Ch..ch..ch..changes (A Love Letter)
They're what writing is all about. And what life is all about, also
You are receiving this newsletter because somewhere along the way you signed up to get it in your inbox and I am grateful. Please do drop a heart, it helps enormously for other people to find my work. Also please consider subscribing for free or paid. Thank you for reading.
(By the way—Happy Easter to those who celebrate.)
Hi lovies,
Change.
—The phone rings. It brings news, good or bad. Suddenly life looks different.
—Your book goes out on sub, and you expect one outcome, but something different happens.
—One day, somebody you love delivers devastating news.
—That cute baby with the cherub cheeks and curly hair turns into a deep-voiced teenager overnight.
—The beans you soaked according to directions don’t soften and dinner is ruined, you don’t get the promotion, you get offered a different job than you expected and what? you love it. You move across the country and back again.
—A plant dies, you get a new pet, your partner leaves, you get a new one.
All of the above are scenarios that could happen to the main character in your novel, or to you—the main character in your own life.
Because, at heart, change is life.
My Buddhist friend Sandra might remind us what the Buddha said:
“Nothing is forever except change.”
And she’d be right.
Change is life, life is change. And change is also the heart of writing.
—Your main character (or proto1, as I like to call her) starts in one place desiring something fierce, then progresses through a series of obstacles to that desire, and ends up in a different place. This is what we call character arc.
—The obstacles that force her to change are what we call plot.
In happens in life, too.
(A theory: we like to read novels because they are all about change. And by reading about a proto changing, we feel like we have, too. But we don’t have to go through all the hard work of change ourselves.)
Anyway.
In case you hadn’t guessed, all this nattering about change means that change is afoot here. Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere, you’re stuck with me. And I’m not lessening the frequency of my posting.
What I am doing is changing the name of this Substack.
Farewell, Wordstrumpet
I’m participating in a Substack mastermind, and in a recent session the leader, Sarah Fay, drilled me on the meaning of my newsletter name, Wordstrumpet. I hemmed and hawed and mumbled and grumbled. And thought that mainly I used that name because it’s the one I dreamed up back in 2007, when I started blogging. But I hope I managed to say something more meaningful than that. (Highly unlikely.)
But Sarah pointed out that Wordstrumpet title made her think that this Substack was about words, written by a person whose lexicon is all about just that, words. Good point. I do love words. They are the building blocks of all we do here. But they are not the main topic of this newsletter. There’s also the issue that through the years, people have thought the title meant words trumpet. Which is understandable if you’re not into strumpets.
And so I have come up with a new name. That’s really the only change here. This Substack will still come to you from Charlotte Rains Dixon in your inbox, and it will still come on the regular Thursday + Sunday schedule. The only thing that will change is the name. Are you ready for the new one?
Introducing:
Fall In Love With Your Writing
I’ve chosen that name because falling in love with your writing is the basis of a satisfying writing career. After a great writing session, I’m not only in love with my writing, but I’m in love with the whole world. And I want that for you, too.
Loving my writing is what keeps me going back to it, over and over again, even when it’s hard. People in love do hard things to keep their relationship going and sometimes that will happen here, too. People in love make time for their relationships, no matter what. People in love tend and care for those they love. Same goes for our relationship with writing. Falling in love with your writing is the most important thing you can do for your career.
So that’s it. Oh but wait. You know I have to leave you with Bowie:
Love, light, and good writing,
Charlotte
P.S. Here’s my new “hero” post, now pinned on my homepage, so you can read more about it.
Articles and Resources
*Experience your favorite romantasy character in real time at, where else, a fantasy ball.
*Assisting self-publishing authors has become difficult.
Books
The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, by Megan Bannen. I am thoroughly enjoying this romantasy. It’s set in an intriguing different world (without too many weird names or crazy details to track) and it’s got great characters. Also very well-written.
Anxious People by Frederik Backman. I’m not sure why I downloaded this to my Kindle or why I chose it to read on the way home from LA out of the twenty thousand titles on my Kindle. (Kidding. Sort of.) I haven’t read a Backman title since A Man Called Ove. (Never did see the movie.) But I’m enjoying this one. There’s an omniscient narrator and a bank robbery gone awry that turns into a hostage situation. But mainly the story focuses on a whole cast of cranky characters. Backman’s gift is to reassure readers that, yes, life is freaking hard and you’re right to be anxious and crabby. But then he turns it around into a life-affirming wrap-up that feels earned. Update: I FINALLY FINISHED THE BOOK. And, spoiler alert, I adored the way he wrapped it up at the end. I love Backman’s outlook on life.
Workshops in England and France.
Life is crazy here (and everywhere in response). So why not shuck it all and go to England (think swans and the gorgeous garden in which they live and an ancient cathedral with sort of magical Evensongs and a high street bursting with people of all ages and dogs and pubs with fish and chips and mushy peas) to write for a week? I think it’s an excellent idea and I’ll be there to hang out with you. Tons of info, including dates and cost is here. England is easy because they speak the language. Ish.
But there’s also France coming up! We may not speak their language but as long as you give it a whirl (Bon jour is easy to say) you’ll be fine. Find out more on our France page. And seriously, give it a ponder. We’d love to have you accompany us for either workshop.
And if you want a taste of the adventure that awaits with our overseas workshops, you can read my posts about this year here, and here, here, here, and here.
Other places to connect with me:
My website (badly in need of an upgrade)
Our workshop website
My original blog (now for archive purposes only, no longer updated, but damn there are a lot of articles on it).
Proto, short for protagonist. Long-time readers are familiar with this term I use for the main character, but there’s a lot of new folks around here (welcome!) so I’m adding this definition today.
Very good name!
Congrats on the name change — love it! It does sum up your vibe and what you give us, the reader. That said, you’ll always BE the Wordstrumpet! And sometimes I do read it Words Trumpet but that works, too, ya know? 🎺 🥰