On the Art of Noticing Glimmers (A Love Letter)
Good for your writing, good for your soul
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Hello lovelies,
I came to the concept of glimmers this fall from a couple of different places. One was the creativity class I took through WFWA, and the other was this article from my favorite knitting blog. (It’s not about knitting, promise, though I highly recommend the website.) Turns out the idea of glimmers or glimmering came from psychologist Deb Dana who describes glimmers as “tiny moments of happiness.”
Glimmers are the opposite of triggers and noticing and appreciating them do wonders for the body and mind. They soothe the jacked-up nervous system, give you a momentary break from the grind, remind you that joy and pleasure and beauty are all around you. They are moments of sensual delight you experience and observe throughout the day.
And glimmers are also damn good for your creativity and your writing.
And that is because they are an expression of you. Glimmers are what you notice and appreciate which might be totally different from what I notice. That elusive and desired authentic voice comes from who you are, the things you love, the aspects that make you, you, and then the ability to share that on the page. Here, for example, are some of mine:
—the way the wind blows the fir boughs outside my bedroom window
—sunlight on the brilliant red leaves of the Japanese maple down the street
—fog shimmering just above ground height
—the sound of a train whistle off in the distance
—putting socks on cold feet
— “boy smell,” that wonderful odor when a child comes in from outdoors
—a drink of cold, cold water after exercise
—raindrops on a car windshield
—the smell of a just-lit candle
Nothing earth-shattering there, and there doesn’t need to be. That’s not the point. The point is noticing. And appreciating. And remembering.
An obvious use of glimmers is as a storehouse of imagery for future description. But I’m learning that they are useful to my writing in other ways as well. They can be a doorway to understanding your character better if one of your glimmers unlocks a memory for your proto that helps you understand her motivation. Here’s an example from one of my own glimmers. I wrote about the raindrops on the windshield of my car, a simple moment I enjoyed. Which then led to a long-ago memory of my mother and aunt trying to figure out how to work the windshield wipers in a rental car after my grandfather had just died. And this in turn led to insight about my protagonist’s reaction to her grandmother dying.
A glimmer may help you unlock a thorny plot problem. It can open a realm of setting. It can spark an idea for a whole new story or essay or even a whole novel. Or, it can just be a thing onto yourself, that you makes you smile when you remember it in the midst of your third interminable zoom meeting of the day.
The key is to get into the habit of looking for glimmers. In truth, I’ve found it surprisingly hard to do this. Which is somewhat embarrassing to note, since I fancy myself to be an observant writer. I write them down in my journal in the morning but it would be a whole lot better if I noted them throughout the day. Because glimmers, by their nature, are ephemeral and fleeting. And too often I’m caught up in the very, very important business of my day and I go through it without pausing to notice.
But I think the effort is worth it, not only for my writing, but for my life. And for yours, too, because we need glimmers now. The world is insane in about five thousand ways I could list but won’t. Glimmering is a brief respite from it, a way to remind yourself who you are and maybe even who you want to be. It’s a way to bring much needed light to the world.
Love, light, and good writing,
Charlotte
Books
Kaleidoscope by Cecily Wong. Here’s the description: “A dazzling novel about the tumultuous relationship between two sisters, a shocking loss that changes everything, and the life-altering adventure that follows.” This book is good, I’m seriously enjoying it. Wong is an author who lives in my hometown and I read about her novel in the local paper. I’m glad I checked it out.
Reclaim Your Author Career, by Claire Taylor. This book has a weird title and a long subtitle which I’m too lazy to type in. It’s basically about using the enneagram to help you with your writing habits and also with your writing itself. I like it a lot. Very helpful.
Articles and Resources
I’ve got a long list of them for you today!
When a prolific writer doesn’t write for a year (Highly recommend subscribing to Heather’s newsletter!)
David Corbett on faith (or lack thereof) in fiction.
10 ways to volunteer your reading skills
Ten good things from working in a bookstore (and a new Substack I just subscribed to):
Build an archive of thinking and feeling for your writing, a la Sharon Olds:
There’s always hope. 65 years later, Brenda Lee’s song hits #1!
Events
Creative writing workshops in France and Italy next year. (England is now full.) See all here.
I’m extending y holiday sale offering 20% off membership levels until Christmas Eve. That means a monthly subscription will run you $6.40, and an annual $64. May I also suggest that this could be a lovely gift for the writer on your list? Or a treat for yourself.
I’ve spent a lot of my recovery time pondering my Substack and I’m coming up with some real goodies for paid subscribers. So there will be much more in 2024.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, for supporting my writing!
Thank you Charlotte! I usually include a spontaneous song sketch in my posts 😉 sometimes semi-weird
Oh this is an amazing set of glimmers, Malcolm. Thank you so much for sharing them!