Hi friends,
We’re limping toward summer here in New York. The kids don’t get out until the 26th, but mostly have short weeks from here on out (just to prolong the agony of enforced bedtimes and homework). This is a four-day weekend, so I’m working from home while my kids run amuck. During my morning call, my middle child was like a tiny elf, sneaking in with offerings, like a pizza crust and a checklist offering me a menu of cheerios, water, and love. The struggle is very cute, but it’s real in my house.
That same kiddo had a playdate recently with another little girl. My daughter announced that they would play family, and that the family was going camping. This game lasted—I kid you not—hours, and the other little girl would occasionally get frustrated and exclaim “but we need a PROBLEM! All good stories and games have a PROBLEM TO SOLVE.”
This reminded me of a moment during our magical Mexico City retreat where a writer came back from a walk-and-talk with Mirya and announced “I just figured out who the villain in my book is! And it’s awesome!”
So friends, this is an invitation to figure out the role that problems/villainy/spite can play in your work, and use that as a motivation for getting work done in these languid summer months.
Tap into your spite!
Spite can be a powerful motivator. I’m not saying you should let it take over your life, but I am saying that when people tell you that you are less than you are, you should spend a lot of time trying to prove them wrong.
In our writing groups this past year, I know at least three papers and two promotions that were driven by spite—and it was a beautiful thing to see.
I had a lot (a lot) of people tell me that my book wouldn’t find a home. They did it nicely, and in my best interest, but I was told this often. I finished the book almost purely out of spite (and because I felt like I owed it to my interview participants), and because I knew that the people who didn’t see this as a book were wrong. And now, look at these endorsements. People I don’t know, who are great writers I respect, are reading and liking the book, and taking it in the spirit I intended. I’ve already had more copies of the book pre-ordered than my first book sold, I think. This isn’t to brag, but to show you that proving people wrong can be a powerful thing.
Give yourself a nemesis!
I’ve written before about how you should flip what you’re least confident about in terms of your work into the work’s selling point (writing confidently instead of defensively). Taking this a step further can look like finding the person in your field that has been consistently wrong about what they’re talking about, and using them as your intellectual foil to set the record straight with your work. If you believe something is true to the extent you’re going to write 10,000-100,000 words about it, you owe yourself some swagger—and that swagger can be easier to channel if you imagine yourself as a superhero fighting an archnemesis. This nemesis may not appear in the text, but can be a helpful foil as you write.
In 2017, I was aghast by the “diner stories” the New York Times and other outlets were running about “real America” so we could understand the results of the 2016 election. These boggled my mind because it was so clear to me that the real story was the fact that Trump lost the popular vote, and that we were seeing the beginnings of the largest uprising in American history, and no one was telling that story. So I started to interview people in small towns who were organizing against Trump for the first time…and that evolved into my book.
Give readers a villain!
This may not be true in articles in all fields, but I think it applies to most books and at least some article projects. Just like my daughter’s friend was unsatisfied with the laconic game of camping my daughter had constructed, so too you can rescue a manuscript by giving someone to cheer for and to root against. Every book, I believe, has a climax (obviously it’s easier to find that in a history book than an astrophysics book). One of the ways that zooming in and out as you write can help you clarify the narrative you’re telling, and direct the audience’s attention toward who and what to cheer for—and to root against.
This can also help you clarify the story you’re telling. Is the state the enemy? Neoliberalism? Whiteness? Corruption? It’s also helpful to be able to blame the villain for unsatisfying conclusions or when you can’t completely tell a happily-ever-after story.
So, friends, when you’re having trouble figuring out the “why” behind your work (your personal why or why this project needs your energy or why the project needs to exist in the world), tap into spite…find yourself a nemesis…give your audience a villain…and put writing into the world.
Let’s write all the things!
Kelly
A question
I am writing a piece about book workshops, and I was wondering if any of you have ever had a positive experience with a workshop. If you had a good experience, shoot me an email!
Housekeeping
You can pre-order my book!
My book will be available for the world to read on June 15, and is now available for pre-order! So many of you have asked how you can support the book—thank you! Right now, the best way is to preorder a digital or paperback copy, and to pass it on to anyone else who might want to read it.
Also…
Summer planning sessions! In the month of June, we can meet for 30 minutes to figure out how to make the most out of your summer. Backward planning, goal setting, productivity hacks—whatever you need to feel good come August. Details about logistics and payment are here, and the Calendly link to register for a session is here. Please indicate on Calendly that this is a planning session! My plan is to host these again in September for a just-in-time intervention into the fall semester, so stay tuned!
Coming soon - The Book Workshop quarter one is underway, and it’s a blast! If you feel like you’d benefit from a writing community during the semester, there will be a few seats open for new folks to join us in August. I’ll also have information about the fall writers’ circles in mid-June, so keep an eye out for that.
Editing/coaching - We have no more coaching spots for the summer, and only very limited editing availability. If you’d like to work together in the fall, this is a good time to reach out!
As always, I feel so lucky to have all of you as part of my community—thanks for doing what you do!