My grandmother was a writer. She never went to college, never got an English degree or a BFA or a fellowship at a major university, but she was still a writer.
This almost made me cry. I agree with everything in here. Beginning to call myself a writer within the past year has been so transformative to me, even though I have been writing letters, journals, poems, and stories since I was a child. As a side note, I also use my blog as a workshop more than anything else. I am not here to monetize; I am just here to try to get comfortable with, for the first time, letting anyone hear what I have to say.
Ah such beautiful words: thank you! I particularly liked these: ‘Even if you’ve never been published for the world to see, the writing you’ve done in secret matter.’ I am fairly new to writing here and most of my work goes relatively unread. You’ve reminded me that it still matters, even if it’s pretty much just me reading it 🥰
Yes, keep writing. When I first started blogging, I never imagined that I would eventually turn some of that work into a book. That was beyond my wildest dreams. But my blog has become my workshop, and I'm now completing my second book with some of the work coming from blog pieces that I wrote to help me remember family events. I'm hoping to continue workshopping at least two more books this way as well. You never know what will happen 😊
What a beautiful piece. I agree absolutely. I have so many stories inside me, some that I share and some that perhaps I never will. Maybe I might publish a book, very probably not, but I still love to write. The responses that mean the very most to me are those from my family, who sometimes send me little messages when they’ve enjoyed a particular piece. 💛
I wish my family read more of my writing! But then sometimes I'm glad they don't 😂 But yes, I have so many different stories inside of me. I just have to find the time to write.
What is the Author Stack? We are friends on Substack and I read and post there. But this popped up, the author stack? Is this another writing platform? Or they the same one? Thanks tinabeth
Congratulations on “embracing the journey”. It’s on my list to buy. Also, I found your grandmothers book on Amazon too! It sounds like a good read and both would be great gifts to give.
That is so sweet. Thank you! I wish my grandmother's health had allowed to to finish the last couple of chapters with the same kind of detail and grace that the rest of the book provided. She worked so hard on it for YEARS, and it taught me so much about a woman that I apparently didn't know nearly enough about.
The 60-plus personal essays I've published since the height of the pandemic have been about travel, my family, various health issues, advice for writers and much more. The pandemic closed some doors for me but opened many others.
Same here. I mean, I'm working on a second book, an actual memoir, and there are more memoirs I could write with different themes. And I think I will keep working on these projects one by one and see what happens with them. I've decided that life is too short to not tell the stories when I have the chance.
Thank you! Truly. And that is so exciting! There are so many stories to be told around food. Two books that I loved that dealt with food but were not strictly about food were Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist and Taste and See by Margaret Feinberg.
This almost made me cry. I agree with everything in here. Beginning to call myself a writer within the past year has been so transformative to me, even though I have been writing letters, journals, poems, and stories since I was a child. As a side note, I also use my blog as a workshop more than anything else. I am not here to monetize; I am just here to try to get comfortable with, for the first time, letting anyone hear what I have to say.
That is a perfect approach. I was able to eventually collect work I had done and write my first book, but give yourself time and write for you ❤️
Ah such beautiful words: thank you! I particularly liked these: ‘Even if you’ve never been published for the world to see, the writing you’ve done in secret matter.’ I am fairly new to writing here and most of my work goes relatively unread. You’ve reminded me that it still matters, even if it’s pretty much just me reading it 🥰
Yes, keep writing. When I first started blogging, I never imagined that I would eventually turn some of that work into a book. That was beyond my wildest dreams. But my blog has become my workshop, and I'm now completing my second book with some of the work coming from blog pieces that I wrote to help me remember family events. I'm hoping to continue workshopping at least two more books this way as well. You never know what will happen 😊
What a beautiful piece. I agree absolutely. I have so many stories inside me, some that I share and some that perhaps I never will. Maybe I might publish a book, very probably not, but I still love to write. The responses that mean the very most to me are those from my family, who sometimes send me little messages when they’ve enjoyed a particular piece. 💛
I wish my family read more of my writing! But then sometimes I'm glad they don't 😂 But yes, I have so many different stories inside of me. I just have to find the time to write.
Haha yes I should clarify, some members of my family 💛💛😂
Thank you...just what I needed to read...I am a writer with 4 decades of work to fall back in to...love this!
I'm glad it inspired you! We all have a story to tell ❤️
Such a touching post. Thank you both.
What is the Author Stack? We are friends on Substack and I read and post there. But this popped up, the author stack? Is this another writing platform? Or they the same one? Thanks tinabeth
It's another Substack newsletter. I contributed this piece for the month of February 😊
Congratulations on “embracing the journey”. It’s on my list to buy. Also, I found your grandmothers book on Amazon too! It sounds like a good read and both would be great gifts to give.
That is so sweet. Thank you! I wish my grandmother's health had allowed to to finish the last couple of chapters with the same kind of detail and grace that the rest of the book provided. She worked so hard on it for YEARS, and it taught me so much about a woman that I apparently didn't know nearly enough about.
And we all have more than one story to tell, even if there's a theme that links them.
So many stories.
The 60-plus personal essays I've published since the height of the pandemic have been about travel, my family, various health issues, advice for writers and much more. The pandemic closed some doors for me but opened many others.
Same here. I mean, I'm working on a second book, an actual memoir, and there are more memoirs I could write with different themes. And I think I will keep working on these projects one by one and see what happens with them. I've decided that life is too short to not tell the stories when I have the chance.
Amen. I love multiple projects. One year I published a book of memoir essays, a mystery, and a co-authored book about shame.
I heart love this. 🪄♥️
Thank you!
Great read, thank you Sarah and Russell!
Thank you!
This is so fabulous. Thank you Sarah and Russell. ❤️🙏
Thank you! Truly. And that is so exciting! There are so many stories to be told around food. Two books that I loved that dealt with food but were not strictly about food were Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist and Taste and See by Margaret Feinberg.