I'm really enjoying how much you seem like "a regular person" - do you know what I mean? Some great tips, some interesting inspiration, and sometimes you'll say, hey, I don't really know what's going on, but this is where I am right now. I enjoy the "normal-ness" of you and find it so relatable - thank you so much for sharing.
I am not a creative writer but I am a creative who agrees when I’m creating and working on that space I am the happiest. What you have written in this newsletter not only is relatable but it inspires me. You’ve been that long car train going through Australia as long as I’ve known you these past 24 years and while you bend often, you have more creativity, talent and perseverance to keep going, giving, reinventing and creating than just about anyone I know. You are not only one of my most trusted soulmates and best friend, but someone I admire for these traits and so much more. Thank you for sharing your vulnerability, your honesty, your latest mantras and your inspirations in this newsletter! And I appreciate the humor as well. Grateful for you Katrin Schumann!! Ans love reading all the other comments.
Thanks, friend. (People claim I’m funny but if so it’s basically by accident. I’d love to add some humor to my writing but I think that’s so hard to write well!)
Oh, man...this post and reading everyone's comments made me feel so normal! Thank you for the release of a big held breath. When I don't write, which has been the situation for the past 3 months, I start to feel afraid. I have a hard time remembering that I ever wrote anything or had one meaningful thing to say. I know none of that is true, but still. It's the momentum thing you were talking about. If only I could stay in engine idle mode...just a little something...a line or two...I think that would help. So that's what I'm promising myself to do, beginning right now with this comment. And I just made a little list of doable household fix-ups, which I know will be enormously gratifying, if only for the pleasure of making a check mark. Thank you, Katrin! Happy Thanksgiving!
My friend told me “touch” your work for just ten minutes a day (reading, writing, research, whatever) and that has helped me get back on track in the past!
Hi Katrin - You speak for many of us; we've all been through the desert at one time or another. So, no, don't shut up! Ever! Sounds like you are doing all the right (write) things - and I can tell you it will change. The fact is, someone poured cold water on your dreams, and this hurts! Bravo for voicing it.
Having watched the wells drying up & ever more bones frying in the desert sun, over the overwhelming bulk of my own life, I say: don't shut up. Even if & as you might withdraw, however briefly or permanently, from your own doings & wider ongoings, make sure of what the record shows & people know from you. As far as regenerative pursuits, there's little as reviving & motivating as stepping to what other people have been doing, in part or whole, to directly & actively (re-)solve in their own lives & communities those very problems from which you recoil.
I get much toooooo caught up in reading other substackers !!! Who'd a thunk when I jumped on in April there were thousands of elite to meet and greet. Ergo. I need to put down my huge reading glasses and WRITE. My well not dry. Half full.
I absolutely LOVE your Newsletters - I wish I could write like you - but love hearing about your life when NOT writing!!! Good luck - I am looking forward to the next book - it WILL happen - Love, Adrienne (Sackin)
This bring to mind a story I heard about Sarah Bernhardt, the great actress who suffered paralyzing anxiety whenever she stepped on stage.
Sometime In her later years she encountered a young actress who prattled on about how she loved to perform and "couldn't understand why anyone would be frightened or intimidated by performing."
Ms B relied, "Don't worry my dear, when you are a good actress, you will."
Katrin, your work is too good to hide, it will find a voice, I'm sure of it! And yes, of course I relate.
I subscribe to many newsletters, Katrin, but I always light up and click right away if it's from you. Even when I don't comment, don't doubt I'm reading. Your clear-eyed take on a writer's inner life helps keep me going, too - thank you.
Thank you! I tend to be fairly unfiltered and am not always sure how it comes across, lol. There's nothing better than hearing that a note I thought was lackluster is actually inspiring someone.
Okay, this is the third time starting to comment on this piece which was perfect for me today. I have a draft of a memoir about what happened in 2068, first as a novel, and then shifting to memoir after reading "In Pharaohs Army" by Tobias Wolfe.
