I'm Holding on For Dear Life Because my Novel is Writing Itself (A Love Letter)
On peak experiences vs the consistent trudge
Undogmatic writing advice and encouragement from an unconventional romance author. If you’re in need of instruction and inspiration for your writing, read on. Upgrade to paid for classes and access to a friendly, vibrant writing community.
Don’t Forget!
Before I launch into my love letter, I want to remind you all that my first Open Office Hour call is this Friday, July 11 at 11 AM Pacific. (12 Mountain/1 Central/2 Eastern).
Because I prefer not to blast my email out to the masses, I’m using Lu.ma to sign people up for this. Remember, this first one is for everyone, free and paid subscribers. (In the future, I’m limiting it to paid subscribers but I’ll also offer a low-cost, one-time paid option.)
This is an easy, one-click sign-up, I promise. This link will take you there.
Open Office Hours are a grand experiment. Bring all your writing, story, and creativity questions or topics for discussion. If I can’t answer them, the hive mind will. Can’t wait to see how it unfolds—hope to see you there.
And Also
I promised to release some summer coaching specials but the events listed below made that not happen. I’m going to send those out in a separate email soon. Unless my novel-writing. muse derails me again.
The specials are one-off sessions, but I do have a book coaching slot that just opened up. (One of my clients—Hi, Patricia—just finished her book and is preparing it for publication!) Want to spend your summer doing a deep dive on your WIP? Hit reply to this email and we’ll set a time for an exploratory zoom.
Hi Lovies,
Most of the time I make incremental progress on my novel, stumping along in a consistent, if often chaotic, manner.
But this week something different happened. One morning I intended to write about my goals for the rest of this year (can you believe it is half over?) and as I started, other ideas for my novel flooded in. They came through so fast I could barely write them down. Not just ideas, but dialogue, scenes, a deeper understanding of character traits.
My novel started writing itself. And all I could do was hang on for the ride.
Honestly, it’s a lot.
Don’t get any ideas, muse, I’m not complaining.
Because this is the kind of writing I dream of, the kind of process that got me into this gig in the first place. Those writing sessions when you have no idea how much time has passed, when dishes stay crusted with crumbs and gunk in the sink, the bed remains unmade, the garden unwatered.
When you’re obsessed with getting those words out on the page to the point that nothing else matters.
I wrote a first draft of this newsletter in a white heat as ideas for the novel were flying. And now, a few days later, I’m coming back to finish it. I look back over it and feel a little abashed. Passion is wonderful and it’s also a bit scary and overwhelming, especially when you’ve come back down to earth.
It also has a tendency to scare others off. Hell, reading back over this I’m scaring myself off. I’m scared because….I’m snapping at grandchildren and annoyed with the hub when any of them so much as dare to talk to me when I’m in the middle of writing. I’m scared because I don’t want to come back to my life. I want to live in the world of my novel. I’m scared I might go so deep into it that I’ll never come back.
My own, true, voice and peak experiences
But most of all I’m scared because this kind of writing is my truest voice, me on the page. And what if it flops big time once it gets out in the world?
This kind of writing is exciting beyond all words. All your senses are engaged, everything in you is focused on the ideas that are pouring through your fingers onto the screen. It’s a peak experience.1 And peak experiences only come few and far between.
When I was younger, I became fascinated with this concept of peak experiences. I’d had a couple—while writing, of course—and wanted more. Because if you’ve ever had one while writing, you want another one. And another and another.
But how, you ask?
But the universe doesn’t dole out peak experiences for being a good little girl or boy. You have to earn them. Most often, earning them means the daily (or at least a regular) commitment to the page. So in case you want one for yourself, here’s what I think creates the circumstances for their birth:
—As mentioned, I’ve been showing up to the page on the regular. Writing every day-ish. (Maybe not a full writing session, but a quick read of what I’ve written, making a few quick notes, etc. Eyes on the page.) I can’t say enough about this. It’s like salting your brain.2
—And showing up regularly creates momentum, when, as Julia Cameron says, you’re not forcing yourself to think things up, you’re allowing things to download.
