Create a container
How I'm thinking about the season ahead, books I'm excited to read, and other summer things.
// container // anything that contains or can contain something
There are physical containers: a ceramic bowl, the cement square of a neighborhood pool, the four walls of our bedroom.
But the ones I’ve been most interested in lately are time-bound: nature’s seasons, trying something new (like the 8-week pottery class I took last summer), and attempting The Artist’s Way.
Infinite does not work for me right now.
The purpose of the pottery class was to learn the basics and usher you into open studio time. I declined.
The purpose of The Artist’s Way (one of them, at least) is to establish a habit of daily morning journaling. It didn’t last.
But that’s fine!
On the brink of summer when schedules can become obsolete, children are home from school, and maybe a trip beckons on the horizon, it can feel good to let loose creatively. One of the reasons for this, I think, is because it’s temporary. We can put a container of time around something—anything—and see how it goes.
A few ideas for filling these next ten or twelve weeks with whatever you like, big or small…
Writing one haiku a day
Reading a specific genre or author
Revising a short story
Working on an outline
Drafting something entirely new
A weekly coffee shop date to work on whatever you decide
Letting a manuscript breathe
Printing out some poems and marking them up
Swaying in the hammock
Keeping a notebook nearby for stray ideas
This is all part of my now-established annual practice of embracing white space. (For a primer or reminder, listen to the podcast episode below.) Nature expands and contracts, and so do we. Let’s offer more spaciousness, really check-in to see what we might need in this particular moment, and create a container around our creativity that feels just right for the season.
Good Things for Summer
—I might be in my biography era? First up on my reading list is Anne Morrow Lindbergh: A Life. (You might remember the discussion we had about distraction inspired by her book Gift From the Sea). I also have this Jane Austen biography on the shelf, which is a good companion to Austen at Sea, the latest historical novel by Natalie Jenner I just started.
—In the contemporary romance category, Great Big Beautiful Life was different than other Emily Henry books (there’s a mystery!) which was fun to read, and Carley Fortune always makes me dream of owning a lake house.
—The sunscreen my kid doesn’t complain about putting on.
—Eagerly watching season 3 of The Gilded Age and listening to the companion podcast.
—It’s no-recipe salad season! Two favorites: watermelon, olive oil, sea salt, mint, and feta // melon, prosciutto, basil, pine nuts, balsamic vinegar.
—A few podcast episodes I’ve enjoyed lately: Elissa Altman on her new book Permission, building a writing career without social media, and any of these somatic meditations.
—I often wear these earbuds during sports games or inside movie theaters to tamp down the noise.
—This frozen treat is a big hit at my house.
Share this newsletter with a writer friend!
I’m signing off for the summer, which means I won’t be sharing my work online or present on social media (except to watch the occasional dog video). If you enjoy this newsletter, consider forwarding it to a friend so we can be in touch this fall!
As for me, I’ll be putting the finishing touches on my memoir manuscript (finally!) and getting it ready to submit to some small presses soon. I’ll be writing haiku as a daily practice, and if the mood strikes, I might even open up my novel to see if anything I wrote last summer is salvageable.
Until next time (likely August-ish),
Nicole
P.S. Share your summer of white space intentions in the comments, if you’d like! I’d love to hear what you have planned.
Nearly done with my June 30 days of haiku--so fun!
I wrote haiku faithfully when I wrote to learn that less can be more. I may try a daily American Sentence, same syllable count, written left to right across the page……maybe this comment will keep me accountable. Thank you for your staying touch.