Dear Reader,
Every month I send out a new short story in a variety of genres. This past month I sent out the first part of a 1920’s mystery. The finale of “The Spokes of Wheels & Co.” will be released on August 7th.
Last week I also launched the subscriber access side of this newsletter. “From the Loft” follows a philosopher’s journey into adulthood with her new life in the city (begun in the short story “Refurbished”). Thank you for the support I’ve received so far. You can expect the following structure from my newsletter going forward:
1st Saturday: Free Illustrated Short Story.
3rd Saturday: Subscribers Access. Episodic release of an ongoing story.
4th Saturday: Monthly Check-in. Thoughts on the process, art for sale, more free reads from other authors, and a new short story preview.
Thoughts on the Process:
Writing a new short story every month, with the freedom of any genre, is thrilling. It’s like being given an endless supply of canvases and limitless paint, with unending possibilities for the subject matter. The only boundaries are time: what I can write, revise, get critiqued, (and revised a few more times) within a month.
After six months of doing this practice, I’ve discovered that’s not entirely true: the conditions for creative production might be ideal, but that does not mean that creative output is guaranteed. I am a runner, and it wasn’t till a particularly long run last Saturday that I understood what was happening with my writing discipline.
It was a very hot day and I drank plenty of water, but over the course of the run, I found a layer of salt on my skin. From experience, I knew this mean I was losing electrolytes, and I was in for a killer headache and poor recovery if I didn’t replace them when I got home. No matter how good my run was, my body would be in pretty poor shape later if I didn’t replace the vital minerals I’d just lost.
Writing, really any creative output, is similar. When your exercise is light, you will likely be replenished over the course of your average day. However, when you are pushing hard, you have to be careful to refuel the nutrients you’ve lost. For creative types this means going to art museums, reading books, sitting on a beach, visiting a city, going to the zoo, whatever! Basically doing something fun and new that isn’t creatively pouring out, but pouring into yourself. Julia Cameron calls this the “Artist’s Date” in her book “The Artist’s Way.”
A confession from this author: while short stories are much quicker to put together and finish in comparison to a novel, they also demand a lot. New characters with new problems and quirks, new settings, new themes, new genre conventions to learn and adhere to… if we’re using exercise metaphors, short stories to novels are like HIIT workouts to distance runs. Either way, the refuel and recovery are an essential part of the process. My advice for creatives: take yourself out, do something fun. Eat!
In the meantime, if you’re looking for something else to read, check out the bundle of 40 free stories below, and consider subscribing to this newsletter to find out what happened to Jean and her friends in “Refurbished”. Subscriptions are $5 a month, or $60 a year. Please share this newsletter with anyone else who appreciates stories.
If you like the illustrations in these short stories and would like your own prints, there are a number of wall art options, as well as objects for the home and office at Society6:
Check your inbox on August 7th for the ending to “The Spokes of Wheels & Co.”
Please pass this email along to anyone who likes free stories. Reach out to me through email or Instagram. See you soon!
Your analogy is so right! Well said.