of you!
Where/when: August 26, 3 pm, zoom
Why? So you keep writing, even when things get really busy.
How to register? Click here!
Tell your friends!
Also…A new podcast to binge!
Our own Lindsey Cormack (you know her from How to Raise a Citizen) has started a podcast - Government that Doesn’t Suck. You should listen!
Lindsey tells us: Government That Doesn’t Suck! is a show that tells the stories of the public institutions, policies, and sometimes the people that have made American life better through our system. At a time when we hear near constant complaints and outrage, in this show we are trying to point our that American government does get things right (even though it’s not perfect), and in looking at those examples we can hopefully orient ourselves towards good, functional decisions in the present because this country is ours to improve. This show grew out of the efforts from How to Raise a Citizen (And Why It’s Up to You to Do It) because the lead producer happened to be in the audience of a book talk I was giving in Maplewood New Jersey and he thought I’d be a good person for the role.
Alright friends, I’ll be back with more next week!
xoxo
Kelly
What’s going on around here
Are you looking for an editor? Reach out to schedule an appointment to talk about your book, article, grant, or job materials. Just reply to this email.Here is the schedule of courses and workshops—no payment is due when you register, just an indication of interest so we can find times that work for everyone. Please share these widely!! Send me good people!!
Register for fall writers’ circles! Fall writers’ circles It’s not too late—early bird rates are extended through August 15! I will only be offering one this year, so register now! And I’ll have some exciting details to share about it next week as well. You can read about them here, and register here.
Departmental workshops and retreats: I’m currently scheduling workshops for the fall of 2026 and the spring of 2027. Reach out to talk about designing a workshop or series of coaching sessions based on what your community needs—including how to preserve human writing in the age of AI.
