Oohs and Aahs for 11.22.24

Making progress when life feels hard and links for your clicking pleasure

Hi Friends!

You may notice some changes in my content over the next few weeks. I have some year-end treats I want to share with you, and I’m pressing pause on the Mothers Who Make interviews while I focus on some other topics, but I’ll be back next year with more interviews and new offerings I’m excited to share with you!

—Heidi

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When I’m in a groove, I can write in ten-minute pockets of time, in the carline, waiting during swim lessons, or when I think of something in the shower. Ideas are always brewing and I can drop down into that creative place whenever a little time presents itself. But sometimes I’m NOT in a groove (like when the headlines get overwhelming and it feels like I’m spending all my time on the phone figuring out logistics and solving problems 🙅‍♀️). On those days, writing feels far away, like it’s on another planet, and I can’t possibly achieve escape velocity to get there.

I’ve been doing this long enough to know that when this happens, I’m still a writer and I’ll find my creative flow again. Some people might take a break, and that would totally be ok! But when so much feels out of my control, I know that making progress would be good for my mental health, so I’m not going to wait for the perfect mood to strike. Here’s what I am going to do.

• Set a timer for 10 or 20 minutes and write before I jump into client work. (Doesn’t need to be at 5 am before everything, but it needs to be before the thing I know could take all day.)

• Give myself tiny assignments. Choose a character name. Write a scene. Figure out a format. Tiny wins count!

• Keep expectations super low but also allow myself to believe it is possible to work

  like this and do good work. I can always revise when I’m in better spirits!

• Smile a little bit—This sounds dumb, but it has really been helping me soften and tune into the energy I want to channel into my work.

None of this changes the circumstances we find ourselves in. But as Oliver Burkeman says, we must “engage in the behaviors that make up a meaningful life anyways.”

Looking for personal guidance on how to write when life is overwhelming?

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This Week I’m…

• Enjoying #folktaleweek2024 on Instagram 🌲

• Reading a grown-up fairytale 🍄

• Wondering why I never thought about sabertooth kittens before🐱

• Loving this garden inspired by the swirls in Van Gogh’s Starry Night 🌀

• Thinking about

  Henrik Karlsson
  ’s behind-the-scenes look at what it means to work in an art gallery 🤑

• Taking a tiny art class ✏️

• Liking

  Lincoln Michel
  ’s idea of adjusting the levels when you revise a manuscript

• Watching this fascinating video of Jon Batiste testing musical gadgets 🎹

• Trying to figure out Bluesky (Tell me if you know of a starter pack I should click on/download/join/follow/what are we even calling it???)

• Wishing I could go see this Georgia O’Keefe and Henry Moore exhibit at the MFA in Boston 🌸

• GASPING because a How to Draw book I worked on a million years ago is on Cup of Jo’s gift guide for kids (The Nebula Notebook gift guide is coming out Monday!) 🤩

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Nebula Notebook is a place to meet kindred spirits, get inspired, and learn how to find ease and joy in the creative process—even when life is bananas. 🍌🍌🍌

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✏️ PS—The fastest way to grow as a writer is to book a manuscript critique or a creative coaching session with an expert. My clients get agents, sell books, and win awards. They also learn how to enjoy the creative process, so they can keep going when life gets hard. 👏