I think the main thing is to work out what works for you. I like your writing and will watch with interest in the new year, but must admit to having limited interest in children's literature - even my grandchildren are now mid-to-late late teens, difficult as it is for me to get my head around that@
Thank you for saying you like my writing Ann. I feel honoured!
I can understand you having little interest in children’s literature. I don’t think you will be the only one of my subscribers who feels like that. I hope you will stick around for my other posts and updates though!
I also hope that my writings on books and literature will still be interesting to read for those who will never actually read the books I am writing about. I like to write about life and people and ideas when I write about books.
I’m wondering if you would read my post on the Miss Rumphius book sometime (if you have the time and/or inclination)? It isn’t just about the book itself, but about the values we inherit as children and then pass on to the next generations (among other things). I will link to it here in case you or anyone else is interested.
I love the sound of this Emma. I also really appreciate and admire your clarity as you develop your work. I personally think your writing is really fluid and engaging; the love you have for your subject really pulls me in.
P.S - I love editing, so if an extra pair of eyes for a final read through is ever useful please get in touch.
Oh thank you, Jaimie! I really appreciate your kind words about my writing. I’m so glad you find it engaging.
And thank you for your offer of help with editing. I might take you up on that one day.
I actually love editing too - it is probably my favourite part of the process! But proofreading your own writing is SO hard. I know the various tricks - leaving it to one side for a few days, different fonts, printing it out, reading aloud - but often I don’t have quite enough time or the subject matter feels so emotional to me that it feels a bit ‘blinding’, if that makes any sense?
Complete sense. It’s so hard to get enough distance from our own writing (but the process of honing it is so much fun 😊).
I’m really looking forward to reading your essays across the year, and getting to know each book at a deeper level.
I’m planning to take a refresher course in Psychosynthesis next year. Interestingly Internal Family Systems developed out of it since I completed my initial training and I’m really interested to see how it all influences the writing I aim (hope/plan 🤞🏻) to do and to see if it feeds back into the books we’ve already chatted about briefly.
Oh that sounds really interesting! I haven’t heard of psychosynthesis, but I will go and take a look.
I am a huge fan of IFS and (a sneak peak for you, and anyone reading this!) one of the projects I am hoping to work on early in the new year for my paid subscribers is some IFS resources for writers, both for their own mental and emotional well-being (with the strong caveat that I am NOT a therapist) and for character development for fiction writers. Watch this space!
Love the sound of monthly children’s lit essays Emma - what a nice thing to have to look forward to in 2025 😜 And props for assessing your capacities and adjusting accordingly. It’s a perpetual problem for me that I have way more ideas than I can realistically execute in a sensible time frame so I very much relate. PS I think your writing is already well worth reading so don’t be too tough on yourself eh x
Thank you for such kind and encouraging words, Vicki! Hmmm, not being too tough on myself? You are not the first person to tell me that even this week! lol
I'm glad you like the sound of monthly children's lit essays! Let me know if there is anything you would be interested in having a deeper dive into.
Yeah, the generation of way more ideas than can be executed is such a problem for so many of us, I think. I sometimes wish there was somewhere I could put all my ideas that I can't use, but think would be amazing to see out in the world, so that someone else could use them. I know Elizabeth Gilbert says that ideas move on if you can't or won't use them yourself. I hope that is true!
Why don't you set up a folder of ideas you want to write about some time. I must admit that is what I do. When I am thinking about what to write about, I go there and sometimes it sings to me and sometimes I wonder what in the world I had in mind. But the list keeps getting longer and provides me assurance that I am not running out of ideas.
Keeping a list of ideas is a good idea, Ann. Even better - keeping them in one place! I do write down all my ideas for writing, even odd words and snippets, but they are scattered in multiple places, I have to admit.
I think my biggest worry isn’t running out of ideas, it is overwhelm with the sheer number of ideas I have. And also working out which of my many ideas to focus on. Choosing just a couple is hard for my squirrel brain!
I love your words ‘sometimes it sings to me and sometimes I wonder what in the world I had in mind‘. That is a familiar feeling!
Well, when they're in one place and you go away and come back and look at them, you 'll probably find there is one that captures you. If not there, in the bath or shower. Water has been the genesis of many of an idea of mine. Sometimes I get out the bath (or out of the swimming pool) and want to write ideas down before they fade, but I end up with very soggy paper. Get them onto the computer is the best advice - 'possible posts'.
Good advice. I am a fan of David Allen's Getting Things Done and I think gathering all my writing ideas into one definitive place (whether they are ideas for short stories, novels, essays, whatever) is the way forward. I just need to make a decision about where that place is, and then go and hunt all those stray ideas down and corral them!
Interesting that being in or near water helps you think of ideas. The soggy paper made me smile!
