The very obvious secret to a very good morning ☕

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I had grand plans to take part in NaNoWriMo this month - that is, to write 50,000 words in 30 days by focusing on quantity rather than quality, so that I'd have most of a shitty first draft by the time December rolled around. I even spent October drafting a very extensive outline for my novel-to-be, which clocked in at around 7,000 words. I was ready, I was excited, I was inspired. I was going to draft my heart out.

Then I got some good feedback on the novel I’ve been working on for the last five years, the one I haven’t looked at since June, and now my goals have changed. Instead of NaNoWriMo, I’m doing NaNoRevMo - one more revision, due in December, and then this book will be ready for the next step. (Sorry for vague-booking [vague-newslettering?] but I guess I’m more superstitious than I thought.)

We often think of creative work as a mental endeavor - puzzling through scenes, interrogating sentences, questioning each choice. And we're not wrong! But art is also a physical act. You're making something, after all, and it isn't limited to the moments when you're actually typing. It happens at night when you lay in bed, plot points rolling through your head. When you borrow books from the library, hoping to learn from writers better than you. When you recall a memory from your childhood, that kernel of an idea you’ve always wanted to explore. When you walk the dog and think about a character, which street she might turn down next, and what she might there.

I’m a morning writer with a full time job, so a good day of writing for me means waking up at 5:30 to pour the coffee and feed the dog before settling in at my desk and opening my laptop. This gives me a solid hour to spend in the world of my book before I have to get ready for work. You can get a lot done in an hour a day - everything you need, in fact - but only if you set yourself up for success.

This means a good day of writing for me actually begins the night before. I set the coffeemaker for 5AM so the pot will be ready and waiting. I trade wine for a sparkling water, because alcohol makes me groggy. When I finally go to bed, I refuse the siren call of Instagram and instead read a book until I fall asleep, preferably by 10PM. Each night, I take these steps so Future Chrissy can do her best work. And each morning, I thank Past Chrissy for setting me up for success. 💛

✨ Snack of the Week ✨

Trader Joe's now carries oat milk, and my morning cup of coffee is better than ever! Listen, I've had just about every non-dairy milk in existence, and I truly think this one is the best! (For the record, rice milk is the worst.) Oat milk is creamy and a little sweet and goes well with everything. Plus you don't have to feel bad about the environmental toll that almonds extract, which has always been a personal source of contention. Oats for all!

Relatable Reads

To Have or Not to Have Children in the Age of Climate Change, Sierra Club. "Like increasing numbers of millennials and Generation Zers, I'm worried that if I procreate, I will contribute to melting ice caps, rising seas, and extreme weather. Worse, I might create brand-new victims of climate change—people who never asked to be part of this human-made mess." Katie O'Reilly is one of my favorite friends, and this essay is one of the many (many, many!) reasons why. 👶🏻

The Journalist as Influencer: How We Sell Ourselves on Social Media, The Guardian. "In the age of Twitter and Instagram, an online presence, which is necessarily public and necessarily consumable, seems all but mandatory for a writer who reaches (or hopes to reach) a certain level of renown, especially for anyone dealing in personal essays or cultural criticism. In the way that the influencer uses her image to sell her swag, the writer leverages her life to sell her work, to editors and audiences." WOW WOW WOW. 🤳

Astrology in the Age of Uncertainty, The New Yorker. "Unlike therapy, where a client might spend months or even years uncovering the roots of a symptom, astrology promises to get to answers more quickly. Despite common misconceptions, an astrologer is not a fortune-teller. In a chart reading, she doesn’t predict the future; she describes the client to herself." I'm torn, y'all. I love analyzing myself, but I really don't care at all about astrology! What's a Leo to do??? 🦁

A Tiny Challenge

This week, go to bed early. Trust me, you won't regret it.

See you next Sunday! 💌

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