"The work is where your heart is. Go there."

An interview with newsletter fave Kara Cutruzzula!

Oct 15, 2023

Welcome to So Relatable, a bi-weekly newsletter that helps creative folks improve their craft, achieve their goals, and eat better snacks. I’m glad you’re here! ✨

Being a creative person in this world can be hard. The fear of failure, the reality of rejection, the million big and little things eating away at your attention, your time, your energy — it’s a wonder we ever make anything at all.

That’s one of the reasons I love the work of

Kara Cutruzzula

so much. Her daily motivational newsletter was one of the first I ever subscribed to, and was a huge inspiration when I decided to start my own. When I asked if I could interview her for

So Relatable

, she said yes — not realizing what I actually wanted was a public therapy session. (Spoiler alert: her advice in the “should I give up” section quite literally made me cry, in a good way.) I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did.

Hello Kara! Let's start with your newsletter.
Brass Ring Daily
is the first thing I read every weekday morning. You describe it as "small ideas to help your big ideas," and each issue manages to be both motivating and profound in less than two minutes. How did you come up with such a unique format for a newsletter? What was the goal for BRD when you were starting out?

Thank you for saying that! I tried to be very deliberate with the newsletter from the beginning. I thought about when readers would receive it, how they might be feeling, and what they might need in that moment. Since I send it very early (east coast time!) I’ve always considered it as, hopefully, something small to anchor or inspire your day, or nudge you in a new direction. While I do share resources, strategies, and links, I also try to deliver a kernel of value in the newsletter itself — no link click required.

Keeping the reader or the audience in mind is always important to me. How can you deliver a consistent experience and then subvert that experience in ways that are delightful or surprising? That’s why I’ll occasionally have an all-image newsletter or a longer essay. Newsletters, like most projects, should be a creative and evolving experiment!

Here at So Relatable, we love a book deal, and you just published your third and final motivational journal. How did these books come about?

I was writing the newsletter for a few years when an editor, Madeline Jaffe, at Abrams Books reached out. She thought the tone and ideas in my newsletter would be a good fit for a motivational journal. This is a weird and rare occurrence, I know, in the publishing world! The first journal did well, and then I was asked to write a follow-up — that’s when I found an agent and signed on to write the next two journals.

This is a very abbreviated and neat description of my publishing journey, but one aspect I think applies to other writers is this: do not hide your ideas. I was nervous to publish that first newsletter! And the 100th and the 750th. What if this was stupid? What if no one read it? But I was compelled by this urge — there’s no other word for it — that I wanted to share a few words and connect with other people. There was no financial goal or subscriber count goal or click-through goal. It scratches my own creative itch.

The trilogy includes Do It For Yourself, Do It Today, and Do It (Or Don't), covering motivation, encouragement and boundaries. I love these themes, and I think they speak so well to the different needs and challenges we all face when trying to create something. Can you share one or two pieces of advice or exercises from the trilogy that you've found really helpful as an artist?

If you’re feeling fuzzy on what to do next, or having a few days (or weeks) of feeling aimless, I love the strategy from Do It For Yourself to write your own future Wikipedia entry. It’s not just about listing accolades, but instead about thinking what you actually want to accomplish in five, 10, 20 years. Where is your time well spent? Every time I do this, I realize that the frustrating patches of my creative life arise when I get sucked into projects that do not fit in with the overall landscape of what I want to create. And then you pivot!

And one strategy from Do It (Or Don't) that I use often is to practice saying “no.” If you’re on the fence and trending towards no, write a fake response and see how you feel. Here’s a starter for you:

Thank you so much for thinking of me for this great opportunity. I’m sorry I won’t be able to move forward / participate / attend right now, but am wishing you a lot of success with it.

Obviously, fill in with relevant details! If writing it feels like a weight lifted, then send it.

So often we hesitate to say “no” because we feel like we don’t have a good enough excuse. But just because you can fit something into your life doesn’t mean you’re obligated to do so. A genuine and swift “no” always feels better than a disingenuous and drawn out “yes.”

One thing I love about your newsletter is that you don't shy away from the hard stuff. Making art can be difficult and heartbreaking. (Maybe I'm just speaking from experience here, lol.) What would you say to someone who's thinking about giving up on their art, or wondering if making things is actually worth it?

