What I Want You to Do While I'm Gone (A Love Letter)

Spoiler alert: it involves the W word

May 11, 2025

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yellow and red concrete building — Photo by Alessandro Russo on Unsplash

Hi lovies,

About the time you read this on Sunday morning, I’ll be arriving at Heathrow Terminal 5 after an overnight ten-hour flight from Portland. (It’s direct, thank god.) The hub and I are spending four nights in that amazing city and then heading down to Wells for this year’s England writing workshop.

I’m excited, and stressed, and I have a to-do list a mile long to complete before I board that plane. One of those things is to write you a letter. I started working on this long, complicated piece and I realized it was just too long and complicated for right now1.

So instead I’m going to write you about what I want you to do while I’m gone.

And that is, wait for it, to write.

Here’s a funny thing: pretty much everything I value the most in life comes from my writing. This upcoming trip to England, for instance is happening because of my writing. Same same with the September trip to France. Many of my friends are writers these days, or found me through my writing on my blog or my books. The way I spend my days is wrapped completely around writing, whether it’s my own or my that of my clients.

This is what happens when you follow your passion.

It leads to your true life.

Yeah, when you write that first sentence it may not seem so. But keep going. What you want will appear. It won’t look like my life, but more importantly, it will look like your life. The one you’ve always wanted. It may not happen fast, but it will happen.

But to make it happen you have to write.

So do that. Every day if you can.

And you can. Seriously, you can write one sentence, can’t you? That counts.

So go do it.

Love, light, and good writing,

Charlotte

P. S. Don’t forget the upcoming Bird by Bird class! See below for more info.

P.P.S. I hope to have a love letter, live from England, for you next week.

P.P.PS. What has one of your passions—writing or something else—brought into your life?

Bird by Bird Class

We’re going to be taking a deep dive into Bird by Bird, the seminal writing guide book by Ann Lamott. Class starts Friday, May 30, and runs five weeks total, through June. And all you have to do to become a part of it is be a paid subscriber. Coincidentally (ha) I’m running a special on annual memberships.

You can read more about it here. And, late-breaking news, here is a link to a documentary about the book and the author.

Please do join in! The Artist’s Way class was so much fun and so helpful to people. (And me!) I’d love to have you along for the ride.

Books

The Wedding People by Alison Espach. I love this book. Espach is an author who does scenes so real that you feel you’re there—plus you have access to the proto’s head. She also does this neat trick of truly expanding our understanding of the proto. Phoebe starts out dull and boring but gradually we see her come to life and learn how interesting she really is. It’s great and I’m whipping through it. (Whipping for me, anyway.) Update: Loved this book so much. One of my favorites so far this year. It’s a master class in writing scene and dialogue and revealing character.

Shattered by Hanif Kureishi. We’re reading this memoir for the England writing workshop. The author fell in Rome on Boxing Day 2023 and became instantly paralyzed. From his hospital bed he wrote these dispatches. (His method of writing is dictating to his son Carlos.) Kureishi tosses off great bits about writing as he tells of his predicament. It’s a powerful story. I read it in real time on his Substack, but the pieces are greatly expanded for the book. Update: Just finishing this one. It’s good.

Rebecca, by Daphne DuMaurier. The classic gothic tale from whence all others spring. Okay, not really, but it kind of feels like it upon reading it. I’ve read it several times previously. This is another selection for the workshop, definitely worth reading.

Articles

Donald Maass on character reactions.

Bigger on the inside.

A cautionary tale about a self-publishing scam.

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.