On Stuckness
Discover more from The Slow Hello
One of the most uncomfortable things about sharing book news, either in this newsletter or on social media, is that it takes on a sort of “highlight reel” life of it’s own. These pieces of news are fun and exciting, yes, but they also obscure the harder parts of writing (or just trying to live a creative life).
Full transparency here: I’ve been pretty stuck, writing-wise, for almost a year (I talked about it a little bit earlier this spring). Maybe even more than a year? Like so many people, I’ve felt off-balance since the pandemic and I’m trying to find my way into a new rhythm. I’ve written things, but I’ll set them down and take a break because they’re still pieces of work I can’t quite figure out. I know what I want them to be, but I’m not sure how to get them there. I worry a lot that the more I set things down, the harder it will be to regain momentum, but at the same time, I’m trying to be gentle with myself and undo a lot of perfectionist tendencies. I’m not really sure what the solution is, so I keep sitting down at my desk each morning to at least do morning pages with the hope that I’ll get there eventually.
Recently I listened to this Hidden Brain episode on getting unstuck and appreciated it so much that I actually listened to it twice. While a lot of the information wasn’t necessarily new to me, it was reassuring. Stuckness happens! It just happens! And to a lot of artists I admire! One is Jeff Tweedy, briefly mentioned in the podcast. In addition to being a member of Wilco, Tweedy also happens to be the author of one of my favorite craft books, How to Write One Song (Tweedy also has a new book, World Within a Song, coming in November, that’s definitely going on my to-be-read list).
The podcast episode also discusses the effectiveness of creative limitations, which reminded me of one of my favorite quotes by artist David Hockney:
“Limitations are really good for you. They are a stimulant. If you were told to make a drawing of a tulip using five lines, or one using a hundred, you’d have to be more inventive with the five. After all, drawing in itself is always a limitation. It’s black and white, or line or not line, charcoal, pencil, pen. You might have a bit of color—but if you can use only three colors, you’ve got to make them look whatever color you want. What did Picasso say? ‘If you haven’t got any red, use blue.’ Make blue look like red.”
Hockney drew and painted tulips over and over again, in various iterations and different mediums spanning decades, and he’s also famous for his many paintings of swimming pools. If you look up his work, you’ll see how varied his approach was for both (seemingly simple) subjects. It’s fascinating to me how artists like Hockney keep their creativity flowing by varying their practice on the same theme, over and over and over again.
Using the approach of creative limitations was how my book Penguin Journey came about. I have a tendency to write picture books on the longer side, and set a goal of drafting a picture book that came in at under 100 words. Writing in such spare language was a challenge, but working within that specific constraint helped me to come up with something different, and is an approach I’ll likely try again in the future.
Book News
Digging for Words is featured Stephen and Kayla Briseño’s forthcoming book for teachers, Text Structures From Picture Books. I love that the Briseños use picture books as mentor texts with middle school students as well as younger students—- there’s so much to be learned about the craft of writing for all ages with this approach!
Upcoming Events
Saturday, September 9th in Bath, ME: Bath Book Bash, 11am-4pm
Saturday, October 21st in South Burlington, VT: Book signing at the South Burlington Public Library, 10am
Other Random Fun Things
After we went blueberry picking a few weeks ago, I made the famous Jordan Marsh Blueberry muffins and I now fully understand why they’re famous. These aren’t the “healthy” muffins I usually bake, but they’re so delicious we made them twice in one week. (And, in case you missed it, here’s a favorite blueberry cobbler recipe.)
We also had a lot of cucumbers and mint in the fridge that needed to be used up, and this Cucumber Agua Fresca with Mint and Ginger is delicious.
One part of our meal planning routine this summer was that each kid chose and prepared one meal a week— something I hope we can keep up with once school and sports start! A favorite cookbook we use is Kid in the Kitchen by Melissa Clark. The recipes are so consistently good (and easily adaptable for both my vegetarian kiddos) that my oldest says she is taking it to college with her. Thankfully that’s still a ways away!
Books I’ve Read Lately (Picture Books)
I’m experiencing some stuckness with reading these days, too, in terms of books written for adults. I haven’t picked anything up that really held my attention, and I’d love some recommendations, either fiction or nonfiction. What did you read this summer that you loved and want to recommend? Leave your suggestions in the comments below!
However, I read so many good picture books in the last month (my goal is to read one new-to-me picture book every day). Here are some recent favorites:
Creature of Habit by Jennifer E. Smith and Leo Espinosa
The Flamingo by Guojing
From the Tops of the Trees by Kao Kalia Yang and Rachel Wada
Our Pool by Lucy Ruth Cummins
Rainbow Shopping by Qing Zhuang
Yoshi, Sea Turtle Genius by Lynne Cox and Richard Jones
*Please note that all books mentioned above contain affiliate links to Bookshop.org, a site that helps support local independent bookstores.