Love it! I am taking a career sabbatical from media relations and going to focus on me and writing for me not my clients. Perfect timing for your email. :-)
Kat, your newsletter could not have come at a better time. So, maybe you pat yourself on the back for not "shutting up". I recently gave an online writing workshop on "How to Get Unstuck". It was very well-received and I felt good about the content. And yet, I was still stuck in many ways. Was I really taking my own advice? It's so easy to guide others while remaining lost ourselves. One point I made: "Know that other writers, especially successful ones, experience the same anxieties, self-doubt, self-sabotage, distraction, and frustration that you do." I encouraged my students to read author pep talks. So, here I am reading emails before my writing session which I cautioned everyone else NOT to do, and your newsletter shows up. Yes, to seeking activities that encourage boldness! I accepted a 2 week residency in Italy even though I've had limit foreign travel, suffer from anxiety, and generally have a hard time leaving my routines. Other writing escapes followed when I said yes. From past experience, these retreats recharge my batteries and lead to greater output. Plus, being with other creatives nourishes my spirit. (I'll be in KWLS for the fiction workshop.) I look forward to reading more of your thoughts, especially when you are feeing stuck! (Misery loves company??) Happy Thanksgiving.
Oh boy, I hear you. I often share the real stories with my students and sometimes worry it makes me sound, well, uncool... but it's the reality of the writer's life, even for someone like me who has been in the business for a while. I think we do too much sugar coating of how hard it can all be. And by the way, a writing retreat in ITALY? How amazing is that??
I'm really enjoying how much you seem like "a regular person" - do you know what I mean? Some great tips, some interesting inspiration, and sometimes you'll say, hey, I don't really know what's going on, but this is where I am right now. I enjoy the "normal-ness" of you and find it so relatable - thank you so much for sharing.
Thanks for sharing—I definitely tend toward [over] sharing but there’s too much glossing over the hard parts of this profession IMO
I appreciate (and have benefited from) the honesty of your posts. And the Key West conch house writers group sounds like a dream!
It is! I love it. Such a throwback.
I am not a creative writer but I am a creative who agrees when I’m creating and working on that space I am the happiest. What you have written in this newsletter not only is relatable but it inspires me. You’ve been that long car train going through Australia as long as I’ve known you these past 24 years and while you bend often, you have more creativity, talent and perseverance to keep going, giving, reinventing and creating than just about anyone I know. You are not only one of my most trusted soulmates and best friend, but someone I admire for these traits and so much more. Thank you for sharing your vulnerability, your honesty, your latest mantras and your inspirations in this newsletter! And I appreciate the humor as well. Grateful for you Katrin Schumann!! Ans love reading all the other comments.
Thanks, friend. (People claim I’m funny but if so it’s basically by accident. I’d love to add some humor to my writing but I think that’s so hard to write well!)
Oh, man...this post and reading everyone's comments made me feel so normal! Thank you for the release of a big held breath. When I don't write, which has been the situation for the past 3 months, I start to feel afraid. I have a hard time remembering that I ever wrote anything or had one meaningful thing to say. I know none of that is true, but still. It's the momentum thing you were talking about. If only I could stay in engine idle mode...just a little something...a line or two...I think that would help. So that's what I'm promising myself to do, beginning right now with this comment. And I just made a little list of doable household fix-ups, which I know will be enormously gratifying, if only for the pleasure of making a check mark. Thank you, Katrin! Happy Thanksgiving!
My friend told me “touch” your work for just ten minutes a day (reading, writing, research, whatever) and that has helped me get back on track in the past!
Hi Katrin - You speak for many of us; we've all been through the desert at one time or another. So, no, don't shut up! Ever! Sounds like you are doing all the right (write) things - and I can tell you it will change. The fact is, someone poured cold water on your dreams, and this hurts! Bravo for voicing it.