I think the main thing is to work out what works for you. I like your writing and will watch with interest in the new year, but must admit to having limited interest in children's literature - even my grandchildren are now mid-to-late late teens, difficult as it is for me to get my head around that@
Thank you for saying you like my writing Ann. I feel honoured!
I can understand you having little interest in children’s literature. I don’t think you will be the only one of my subscribers who feels like that. I hope you will stick around for my other posts and updates though!
I also hope that my writings on books and literature will still be interesting to read for those who will never actually read the books I am writing about. I like to write about life and people and ideas when I write about books.
I’m wondering if you would read my post on the Miss Rumphius book sometime (if you have the time and/or inclination)? It isn’t just about the book itself, but about the values we inherit as children and then pass on to the next generations (among other things). I will link to it here in case you or anyone else is interested.
https://wonderingsteps.substack.com/p/our-many-lives?r=3wo9c1
I love the sound of this Emma. I also really appreciate and admire your clarity as you develop your work. I personally think your writing is really fluid and engaging; the love you have for your subject really pulls me in.
P.S - I love editing, so if an extra pair of eyes for a final read through is ever useful please get in touch.
Oh thank you, Jaimie! I really appreciate your kind words about my writing. I’m so glad you find it engaging.
And thank you for your offer of help with editing. I might take you up on that one day.
I actually love editing too - it is probably my favourite part of the process! But proofreading your own writing is SO hard. I know the various tricks - leaving it to one side for a few days, different fonts, printing it out, reading aloud - but often I don’t have quite enough time or the subject matter feels so emotional to me that it feels a bit ‘blinding’, if that makes any sense?
Complete sense. It’s so hard to get enough distance from our own writing (but the process of honing it is so much fun 😊).
I’m really looking forward to reading your essays across the year, and getting to know each book at a deeper level.
I’m planning to take a refresher course in Psychosynthesis next year. Interestingly Internal Family Systems developed out of it since I completed my initial training and I’m really interested to see how it all influences the writing I aim (hope/plan 🤞🏻) to do and to see if it feeds back into the books we’ve already chatted about briefly.
Oh that sounds really interesting! I haven’t heard of psychosynthesis, but I will go and take a look.
I am a huge fan of IFS and (a sneak peak for you, and anyone reading this!) one of the projects I am hoping to work on early in the new year for my paid subscribers is some IFS resources for writers, both for their own mental and emotional well-being (with the strong caveat that I am NOT a therapist) and for character development for fiction writers. Watch this space!
Love the sound of monthly children’s lit essays Emma - what a nice thing to have to look forward to in 2025 😜 And props for assessing your capacities and adjusting accordingly. It’s a perpetual problem for me that I have way more ideas than I can realistically execute in a sensible time frame so I very much relate. PS I think your writing is already well worth reading so don’t be too tough on yourself eh x
Thank you for such kind and encouraging words, Vicki! Hmmm, not being too tough on myself? You are not the first person to tell me that even this week! lol
I'm glad you like the sound of monthly children's lit essays! Let me know if there is anything you would be interested in having a deeper dive into.
Yeah, the generation of way more ideas than can be executed is such a problem for so many of us, I think. I sometimes wish there was somewhere I could put all my ideas that I can't use, but think would be amazing to see out in the world, so that someone else could use them. I know Elizabeth Gilbert says that ideas move on if you can't or won't use them yourself. I hope that is true!
Why don't you set up a folder of ideas you want to write about some time. I must admit that is what I do. When I am thinking about what to write about, I go there and sometimes it sings to me and sometimes I wonder what in the world I had in mind. But the list keeps getting longer and provides me assurance that I am not running out of ideas.
Keeping a list of ideas is a good idea, Ann. Even better - keeping them in one place! I do write down all my ideas for writing, even odd words and snippets, but they are scattered in multiple places, I have to admit.
I think my biggest worry isn’t running out of ideas, it is overwhelm with the sheer number of ideas I have. And also working out which of my many ideas to focus on. Choosing just a couple is hard for my squirrel brain!
I love your words ‘sometimes it sings to me and sometimes I wonder what in the world I had in mind‘. That is a familiar feeling!
Well, when they're in one place and you go away and come back and look at them, you 'll probably find there is one that captures you. If not there, in the bath or shower. Water has been the genesis of many of an idea of mine. Sometimes I get out the bath (or out of the swimming pool) and want to write ideas down before they fade, but I end up with very soggy paper. Get them onto the computer is the best advice - 'possible posts'.
Good advice. I am a fan of David Allen's Getting Things Done and I think gathering all my writing ideas into one definitive place (whether they are ideas for short stories, novels, essays, whatever) is the way forward. I just need to make a decision about where that place is, and then go and hunt all those stray ideas down and corral them!
Interesting that being in or near water helps you think of ideas. The soggy paper made me smile!