Why We Write At Times Like This
AcWriMo starts this week! And a confession: I have not been attending my squid class.
Hello darlings! This post talks about the US election, and also mentions squid and the trombone. Both are in the context of writing. If you don’t want to read about either of them, there are probably other newsletters about writing you could read this week instead!
Last night at bedtime, we facetimed my parents so my son could show them that he can now play “When the Saints Go Marching In” and “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” on trombone. My dad answered, they listened like the enthusiastic grandparents they are, and then my dad said “we’re watching Harris speak. You should turn it on.”
My daughter, who’s seven, said “ooh Kamala Harris. Have we made her president yet? Let me see!” And curled up between my legs as we watched the person who could be the first woman president of the United States deliver her closing argument, offering my kids a vision of America that they can be proud of and work to make better.
How do we write when the world is on fire, part 456
Earlier yesterday, I talked to about 20 clients, and I saw in their faces how tired we all are. And I thought, “how am I asking these people to write when we’re seven days away from such a huge inflection point?” The election feels like a critical juncture, and sometimes pressuring encouraging people to work on their R and Rs feels like playing the fiddle while Rome is burning. We need more sleep! Less existential dread! You know. It’s not new or novel.
A short digression
About a month ago I enrolled myself in Squid Class, which meets Tuesdays from 8-930. I enrolled partially because I felt like my brain needed a distraction and to learn something totally new (squid!), partially because I feel like I should have followed my post-Free Willy dream and become a marine biologist, and partially because I found the title (“Seas The Day: Life Lessons from Cephalopods”) irresistible. I was VERY EXCITED about squid class.
Friends, I confess to you that I’ve missed every squid class. Every Tuesday morning I confidently announce to my family “and don’t forget, tonight is squid class!” and every Tuesday evening it just doesn’t happen. There are some times in my life where there’s room for just one more thing, but we’re not there! So, take this as your permission to feel okay about missing whatever your version of squid class may be.
Writing matters!
Anyway, my goal with this post is to convince you that you should write for the rest of the year instead of taking some time off. Here are a few other things that have happened in the last week. On one call, someone held up her first book and said “look! It’s in the world! And it wouldn’t exist without our writers’ circle! Thank you!” and another person said that writers’ circle was the one invitation on the calendar that made her smile every week and that she always looked forward to going to.
I also had a conversation with a friend who is contemplating a career change, and I told them that this was the first job in my life where I’m (almost) never anxious, I’m (almost) never bored, and I’m not constantly scanning for the next thing. And the reason is 100% because you write things that matter, and then let me read them. So thank you!
Here’s my pitch to you: if you’re in the US and stressed, do whatever you need to do to feel good about the election. For us, we wrote some postcards, will make some phone calls about curing ballots, and will go to Pennsylvania to knock on doors this weekend (and annoy everyone we know to make sure they’re voting. Oh, and stole Reese’s Pieces from our kids pre-Halloween candy).
But then, I encourage you to find some people (or join us!) and start writing things again. What we put into the world matters. We need good people who think interesting stuff to write about it in smart ways. Part of the point of feeling existential dread all of the time is to exhaust people capable of creating radical change. We should resist that. And for that, we need writing communities.
The reason I run writers’ circles and host AcWriMo for the entire community is because I think most of us know how to write, but need a circle of support around them as a source of support and a way to cut through the bullshit. And if we can offer each other that, then we can write things that just might change how people understand the world—no matter what happens next week.
Come write with me!
Kelly
What’s Going On Around Here
AcWriMo 2024 (free!)
For the fourth year, join us in writing all November so we can rest in December. More info here, Register here (If you’ve registered, you should have gotten an email or two from me and an invitation to join Slack. Some university emails block gmail addresses, so if you haven’t heard from me, that might be why! Send me an email and we’ll work things out!)
Spring 2025 Writers’ Circles (January-March 2025)
Small groups of no more than eight people focused on creating the conditions to write more, and more effectively. With a separate cohort for mid-career scholars. (Discounted registration through November 15!)
ApWriMo 2025 (free!)
Like AcWriMo, but for two weeks in April. Details to come!
So You Want to Write A Book?
A unique hybrid workshop dedicated to supporting writers throughout their book writing journey. Join us in early 2025 for workshops on book proposals and revision, or start with a new cohort in May.
January workshop: Book proposals and book marketing
April workshop: The art (and science?) of revision
May 2025-April 2026: beginning and accelerated (discounted registration through February 1)
Fall 2025 Writers’ Circles, September-November 2025
Registration for these will open in Spring 2025.
AcWriMo 2025, November 2025
Registration will open in 2025. But look at you planning ahead!
In addition to one-on-one coaching and editing, we have a lot of workshops! Now you can find all of the workshops that Epilogue Editing hosts listed here, with dates, information, and registration details. It’s the best way to keep up-to-date with what’s going on!