Thank you for sharing this powerful sentiment! My friend is going through cancer treatment at the moment, which is awful. But in sitting with her and hearing her stories, it made me ask myself what I would do if I found out I was dying (because we are!) I immediately knew I would be writing songs. So I signed up for my first songwriting class ever, in her honor. And it has been absolutely life-changing 💗
Oh my gosh--my best friend survived breast cancer last year and it was awful and scary. She's a painter and it's been interesting to hear how it's shifted her work, and how she also needed just a really long time to emotionally rest and recover from all the physical changes she went through. Knowing that our lives are temporary is something I try to remember every day, several times a day. It is so powerful.
I'm happy that you're taking singing lessons! I've read a couple of very moving pieces on Substack about singing, one by Maia Duerr and one by Kate Brook. They're both beautiful pieces and I think you might enjoy them--and I would link them directly here if I wasn't being tugged away by my four year old!
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and experience with me 💗
Wow, you've finished your manuscript! That's a huge thing... celebrating with you. And the heart of this post speaks to my soul. Thank you for the reminder that we need to get free, now, before we die, and if the most honest writing is our path, we need to do it. Now.
Maia! I'm touched that this spoke to you. There's so much to dig into about how our how freedom is tied into our sense of creative integrity. It's taken me a long time to come to a place of realizing that our creative work benefits all beings, even if only a small group of people read it or see it or hear it. Thank you for celebrating with me!
I quite loved this post, from the title on, and as a poet with ten published collections, I just want to add that we consider ourselves lucky indeed if a book sells a hundred copies, and touched by the stars themselves if it sells two hundred. Which is not to say that we don't give much thought to the marketplace, as most of us are our own marketing directors, forever weary with trying to put ourselves and our work "out there." Still, you are quite right that we tend to be quite comfortable with our own sense of mysticism, our place in the world as observers--and as recorders of what we witness. I've also spent much of my life visiting and wandering cemeteries and am excited by your project! I wish you all luck with it. There is no finer feeling (quite often, of relief) than simply being yourself on the page. It helps us be a bit more of ourselves in the real world, where it's so easy to lose that sense of being.
Thank you! I had enough conversations with poets to sense that that there is a happy and liberating feeling in writing for a small audience. At least one poet friend was appalled that we have to sell fiction to editors by comparing our work to whatever has been published in the last few years 😂 I still might write something more upmarket literary one day, but this manuscript kind of just stole my heart and took me back to my poetry roots. It returned me to the pleasures of writing and just being myself on the page, as you say. I appreciate your insight so much. Thank you again for sharing your thoughts with me here!
And again, it’s not that we don’t *hope* for those larger audiences, even strive for them (I’m on the road a lot doing featured readings, and it feels a bit like a garage band musician selling CDs from the trunk of their car), but we know it’s not necessarily our main purpose—that our work will reach the people who most need to see it, and hopefully stand the test of time. ❤️
Yes, and there is really a crapshoot of luck that is involved in all of this. I think of this quote I heard Joyce Carole Oates say, that if get published as a writer it’s because you got lucky, but you have to have to do a lot of hard work in order to even get a chance at the luck. Ultimately so much is going on that is beyond our control and having this sort of faith in the work itself, that you describe, is the most we can do and maybe the most important thing…My MFA is in fiction and I’m quite happy publishing my little stories to a tiny audience of mostly fellow short story writers 😂Cheers to you on your tour!
Congratulations on your book! This is exactly the same spirit I'm trying to bring to my book on creativity and motherhood. I wrote it feeling aligned and inspired. My agent shopped it around for a couple years, but we just kept getting "I love it but..." kind of responses. Now I'm going to publish it myself. I don't want to lose the intuitive, aligned energy and start imposing unnecessary deadlines or sales goals on myself. I want to complete the project, celebrate the work, and connect with readers. That will feel like success!
Thank you, Heidi! I think it's wonderful to publish things yourself these days, especially when advances are so small even at Big 5 publishers. That feeling was a big reason why I sort of went "Why the hell not" with this manuscript. Your book on creativity and motherhood sounds awesome and I know so many moms will benefit from it!
I always create out of an awareness of death. I also live this way. While it is full, it also leaves one naked as most people prefer to pretend.
💙💙💙 Such a very good way to rejoice in what life gives us now!
