When You Need Medicine (A Love Letter)
Of the medical or soul variety
Mindset, motivation and inspiration for novelists—with a dash of instruction about writing craft added in. I also carry on a lot about process, because: there’s no one approach to writing that works for everyone. But I can help you find what works for you. I love all of my readers, every single one of you and I’m truly grateful when you read my work and connect with me. Subscribe (free or paid) to get the fuel you need for your writing career.
Hello lovies,
I came home from England with a raging case of Rosacea.1 In case you’re aren’t familiar with the affliction, it’s when your face gets red.2 And by red, I mean red. Very, very red. And then, in some cases, including mine, the skin starts flaking off as if you’re peeling from a very bad sunburn. It’s so attractive. So fun.
Not.
So clearly I needed medicine for my Rosacea. I’ve previously stated my fear dislike of going to the doctor. So instead of going that route I consulted Dr. Reddit. Honestly, anything you need to know in life you can find on Reddit. It’s the best. I took a deep dive and found my medicine. I won’t bore you with the details but did you know there’s such a thing as redness-reducing moisturizer, not to mention powder? The world is full of miraculous medicine for the poor old body.
And then there is another kind of medicine.
The spiritual kind. The Native American kind. The soul kind.
I needed that, too. Because while I was sashaying about England, my writing suffered terribly. Instead of writing, I scrolled Instagram. I deleted emails. You get the picture. Teaching during workshop week is intense, sure, but I had plenty of time on the weeks before and after to write. And I didn’t.
(Note to new readers and those who don’t know me: this is unusual for me. I may be writing drivel, or complaining to my journal about why I can’t eat cheese and dessert every day and not lose weight, but I’m customarily writing something. Because I don’t feel good when I’m not writing. I don’t feel like myself.)
A lot of it was because I didn’t know what to write. But it was more than that.
This time I didn’t find my answer on Reddit. Wait for the hokeyness because it’s coming on strong. I found it within myself. But only when I put pen to paper, and I mean that literally. I found it in returning to morning pages.
Here’s a bit of backstory: I’ve written morning pages3 off and on ever since I first read The Artist’s Way eons ago. One could even say I was slavishly devoted to them. But as is the way with devotion, over the years I wandered away from doing them. I’d go back off and on but recently I’ve been way more off than on.
But, finally, out of the depths of my desperation, the thought arose: do morning pages. Oh yeah, duh. I remembered that they always help get me back on track. And so I have started doing morning pages again, in all their messy glory, and finally I’m starting to feel like myself again. My writing self is back.
I highly recommend them if you’re struggling to find your way.
Love, light, and good writing,
Charlotte
P.S. Do you do or have you done morning pages? I’d love to hear what you think of them.
P.P.S. Any hot remedies for Rosacea? Lay ‘em on me, please.
Articles and Resources
Fascinating, and, I’m afraid, all too true look at the current state of publishing as it affects authors.
”This conversation exists at the intersection of art and capitalism.” Kate McKean’s post on pitches and what they really mean.
When birds are nesting by both entries to your home, what do you do to not disturb them? Use a ladder to climb through the kitchen window, of course.
So much good stuff in this craft talk with Brandon Taylor, including this bit about dialogue: “I try to write dialogue that has the shape of real-life speech, but an elevated texture and quality.”
Books
Funny Story, by Emily Henry. She’s wildly popular and beloved of romance writers because she insists on having her books, which would more likely be called general or women’s fiction, romances. I’ve never been a huge fan—she loves her some banter and it can go on for pages. But I read this on my Kindle on the way home from London and thoroughly enjoyed it.
The Burning, Jane Casey. Somewhere in my internet travels, somebody recommended Jane Casey’s mysteries. The Maeve Kerrigan series is a police procedural set in London and I enjoyed this book, the first in the series, a lot. There’s eleven or twelve more, so I’ve got my reading cut out for me!
Chasing Hope: A Reporter’s Story, by Nicholas D. Kristof. Local boy makes good. The son of immigrants, he was raised on a farm in nearby Yamhill County and went on to become a journalist for the New York Times. I just started it, and I’m engrossed.
Overseas Workshops
Yes, we just returned from one writing workshop trip but we’ve got our eyes on two more upcoming in September. Blog posts on our website will tell you all about the location of our France workshop and why we love it so much. You can read about art and artists in Céret, the crazy annual footrace there, and best of all, the wonderful local bakeries. There’s only a couple spots left, so nab them now. And here is the promised interview with our guest resident Angela M. Sanders (written by the wonderful Shari Lane, who has a book coming out May1!)
And here is the most recent blog post about Perugia.
Other places to connect with me:
Instagram (trying to get back on there more regularly)
My website (badly in need of an upgrade)
Our workshop website
My original blog (now for archive purposes only, no longer updated)
This newsletter contains affiliate links, which means I get a slight kickback if you order through me. And by slight I mean slight.
Oddly, this is the first time that I, as a woman of a certain age (i.e. old) have gotten Rosacea. It started as mild redness on my forehead after my knee surgery and then really flared six months later. Weird.
It’s a harsh, cruel world out there, people. This condition seems only to affect people on the face. The most visible part of us humans.
Morning pages, in case you don’t know, are three pages of writing, done by hand, first thing in the morning. No fanciness, no stylist flourishes, they don’t even have to make sense. Don’t think. Just write.
I'm catching up on my reading after being in France for my birthday and I really loved this post, Charlotte. As you say, sometimes we just need to remind ourselves of that thing that gets us back on track. It's strange how we stray from the things that are most useful – the good medicine – but it seems to happen without our even noticing and then we're in a mess. I'm so glad you remembered your morning pages and I hope your rosacea calms down. I know what that's like! Big hugs to you!
I love morning pages, although they can occasionally be evening or mid-afternoon pages if the morning is particularly fraught. They have certainly helped me understand myself better although they haven't yet had the effect of improving my writing.