The Job Of The Artist Is Always To Deepen The Mystery." ~ Francis Bacon
Separating art & commerce in my convo with the amazing Evelyn Skye | Walking through the world as poetry | Making & fixing mistakes | Come write flash with me! | Pausing for the long weekend ❤️
Just a few quick things today!!
I got to speak to the amazing NYT bestselling novelist
of last week about—among other things—separating art from commerce and walking through the word “as poetry,” and you can watch or listen here! It was a fun, deep, inspiring conversation about how our writing intersects with our lives and how to remain attentive and joyful to the process no matter the outcome (Evelyn’s outcomes have been pretty darn inspiring, though!).
I made a big dumb mistake in yesterday’s email thanks to a hasty cut and paste, so if you saw some non-sequitur gibberish, that’s why. I am sorry. I fixed it in the actual post, but emails cannot be fixed. I’m always making mistakes, then fixing them as best I can and moving on. I have never found any other way through life, because even when I move slowly (which I was NOT doing yesterday), I sometimes make big mistakes or miss opportunities altogether. Life is just hard sometimes. Being human is a mystery. Thank you for being human with me.
The reason I made the cut-and-paste mistake is that I was trying to make sure you all know about Strange Containers: Flash, Hermits & Other Oddities—four weeks of highly specific flash writing. This is the 4-week WITD seasonal intensive starting in August for writers who want to try some inventive new ways into their work. Weird flash stuff is going to be so fun and so productive and the perfect vibe for that August energy! We are so looking forward to writing with you in this fun, light-hearted playful way that can, paradoxically, lead to our most profound work. All the content in seasonal intensives is fully available to paid and founding members, so if that’s you, you are already all set, nothing to do. If you’re a free subscriber and want to upgrade, you can do that anytime and we are always so happy to write with you.
I said last week that on July 8, we’d be opening registration for Writing in the Dark: The School, a tuition-based, nine-month program on Zoom (w/supplemental support via Substack) starting this September for writers who want to joyfully study critically acclaimed published work, identify and learn specific elements of craft in those works, and apply those elements in their own work, together with an engaged cohort that is doing the same. But in fact, we will actually open registration on TUESDAY, July 9—because I will be on the road on Monday, July 8 en route back to Minneapolis from our wilderness cabin. And I don’t want to open registration w/o being fully available to answer questions, etc. So, Tuesday it is! If you have questions in the meantime, though, feel free to send an email.
Also, on Monday, I get to instead send you “[Title Redacted]: A True Story of Art, Obsession, and So-Called Luck,” and I can hardly wait!! That’s the post I wanted to send out yesterday but could not because the announcement of the thing I’m writing about got pushed back for a week thanks to the Fourth of July holiday. I honestly can’t wait to share all this good stuff with you on Monday and Tuesday of next week!
Speaking of the Fourth of July, Writing in the Dark will go on pause from tomorrow through the weekend. I will be celebrating family and nature and love and chaos at our tiny, one-room log cabin with adjacent tiny bunkhouse and platform tent in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. I often do work at my cabin, as many of you who’ve been writing in the dark with me know, but this time, with Z and a crew of fam in tow, it would be very hard to even try.
Have a wonderful few days until I see you again next week (unless I pop in just to send you amazing photos from the cabin before Monday, because I might, since it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world!). Here is Frannie standing on our dock in her little orange life vest. I love her so much. And I love all of you in this community, too. A big whole lot!
I'm so glad you're taking time off! See you next week.
Can’t wait to listen! And thanks for modeling your humanity. I spent a day with my heart in my throat yesterday after being e x c e p t i o n a l l y human, so I FEEL YOU. Hopefully you feel nothing at the dentist, and all the wonderful things for the 4th.
And I have my finger poised over my mouse for 7/9! Safe travels to you all, and a wonderful week to everyone in this enchanted space.