Thank you for sharing this powerful sentiment! My friend is going through cancer treatment at the moment, which is awful. But in sitting with her and hearing her stories, it made me ask myself what I would do if I found out I was dying (because we are!) I immediately knew I would be writing songs. So I signed up for my first songwriting class ever, in her honor. And it has been absolutely life-changing 💗
Oh my gosh--my best friend survived breast cancer last year and it was awful and scary. She's a painter and it's been interesting to hear how it's shifted her work, and how she also needed just a really long time to emotionally rest and recover from all the physical changes she went through. Knowing that our lives are temporary is something I try to remember every day, several times a day. It is so powerful.
I'm happy that you're taking singing lessons! I've read a couple of very moving pieces on Substack about singing, one by Maia Duerr and one by Kate Brook. They're both beautiful pieces and I think you might enjoy them--and I would link them directly here if I wasn't being tugged away by my four year old!
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and experience with me 💗
Thank you so much for this! I’m so glad to hear your best friend is healing.
I hope your friend heals also 🩵
Can’t wait to read it!
Thank you, Sal! Fingers crossed it gets out into the world!
Wow, you've finished your manuscript! That's a huge thing... celebrating with you. And the heart of this post speaks to my soul. Thank you for the reminder that we need to get free, now, before we die, and if the most honest writing is our path, we need to do it. Now.
Maia! I'm touched that this spoke to you. There's so much to dig into about how our how freedom is tied into our sense of creative integrity. It's taken me a long time to come to a place of realizing that our creative work benefits all beings, even if only a small group of people read it or see it or hear it. Thank you for celebrating with me!
I quite loved this post, from the title on, and as a poet with ten published collections, I just want to add that we consider ourselves lucky indeed if a book sells a hundred copies, and touched by the stars themselves if it sells two hundred. Which is not to say that we don't give much thought to the marketplace, as most of us are our own marketing directors, forever weary with trying to put ourselves and our work "out there." Still, you are quite right that we tend to be quite comfortable with our own sense of mysticism, our place in the world as observers--and as recorders of what we witness. I've also spent much of my life visiting and wandering cemeteries and am excited by your project! I wish you all luck with it. There is no finer feeling (quite often, of relief) than simply being yourself on the page. It helps us be a bit more of ourselves in the real world, where it's so easy to lose that sense of being.
Thank you! I had enough conversations with poets to sense that that there is a happy and liberating feeling in writing for a small audience. At least one poet friend was appalled that we have to sell fiction to editors by comparing our work to whatever has been published in the last few years 😂 I still might write something more upmarket literary one day, but this manuscript kind of just stole my heart and took me back to my poetry roots. It returned me to the pleasures of writing and just being myself on the page, as you say. I appreciate your insight so much. Thank you again for sharing your thoughts with me here!
My MFA is in fiction. I’ve been much happier as a poet. ☺️
And again, it’s not that we don’t *hope* for those larger audiences, even strive for them (I’m on the road a lot doing featured readings, and it feels a bit like a garage band musician selling CDs from the trunk of their car), but we know it’s not necessarily our main purpose—that our work will reach the people who most need to see it, and hopefully stand the test of time. ❤️
Yes, and there is really a crapshoot of luck that is involved in all of this. I think of this quote I heard Joyce Carole Oates say, that if get published as a writer it’s because you got lucky, but you have to have to do a lot of hard work in order to even get a chance at the luck. Ultimately so much is going on that is beyond our control and having this sort of faith in the work itself, that you describe, is the most we can do and maybe the most important thing…My MFA is in fiction and I’m quite happy publishing my little stories to a tiny audience of mostly fellow short story writers 😂Cheers to you on your tour!
Congratulations on your book! This is exactly the same spirit I'm trying to bring to my book on creativity and motherhood. I wrote it feeling aligned and inspired. My agent shopped it around for a couple years, but we just kept getting "I love it but..." kind of responses. Now I'm going to publish it myself. I don't want to lose the intuitive, aligned energy and start imposing unnecessary deadlines or sales goals on myself. I want to complete the project, celebrate the work, and connect with readers. That will feel like success!
Thank you, Heidi! I think it's wonderful to publish things yourself these days, especially when advances are so small even at Big 5 publishers. That feeling was a big reason why I sort of went "Why the hell not" with this manuscript. Your book on creativity and motherhood sounds awesome and I know so many moms will benefit from it!