Hello friend, 👋🏾
For the past five years (OMG I can’t believe it’s been so long?!?!) my podcast, My Imaginary Friends, has been primarily a solo show where I discuss the ups and downs of the writing life.
I’ve hesitated doing interviews because there are so many interview based podcasts in existence and I didn’t want to do another one without bringing anything new or unique to the conversation. But I got the urge to talk to other authors about a specific topic: their thoughts on success.
In my first interview, I speak with award-winning SFF author Mary Robinette Kowal about the meaning of success and how it evolves over time.
She discusses the motivations behind her writing, the challenges she faces, and the importance of authenticity in her work. We also touch on impostor syndrome, goal setting, and finding the essence of what drives us as writers.
If you find this weekly email useful, please hit the ❤️ button, share it with a friend, and consider becoming a paid subscriber!
📝 Getting Unblocked
I’m working on plotting a new book and it’s not going terribly well. Or maybe I should say it’s not going terribly quickly. I’m not sure if I’m blocked, precisely… I have lots of ideas, the problem is they are not forming into a single cohesive story very well.
Plotting block is a subset of writer’s block, and solving it, like with any problem, requires diagnosing the nature of the issue first.
“Things That May Be Causing Your Writer's Block- and How to Beat Them” is a great post which includes some common diagnoses and possible solutions that can help you break through the wall.
My wall and I are still deep in negotiations…
📝 Where have all the fighting snails gone?
One of the enduring mysteries of our time is the prevalence of fighting snails in medieval books.
…for a brief period in the late 13th Century, illuminators – those who decorated books – across Europe embraced a new obsession: fighting snails. For a comprehensive study of these warring gastropods, the art historian Lilian Randall counted 70 examples, in 29 different books – most of which were printed in the two decades between 1290 and 1310.
They join the ranks of bloodthirsty rabbits in the mysterious marginalia made by medieval illustrators. Why? The world may never know…
It is perhaps a sign of exactly how my plotting journey is going that this article captured my attention, fighting for a way in a book that is supposed to be a Y2K-era paranormal thriller.
The novel revision workshop is here. It’s available for premium subscribers or as a standalone.
🚀 Quick Bites
Whenever I’m at a conference, I inevitably come home with a list of recommended books. If you’re looking for a way to organize media to consume in the future so it doesn’t just live in scattered notes files all over the internet, check out the app Sofa. It’s billed as a way to “create lists of apps, books, movies, tv shows, podcasts, music albums, and video games to enjoy later.”
If the need ever arises to locate a shorter word to replace the $.10 version lodged in your brain since AP English class, try Thsrs — the shorter thesaurus. It helped me find 10 less obnoxious ways to say “prestidigitation.”
🎙️ My Imaginary Friends: Episode 231
The My Imaginary Friends podcast is a behind the scenes look at the journey of a working author navigating traditional and self-publishing, where I share insights on the writing life, creativity, inspiration, and this week’s best thing.
Watch on YouTube | Listen to the podcast
Mentioned:
Imaginary Worldbuilding course – https://lpen.co/worlds
Story Seed workbook – https://lpen.co/storyseed
Enneagrams – https://www.crystalknows.com/enneagram/types
Pro Writing Aid’s romance week – https://lpen.co/romanceweek
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I'm looking forward to listening to your interview with Mary Robinette Kowal. I just read a short story of hers in the Jan/Feb 2024 issue of Uncanny Magazine. If you haven't read it already, I think you'll love it. It's entitled "Marginalia," and it's about a lord who goes off to fight a giant snail, but there's a fun twist on how the snail is actually conquered. Thanks to your discussion on fighting snails, I now have context for what inspired her story and enjoy it even more! 😊 Here's a link to it:
https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/marginalia/