Mmm, yes, I have been there. Often. Haha. Here’s one way of looking at it: Give up. That’s right, just give up. Hide the draft in a folder, take back those hours you spend every week on your project, stop talking about it or thinking about it and simply quit. You’re done. You’re no longer a writer or composer or ceramicist or entrepreneur.

How does that feel?

I’m guessing… not great. I’m guessing you are saying “wait, but…” and that alone is proof and ammunition that it’s not over for you. You don’t want to give up — and so you’re not.

You are not giving up.

Once you’ve decided that isn’t an option, you have to fall back in love with the work. In my experience, the absolute worst, soul-sucking time during a creative project is when you’re a) waiting on someone or something else or b) seeking approval or validation from something outside your control.

The actual writing — the process — isn’t without hitches, but you probably do enjoy writing or revising or thinking! You probably do not enjoy refreshing Amazon bestseller stats or checking your inbox for a response from your agent. We have to remind ourselves that these things are adjacent to the work, but they aren’t the work itself.

The work is where your heart is. Go there.

Something I admire about you is that you always seem to be doing something interesting or scary or fun (sometimes all three!) Writing musicals, running marathons, launching your Launch the Plane sessions—your energy seems limitless. What is the project, in progress or on the horizon, that you're most excited about?

This is such a nice observation — thank you. My energy definitely feels limited, haha. So for every new project I add, I am usually eliminating something else. I might stop freelance editing but start consulting. Or I’ll work on musicals but not work on a book-length project. Being content with my choices is always the goal — and it’s hard!

I love guiding people through their creative projects with my Launch the Plane sessions, and right now I’m both training to run a marathon and writing a musical set during a marathon, so those two projects are feeding into each other in a nice way.

Looking for that sense of alignment is also an important goal of mine. Are all these things fitting together? What is draining my energy? What is giving me energy?

Actually this question just made me realize it’s time to eliminate one or two things from my plate!

And finally, the most important, illuminating, perhaps controversial question: If you could only eat one snack for the rest of your life, what would it be?

This year I am extremely into the almond butter pretzel nuggets from Trader Joe’s. They are perfect.

A million thanks to Kara for this interview and so much more. The only thing better than those almond butter pretzel nuggets is you. 🥨💛

Snack Break

Last weekend I made my favorite Pumpkin Bread c/o This Needs Hot Sauce, which has become a beloved annual tradition. Always double the recipe so you get two loaves, and use the hour it bakes in the oven to deep clean your house while you burn a fall candle. It’s the ultimate October afternoon activity. 🎃

Relatable Recommendations

Reading: Everything’s Fine by Cecelia Rabess, about the complicated and often uncomfortable relationship between a liberal Black woman and a conservative white man. Despite some very steamy scenes, it was a lot more Get Out than rom com. Also, I discovered after I read it that this book caused a lot of controversy on BookTok! Personally, I found it extremely readable, slightly maddening, and mostly fun. This would be a great book club read.
Watching: The first two episodes of Lessons in Chemistry, which I thought would make a great TV series when I read it last year. I was right!
Eating: A lot of Panera, like a good corporate girlie. Porters and stouts around a backyard fire, because it finally feels like autumn. Trader Joe’s Corn & Wheat Tortillas, which just reappeared on my store’s shelves after a five year hiatus.
Feeling: Heartbroken about the humanitarian crisis in Israel and Gaza, and sending love to all those impacted by the violence currently unfolding. This essay in n+1, which compares what’s happening now to the aftermath of 9/11, was helpful in understanding at least one aspect of this crisis.

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👋 About Me: I’m Chrissy Hennessey, an enthusiastic snacker and native New Yorker living in coastal North Carolina, where I stayed after earning my MFA in 2014. My writing has appeared in a decent number of journals, I’ve received fellowships to some fancy residencies, and I’ve written three novels, all currently unpublished! This newsletter is a passion project I started in 2019 as a way to connect with readers and writers, share my creative journey, and build a community. Thank you for being here!

PS: At the end of each year, I donate 20% of anything I earn from this newsletter. I appreciate your support!