Hang out with writers this Saturday in Chapel Hill
Plus a pro tip for getting back into writing after a hiatus
Hello and happy Tuesday. Time is fake, but happy new year to you and yours. I hope the last few weeks have offered you rest and joy.
First things first: many of us are getting back into routines for the first time in a while, which is hard, hard, hard. If you haven’t looked at or thought about your writing in what feels like a scary amount of time, I offer you my re-entry routine: Open the File. That’s it. Just open it.
You can look around or immediately close it and run into another room. All reactions are welcome. But I can assure you that if you open the file a few days in a row, eventually you will type words or delete some or have a new idea about how to manage a scene or a transition. The magic will return. Your dormant writer brain will awaken.
And for fuck’s sake Open the File without shame. So you didn’t write for a while. A day, a week, a month, a year—it’s all in the past. Today is today. Open the file, and see what happens.
This Saturday January 6th I’m hosting a casual meetup in Chapel Hill and I’d love to see you there! There will be free books, good snacks, and a contest to decide exactly what a group of writers should call themselves.
We’ll celebrate writing wins of any size or shape, including showing up at a gathering of strangers. And if you, like me, are worried about being the weirdest person in the room, fear not—that’s my title and you can’t have it.
So put on some pants and come enjoy the company of other creatives who understand the joy and frustration of the writing life. Everybody who shows up gets a free book! RSVP here.