—Letting yourself go on the page. Write a shitty first draft. Dispense with the urge to edit and make every sentence perfect. Let it rip. You’ll have plenty of time to be critical later.
—It won’t always be fun and games. Sometimes you have to traipse3 through the mud to get to the clear path. But it’s the traipsing that gets you there.
Have a great week. I wish for you some peak experiences. And happily holding on for dear life while they happen.
Love, light, and good writing,
Charlotte
P.S. Don’t forget to sign up for open office hour on Friday!
P.P.S. Hit reply if you’re interested in book coaching.
P.P.P.S. How’s your writing going this summer?
Articles and Resources
Have you read All the Colors of the Dark? I haven’t, but now I want to after reading this NYT article about the author. (Gift link.) Fascinating story of perseverance.
I use YouTube focus music a lot, and I’ve been listening to this one lately.
Avert your eyes if you have drunk the kool-aid about adverbs. This dude is a man after my own heart.
Fascinating article about the romance author Emily Henry’s books. It asks the question, can she escape the book trap her readers have placed her in? But a further question might be, is she in a trap or simply flexing her creativity? (This is an interesting new Substack that aims to look at the romance genre in a serious literary light.)
I know you come here for the writing inspo and info. But to me writing is life, life writing, and a huge part of my life beyond writing is my love of all textile arts. For those of you who share this obsession, this article details the fascinating life of the Green Lady of Brooklyn. (And you can purchase some of her scraps. I already have!)
Books
One Golden Summer, by Carly Fortune. Amazon. Bookshop. Again, summer of reading bestsellers. Carly Fortune burst on the scene a few years ago, shooting onto the best seller list and continues to hit it with each new release. Update: I’m really enjoying it. Fortune has a knack for creating emotionally resonant characters.
Peak Experiences by Abraham Maslow. Amazon. Bookshop. Here’s the book by Maslow on the topic referenced above. I haven’t read it in awhile, but as I recall it is short and easy to read.
Watching
The Perfect Couple. For reasons unknown, this summer is our season of watching shows about horrible rich people. (One of our previous series was The Sirens.) This one features Liev Schreiber and Nicole Kidman, who plays an uptight matriarch who holds the family finances together writing novels. (The series is based on a novel by Elin Hilderbrand, a novel-writing juggernaut, so no surprise there.) Pretty sure the producers wanted to make sure you hated every character in the show, and they’ve succeeded. And yet we can’t quit watching it.
Also: I’m not sure what’s with the trend of uptight, repressed, rich white women in these shows. (The Sirens had Julianne Moore doing her awesome high-strung best.) Their spouses are awful, too, but it’s the women who are portrayed in a way that makes you love to hate them. I have feelings about this but I’m not adept enough at cultural criticism to elucidate them. I leave it to you to see how you react.
Overseas Workshops
We’re pretty much full up for our France workshop (but if you beg, we may be able to accomodate you). Soon, however, we’ll be releasing dates for 2026 workshops, when we’ll be returning to both England and France. In the meantime, check out our Let’s Go Write site to get an idea what we offer.
And writers local to Portland, we have two more summer sessions coming up. (In-person workshops.)
The term peak experience was coined by pyschologist Abraham Maslow. Here’s the Wikipedia explanation. And another good rundown. And see the book listed in the books section, also.
I mean this in a metaphorical way, but here’s a fascinating article about the effect that salt, or lack of it, has on our brains.
This one’s for you, Kim.
Charlotte dear, thank you for all of you guidance as my book coach these last few months. I'm so excited about my new novel and found it such a pleasure to work with you.
Read, enjoyed, and shared…as always. ;-) I signed up for the Friday event, and if the workday/schedule allows, I’ll pop in. Don’t be shocked if I’m late. Fridays are a bit unpredictable. I’ll plan on taking my lunch hour during that time slot. Write on!