Dear Readers,
We celebrated the last night of Chanukah yesterday, a sure sign that this year is drawing to a close. It's time to look back on the old year and plan for the new one, and that means it's time to share my Writer's Workbook 2020 with you.
As you all know, I released my second book, How to Write Compelling Stories from Family History earlier this month. I also began an Advice Column on my blog, answering any questions readers might have about writing interesting family history. Check out the
first installment:
And feel free to submit your own question!
Here I am celebrating my book release with a mug
of Glühwein (mulled wine) at the Christkindlmarket in Chicago
So far, the book has been rocking along, selling quite nicely. It even made #1 Release in Genealogy on Amazon:
I'm not sure what that actually means but let's hope it churns the publicity machine for me because, honestly, publishing this book has left me utterly depleted. I am just exhausted. No amount of sleep and vegging out has shaken this basic feeling
so far.
However, this morning, as I plowed through my Writer's Workbook, I came upon the "Nurture" section (page 14), and I realized I had done precious little this past year to fill my well. Especially these past few months, I was totally focused on publishing the book. I was producing, giving, churning out, and not paying any attention to replenishing.
In The Artist's Way, Julia Cameron prescribes three habits to sustain the creative life:
- Writing Morning Pages
- Going for Daily Walks
- Taking yourself on Artist's Dates
While Morning Pages are a daily ritual for me, and I have gotten good at walking daily since my hip ailment (this newsletter's title picture is the view of downtown Chicago from my walk yesterday), I have totally ignored
the third prescription: Artist's Dates. An Artist Date simply means taking yourself out for something fun, such as a museum visit, rummaging through a favorite store, or exploring a site. Something to delight your inner child, something to replenish your creative well. No wonder that I have been dragging my feet on doing absolutely anything creative, even putting together a newsletter or a blog post. The tank is empty!
So my resolve for 2020 is to make an effort to go on Artist Dates. I plan to co-opt my musician sister into being my buddy in this effort, as I know she's not good at Artist Dates either. And it helps so much to have someone to whom you can report and who cheers you on.
I'll keep you posted on whether this prescription works. In the meantime, I wish you all the very best for this New Year of 2020, and I hope the Writer's Workbook brings you some insights as well!
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