Hello friends,
As I write this, rain is pouring in torrents outside my small office window. The low cloud cover makes it seem as if the lights have been turned off outside. An appropriate metaphor. It’s November, and the news is so horrific lately, darkness and despair seem to overshadow everything. I have broken down in tears multiple times daily for weeks, and I know I’m not alone in this. The world feels fragile and explosive right now, the weight of collective traumas simply overwhelming, the power of love and compassion inadequate to combat capitalism, violence, and hate.
I extend virtual hugs to everyone whose empathy and humanity have been rattled raw by current events. Speak up, show up, call your reps, protest, write. It all counts in some small way — it has to, even if we feel powerless.
For a change of pace, here’s a little gift from me to you:
I still have a couple of open spots in my editorial calendar for November and December, and I’m offering $100 off a full manuscript edit or $50 a manuscript evaluation if you book editing services for 2023 (word count > 50,000). Simply mention “November Newsletter” when you contact me. I’m also booking into winter/spring 2024. I love to empower writers, and you can read testimonials about my work here. For more information about my services, please visit my website or email me with any questions.
An Editor’s Tip
Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this month? Here’s a quick tip.
To avoid getting stuck or feeling burned out, give yourself permission to skip ahead. This relates to the concept of “patchy first drafts” I wrote about last month. If you feel uninspired, bogged down, or even bored by a specific scene or turning point, skip ahead and keep writing what energizes you. You’re not cheating — this is essential to maintaining momentum.
Before you jump forward though, I recommend jotting down as many notes as you can about the leaped-over scene. Who is in the scene? What emotional notes does it need to strike? What is the central conflict? What do you know about the setting or atmosphere? This will provide useful breadcrumbs for revision, so you don’t have to start from scratch.
News
My workshop on self-editing is coming up! I will share best practices and useful tips for polishing your prose or poetry before submitting it for publication. This is the third free workshop in an autumn series coordinated by Voices of Tacoma: A Gathering of Poets. Join me on Wednesday, November 15 at 6pm PST at the Moore Library in Tacoma, Washington (and likely on Zoom too — please check my website for event info and link).
I interviewed Dann McDorman, author of West Heart Kill, for CrimeReads. We had great fun discussing his meta murder mystery set in the 1970s.
My review of The Loneliness Files is up on Chicago Review of Books. I enjoyed this deep, thought-provoking memoir in essays.
Join me for Lunch Edits on the first Wednesday of the month. I host this one-hour lunchtime Zoom chat where we discuss all things writing- and editing-related. It’s free, collegial, and fun. Anyone is welcome. Our next Lunch Edits meeting will be Wednesday, December 6 at 12pm PST. You can find the Zoom link here.
A Question for You
Thanksgiving is coming up soon for us Americans. While my family opposes the history of oppression and bloodshed underlying this holiday, we appreciate the opportunity to reflect about the Indigenous communities whose stolen land we inhabit and to eat good, seasonal food with loved ones.
My husband usually cooks the meal, and I’m typically on dessert duty: pumpkin pie and French apple tart from scratch. What is your favorite dish to make for this holiday?
Literary Links
Here are essays and articles I bookmarked this past month:
As They Like It: Learning to Follow My Child’s Lead — Nicole Graev Lipson, Virginia Quarterly Review
The Protagonist Is Never in Control — Emily Fox Kaplan, Guernica
The 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books of All Time — TIME
Writing About Abuse Is Not Abuse — Maud Newton
Margaret Atwood Reviews a “Margaret Atwood” Story by AI — The Walrus
7 Craft Books to Help You Become a Better Writer — Kyla D. Walker, Electric Literature
What the WGA’s Historic Contract Means For All Writers in the Fight Against Generative AI — Alexis Gunderson, Literary Hub
Where Freelancers Find Ideas—The Writer’s Eye — C. Hope Clark, Writer’s Digest
Writing Books Remains a Tough Way to Make a Living — Jim Milliot, Publishers Weekly
Recent Reads
To Name the Bigger Lie: A Memoir in Two Stories by Sarah Viren
In this cerebral memoir, Sarah Viren traces the ramifications of lies in two series of events in her life. Her story begins with research into her charismatic high school philosophy teacher, who pushed students to question everything, including the reality of events like the Holocaust. The second part of the story focuses on shocking accusations about Viren’s wife Marta, suddenly investigated for sexual misconduct at the university where they both work. As Viren weaves these two storylines together, she explores the boundaries between truth and deception, between honesty and betrayal. A fascinating and thought-provoking book.
You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith
Everyone raved about this bestselling memoir by Good Bones poet Maggie Smith, and I have to admit I was a little underwhelmed when I finally listened to the audiobook. But I suspect my impressions had to do with too much hype rather than with the book itself, which is a lovely and poignant meditation on marriage, divorce, and motherhood. I wish I could have discovered it without any preconceptions.
None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell
Popular podcaster Alix Summer meets her “birthday twin” Josie Fair at a local pub where they’re both celebrating their forty-fifth birthday. A few days later, they bump into each other outside Alix’s children’s school and Josie suggests she might be a good subject for her podcast series. The two women’s lives soon become intertwined in increasingly dark ways as secrets come to light. I enjoyed this fast-paced psychological thriller by a top author in the genre — a good escape.
Thank you for reading. I always love to hear from you: did something in this month’s newsletter resonate with you? What is the best book you read recently? What are you writing these days?
Hugs,
Jenny