Year's worth of life advice for writers (and everyone else)
the best writing and life advice from a year of workshops
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For 2024, my word of the year is Aesthetic. With only weeks left, I’m already beginning to miss having it as my guiding word. (Of course, I could always choose to keep the same word in 2025, but where’s the fun in that?)
A large part of my life I prioritized with my time, finances, and attention this year was my writing life because the written word is my aesthetic art form of choice. (Let’s be clear: even a really well-written fart joke is art in my book.) About a month ago, I hired a writing coach (hi, Yoda!) who has helped me reframe what it means to be a writer as I continue improving my craft and building my collection of work, here on Substack and in other areas of publication.
Or, just happily living rent-free on my Notion page of Poem Drafts.
I’m a Drafter with a capital D. Now that I’ve built a consistent writing practice (writing something, even just a few lines a day), the tough part for me is Editing. Editing feels less satisfying than drafting something that didn’t exist before getting it onto a page. Editing feels less productive. Editing is scarier and feels like hard work.
So, I recently set an intention to reframe how I could approach editing. I’m taking pieces further without feeling like I’m wasting time since it’s not “new” work. I’m choosing to play with my editing and follow my curiosity.
Advice from workshops I’ve taken this year
And that brings us to why you’re here! I’ve had the absurd privilege of being in virtual rooms with some of my writing heroes this year (while discovering new heroes, too!) I have pages and pages of notes in my Notion tabs about writing, life, and the intersection of the two, and as we approach the end of the year, I didn’t want my mountain of notes to go the same way as my drafts: existing without moving forward. (Hmm… are we getting into the life advice already?)
Whether you’re setting intentions for the new year, building a writing habit (or any kind of habit), or just desiring some inspiration, here are some beautiful little nuggets from a few of our world’s true geniuses.
Danusha Laméris
“The beauty of prompts is you’re stocking the writing pantry (‘I may not be hungry now but I may be hungry later!’)”
“Sometimes the person who starts the poem is not the same one who can finish it.”
“Our job as poets is to reveal the cracks.”
“Start writing, and then begin to contradict yourself.”
Ellen Bass
ellenbass.com
“A successful poem starts in one position, and ends in a completely different one.”
“Did I get words to the page? If I have words on the page, I can do something with them.”
“You should put stuff in your poems.”
“Too much abstract language begins to sound like white noise. Imagery is the most important element in the craft of poetry.”
“I can’t write a good poem without writing poems.”
Elissa Bassist
“Writing is 50% writing and 50% getting over self-deprecating bullshit.”
“It’s a writer’s job to say unpopular things that others know and don’t want to think about.”
“Use comedy to disarm readers and then punch them in the heart with tragedy.”
“Elevate your ability by training your taste.”
“Writing a lot about feelings does not become a book; use craft to make a story.”
Pam Houston
pamhouston.net
“The physical world and bearing witness to it is the number one reason I write.”
“Watch for things in the natural world that ‘vibrate’ — they suggest they can be used in writing:
a moment
an object
how sunlight filters through trees
something heard in the grocery store
These become the building blocks in what we’re writing.”
“The exterior landscape helps me unlock my interior landscape.”
Jeannine Ouellette
“Establish trust so [the reader] is willing to keep their eyes open.”
“Be willing to be misinterpreted and misunderstood — trust the reader, too.”
“The exterior world is a mirror for our interior world.”
Kate Baer
“Process of getting into the headspace: read before you write (warm up before you come to the page).”
“Write to the weird… balance between mass appeal and little weirds.”
Ask yourself: “What actions and mindsets can I practice to internalize that I am successful right now as someone who does the work?”
Anis Mojgani
thepianofarm.com
(There were so many more notes from this talk that I wish I had jotted down. I was just so caught up in hearing Anis speak!)
Ask yourself: “How can I take the reader into the turn, with surprise but without a ‘gotcha’?”
Maya C. Popa
“Identify the poems the book depends upon—then look at what other poems are speaking to those poems.”
“Writers have to make their clay.”
“The better you are at calling bullshit on yourself, the better the work will be.”
Rebecca Jamieson
contemplatecreate.com
“Most of craft comes with revision.”
“Remember to play! This is all an experiment.”
Ask yourself: “How do I want my reader to move from room to room?”
Joy Sullivan
“Trust [the reader] to have their own emotional reaction. This is an act of generosity.”
“Allow your image to carry the weight. (Show, don’t tell. Whisper, don’t yell.)”
Take it into your life
Yes, all of these workshops are in some way related to writing. But there are many aspects of these pieces of advice that can be interpreted for other areas.
Want to build a habit of walking in nature every day? “The exterior world is a mirror for our interior world,” said Jeannine Ouellette. How can your outdoor walks help you better see and understand your inner world?
Looking to save money this year for a big dream trip you want to take? Pam Houston says, “The physical world and bearing witness to it is the number one reason I write.” Bearing witness to your dream each day keeps it at the forefront, guiding your steps and decisions.
Want to drink enough water each day? Ellen Bass says, “I can’t write a good poem without writing poems.” And we can’t drink enough water without each and every little sip.
Ready to have that hard conversation with someone, and you’re afraid of how they’ll react? Joy Sullivan says, “Trust them to have their own emotional reaction. This is an act of generosity.”
Comment below which piece of advice (if not several!) you’re taking into the new year. How can you use this treasure trove to influence and feed other parts of your life?
If you’re new here…
Hi! I’m Jordan, and Shade Cactus is where being a homebody and always planning your next travel adventure come to meet. It’s a travel blog / poetry newsletter / attempt to understand my inner world a bit better each day.
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This was such a fun walk down memory lane, with all the writing workshops from the past year! I'm definitely still thinking about Jeannette Ouellette's workshop, both how to bring more exteriority into my writing *and* how to shift more of my attention to the external world, and get curious about what it might reveal about my inner world. (Also reminds me of Pam Houston's glimmers practice, which is something I want to build more of a practice around. ✨)
Also, I gotta tell ya, you get full credit for the fact that Aesthetic is absolutely on my shortlist of Word of the Year contenders for 2025...
It feels like a sin to pick one of these. You're a pro at extracting the nuggets! Thank you for sharing what I'm sure is just a taste of all the wisdom you've collected this past year. SO MUCH JUICYNESS.