Hello,
How are each of you?
Well, I missed last Friday. Sometimes things just do not come together...but I am back again this week for letter #150! It's hard to believe!
The last letter opened with a story of the relentless rain. In an about face, this week has been filled with sunshine and an abundance of flowers, a direct result of afore mentioned rain.
Thanks to a Friday Letter reader, I learned that dandelions provide the bee's first round of food. Thank you for helping me see our constellations of dandelions in a whole new light! Also, that yellow is just a vibrantly beautiful color. I've come to some sort of peace between myself and the dandelions, recognizing that nature is very wise. Sometimes it is best to let her take the lead.
Last Friday I worked my first book event, an author interview between fiction writers Kirstin Hannah and Megan Chance. Already a huge fan of the tv series Firefly Lane on Netflix, I was surprised to learn upon starting at the bookstore that Hannah was the author of the book in which the show is based. I was even more surprised to discover that the bookstore owner and Hannah were friends as Hannah lives on Bainbridge Island! It was fun to attend an event that brought the glimmering stardom of Hannah in my mind down to earth into a lovely evening discussion between two outstanding authors who have been friends and constructive critics of one another's work since their late twenties when they met at a small writer's workshop in Seattle.
They shared stories from their unique friendship and writing partnership. Hannah and Chance exchange manuscripts with one another frequently in a sometimes brutal back and forth editing process that helps forge and form their work before it even sees the likes of their official editors. Decades ago, they fell into this relationship unexpectedly. Both 28 years old at a writer's conference filled with writer's twice their age, they found connection in a chance conversation in the bathroom. Before they knew it they were baring their souls and exchanging manuscripts and contact information. This one moment turned into a lifetime of back and forth exchanges of their writing and a deep and enduring friendship.
They have achieved a rare balance of fierce honesty, deep respect, and admiration for one another and their writing, while maintaining their friendship. This process has propelled their writing into excellence, each author growing in stature and significance over a lifetime of working on writing together.
They talked about the hard work of writing and how their early days as writers with young families and other jobs to pay the bills forced them into a focused daily writing habit where 1-2 hours was all the time they had to spare. That limited time trained them to focus and use wisely the time they had. Limits and consistent writing proved more important than freedom and abundant time.
When an audience member asked what they did when they experienced writer's block, Chance had a brilliant answer. She said flat out, "I don't believe in it." Writer's block was not writer's block but a resistance to doing the work to correct the problem in the story...which could mean going back chapters to unravel and re-write a flaw. I had never heard someone put it in that way, but it made a lot of sense to me. Writer's block is actually just resistance to unearthing a flaw in the foundation and then working to write out the solution. It applies to any creative endeavor.
They discussed the nature of failure and success, both within their daily writing practices and amidst the bigger public stage once their works are published. Chance said when she looked back on the writing she did on both her good days and bad days, the results were the same. She realized that the writing quality was not impacted by her daily feelings of whether her writing was good or bad or if she wanted to write or not. I found this extraordinary. Hannah told of how she has learned to lean into failure, rather than success, understanding that failure is where growth occurs. As an outside observer, I think their close friendship also allows them to take more risks because they have created a stable support for one another's writing, regardless of outside influences. This feels like a genius move that everyone should copy!
I was so moved by this incredible exchange between two such prominent writers and friends. It was another piece of the puzzle in how to lead a fruitful creative life. Their honesty with each other and also with the audience about their process was refreshing and inspiring.
Until next Friday!
Be well, breathe, read, and make some art!
Jen