Having watched the wells drying up & ever more bones frying in the desert sun, over the overwhelming bulk of my own life, I say: don't shut up. Even if & as you might withdraw, however briefly or permanently, from your own doings & wider ongoings, make sure of what the record shows & people know from you. As far as regenerative pursuits, there's little as reviving & motivating as stepping to what other people have been doing, in part or whole, to directly & actively (re-)solve in their own lives & communities those very problems from which you recoil.
I get much toooooo caught up in reading other substackers !!! Who'd a thunk when I jumped on in April there were thousands of elite to meet and greet. Ergo. I need to put down my huge reading glasses and WRITE. My well not dry. Half full.
Love that you're inspired! Go, go!
I absolutely LOVE your Newsletters - I wish I could write like you - but love hearing about your life when NOT writing!!! Good luck - I am looking forward to the next book - it WILL happen - Love, Adrienne (Sackin)
This bring to mind a story I heard about Sarah Bernhardt, the great actress who suffered paralyzing anxiety whenever she stepped on stage.
Sometime In her later years she encountered a young actress who prattled on about how she loved to perform and "couldn't understand why anyone would be frightened or intimidated by performing."
Ms B relied, "Don't worry my dear, when you are a good actress, you will."
Katrin, your work is too good to hide, it will find a voice, I'm sure of it! And yes, of course I relate.
I love this anecdote … there’s truth to the fact that the more you know, the more you realize how little you know.
I subscribe to many newsletters, Katrin, but I always light up and click right away if it's from you. Even when I don't comment, don't doubt I'm reading. Your clear-eyed take on a writer's inner life helps keep me going, too - thank you.
It is honestly so nice to her this. I often feel like I'm writing into a void. These comments are totally making my day.
Katrin,
I LOVE your honesty. I wonder if you understand how helpful that is to those of us who struggle with similar?
Thank you! I tend to be fairly unfiltered and am not always sure how it comes across, lol. There's nothing better than hearing that a note I thought was lackluster is actually inspiring someone.
Okay, this is the third time starting to comment on this piece which was perfect for me today. I have a draft of a memoir about what happened in 2068, first as a novel, and then shifting to memoir after reading "In Pharaohs Army" by Tobias Wolfe.
So glad it spoke to you, Ray :)
The Internet cookie monster just ate my previous effort to tell why your post rang bells on my head this morning. This so heard
ooops!
Love it! I am taking a career sabbatical from media relations and going to focus on me and writing for me not my clients. Perfect timing for your email. :-)
Yay! Enjoy it - I send all good wishes for productivity and peace.
Kat, your newsletter could not have come at a better time. So, maybe you pat yourself on the back for not "shutting up". I recently gave an online writing workshop on "How to Get Unstuck". It was very well-received and I felt good about the content. And yet, I was still stuck in many ways. Was I really taking my own advice? It's so easy to guide others while remaining lost ourselves. One point I made: "Know that other writers, especially successful ones, experience the same anxieties, self-doubt, self-sabotage, distraction, and frustration that you do." I encouraged my students to read author pep talks. So, here I am reading emails before my writing session which I cautioned everyone else NOT to do, and your newsletter shows up. Yes, to seeking activities that encourage boldness! I accepted a 2 week residency in Italy even though I've had limit foreign travel, suffer from anxiety, and generally have a hard time leaving my routines. Other writing escapes followed when I said yes. From past experience, these retreats recharge my batteries and lead to greater output. Plus, being with other creatives nourishes my spirit. (I'll be in KWLS for the fiction workshop.) I look forward to reading more of your thoughts, especially when you are feeing stuck! (Misery loves company??) Happy Thanksgiving.
Oh boy, I hear you. I often share the real stories with my students and sometimes worry it makes me sound, well, uncool... but it's the reality of the writer's life, even for someone like me who has been in the business for a while. I think we do too much sugar coating of how hard it can all be. And by the way, a writing retreat in ITALY? How amazing is that??