The title of this month’s newsletter comes from the Philip Larkin poem “Trees”. When I read it, I gasped and knew it was the found line I’d been wanting for June. How lucky I felt then to have come across that particular poem in that particular moment, as I was processing the griefs that come with the close of every school year, but this year in particular. As I was lamenting the scraps of time I’ve had lately to make progress in my work. As I was feeling angry about how so many people are turning to AI to ease the toil of writing, when for me the toil of writing is the whole point. It’s not about how fast or how well we write, but how true it feels, and then how you go back to see if you can write it truer still. This process of vision and revision is the craft I have built a life on, and it has remade me. I love how long it takes, how imperfect first drafts are, how we must again and again begin afresh.
For the past several months, Chris and I have been learning tai chi. In four months, we’ve managed to learn what probably amounts to twenty steps (I haven’t counted) which make up the first third of the tai form in the tradition of Cheng Man Ch’ing. We’ve spent most mornings reviewing and discussing the details of a few tiny steps. Wait, Wait, do we turn the foot in here? Is the palm facing out? Is the weight seventy or one hundred in the left foot? In taking up this practice, I can’t help but see how it reminds me of revision. The way we write ourselves through a scene and then return to it again and again to work out the kinks, to improve the beauty and flow. Like tai chi, the gift is transcending everyday anxieties to lose yourself in the flow of creation. The point is the practice of patience, attention, and the joy that comes with relaxing into the flow.
We have no big adventures planned this summer, just the two state park camp and reads we do each year. We planned it this way. Both of us are wanting to give more time to our creative projects right now. I’ve committed to treating writing like a full time job this summer, to showing up every day. My specific schedule (having a specific schedule makes all the difference for me) will be 6-10 am for generative writing, then 2-4/5 for the business of writing. Will there be days when some fun day trips come up, and I can’t hold to this? Sure! I was reading Eric Zimmer’s When a Little Becomes a Lot the other day, and he talked about this. I skimmed through and tried to find the spot, but I could not, so you’ll just have to trust me. If you are curious about habit cultivation, I would recommend this book. It’s got all the elements of the best habit books I’ve read all wrapped up in funny, inspiring stories, plus reflections on philosophy and world religions. Though I couldn’t find the exact spot, the idea is essentially that we do not need to succeed one hundred percent of the time; we just need momentum. So, yes to a specific schedule and also yes to grace and self-compassion. What times are you making for your creative work this summer?
Small Things That Have Been Bringing Me Joy
- Putting on a YouTube Music Playlist while cooking dinner or cleaning, and just letting the heart follow the song. Lately, I’ve been in a Leonard Cohen phase. But sometimes I just want to dance.
- Picking flowers from my garden to press and preserve
- Long stretches of uninterrupted reading
- Making delicious, diverse meals and caring about every little detail
Found Sentences from What I’ve Been Reading
“Anyway, as I was saying, I started reading her story when I got home that night and quickly realized, with a frisson of prurient delight, that it had to be autofiction.” “The Typing Lady” Ruth Ozeki
A Writing Prompt for June
Write something that unburdens an ache that has been stalking your heart like a panther. Write it over again until you feel that catharsis. Put what you’ve written in a bottle and send it out to see or share it with a trusted friend. Your choice.
June/July Goals
- Aim for 70/30 in honor of many tai chi moves in terms of success in showing up to write every day (weekends included) from 6-10 am and then again from 2-5.
- Finish a chapbook of poems and start sending it out
- Three queries every day
Reflection Question for Your Creative Practice
In what ways is your revision/refinement process working for you? What could you change to make it work better?
I also work as a writing coach and love helping writers gain confidence, set goals, and develop their work. I was a writer first, but I’ve been teaching for over twenty-five years. Coaching weaves those two skill sets in a way that I love, love, love. I work with writers locally and over Zoom. For more information on coaching, email me at eatyourwords.lizshine@gmail.com or see my website.
You can see my books here and read some of my short works here.
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