Think about your motivations for writing and publishing this book.
Why did I write this book?
What inspired me?
Who did I write it for?
Did I write to help, to inspire, or to entertain?
How does my book do that?
What books would it be shelved by?
Why is this book important to you?
Share your reflections or questions about this part of the process below.
This is a learn-at-your-own-pace course.
Each module will have a short podcast. You can listen or tap transcript to read. I’ll also include a short summary with some reflection prompts and links to any resources I might have mentioned in the module.
You’re invited to ask any questions in the comments below each post.
Think about what you need as you move into the self publishing process.
How can you support your nervous system and mental health?
How can you kindle your creativity as you move into an logistical project?
Who is your support system?
How can you be kind to yourself during this process?
What can you take off your self publishing list? (Ex. audiobook, etc.)
If you want to dig deeper into your creative process you may be interested in my book Discover Your Creative Ecosystem & Journal Companion.
Share your reflections or questions about this part of the process below.
Hullo all,
I’m quite enjoying the white space of sending 1-2 emails a month.
That said, I had a lot to say this December. I didn’t mean to send so much at once, but it all bubbled up. 😂
I’m sending it all today so I can shift into holiday mode. So I’ve created a Choose Your Adventure email for you. You can read one or all of these. Or keep a tab open to catch the rest later.
First, here’s an update on my picture book collaboration with ! So many of you supported this project and we wanted to give you an idea of where we are in the process.
It’s on offer right now if you want to grab an unbundled hardcover for $25 and ebooks & audiobooks are marked down to $10 each for the month of December.
Part of that process was digging up all of the process photos and videos I posted to Instagram. If you want to follow that process in real time you can see it unfold here:
This post is a reflection on neurodivergent note taking and my new hybrid system (part digital + part analogue.) It’s something I’ve been playing with this since September and it feels like it’s here to stay (and evolve and grow with me.)
Ok, that’s it for the choose your own adventure programming. Maybe we’ll do this again? I kind of like the flexibility of publishing posts in my own time and then sharing them to your email inbox once or twice a month.
More scope for the imagination as Anne Shirley would say.
Other bits and bobs I’d like to recommend this month.
If you love word games I’d really recommend Gubbins.
It’s fun and quirky (and accepts names and lots of informal words that most word games just won’t).
And, if you upgrade to paid, 10% of the proceeds go to charity because it’s backed by Hank Green & Nerdfighteria.
Or you can play once a day for free. 💫
https://instagram.com/p/Czow0-vvTGd/
I don’t often mention my day job as an adjunct university instructor. But I teach a postgraduate class about musical theatre. When I give my students a chance to give a presentation on their favorite musical someone always chooses Hadestown. I’ve not yet seen it myself, but it’s been on my radar for a few years.
When Dónal Finn1 was cast as Orpheus on the West End I fell down the Hadestown rabbit hole and found this book about the show’s lyrics.
It has some evocative quotes comparing the creative process to gardening,
“You’re raking around in the dirt, pulling up weeds. Flowers you love and find beautiful die on you. But not for nothing; they go back into the soil, and they nourish it. It’s the act of raking that prepares the ground, and it’s the seeds of those dead beautiful flowers that replant themselves in it and eventually come up right. The “right” thing could not exist without the “wrong” ones.”
The whole read was a delightful insight into the creative process. A very slow collaborative development that improved through iterations for well over a decade.
(More of my favorite quotes in my chronofile.)
I’d love to hear from you.
Drop a link to something you’d like to share below. Or tell me something you’re looking forward to working on in the new year.
Cheers,
Dónal Finn also plays Mat Cauthon starting in Season 2 of The Wheel of Time
A lot of the work that’s been happening is boring (printer research) and intangible (redrafts). But I wanted to offer a window into that process for anyone that’s interested.
Here’s a breakdown of the progress we have made this year.
First, and I had a whirlwind one week crowdfunding campaign.
We chose a shorter campaign to be mindful of our energetic capacity (versus longer month-long campaigns I’ve done in the past.) It turned out to be a great decision.
If you’d like to take a peek at our campaign page you can see it here.
Even with the short campaign there’s a certain amount of energetic drain that is just inevitable during fundraising work. It took most of the summer to reset. We wrote about that here on Substack.
After spending a lot of social energy on a big launch I love to work with my hands.
Last year it was a bricolage. This summer I cut hundreds of fabric squares to make a costume, which I wrote about here.
And shared some life news about a big move along with some sketches and quotes. Keep reading here.
Moving out of the crowdfunding recovery phase we were both thrown into other big life changes.
As for myself, we lost our sitter-of-dreams and I was suddenly working without any childcare. This meant I wasn’t able to dive right into redrafting in the way I would have liked.
It was an in-between time of emerging from recovery, but not having the time for focused work in the way I had imagined. I wrote a bit about that here.
If parenthood has taught me anything it’s to expect the unexpected. I’ve always been a bit time blind, but I’m finally learning to build extra space into projects. Especially now that I’m responsible for a tiny human.
Meanwhile, Gracie transitioned from living in an airstream trailer to buying a (dreamy, magical) schoolhouse.
We did make progress, but in slow incremental steps.
I compared indie book printers1 whilst Davy watched Daniel Tiger episodes.
And Gracie researched digital cameras and the relative merits of tripods versus C stands while moving into a new house.
So we needed a way to get that real life art into the book at the highest quality possible.
Thanks to your early preorders we were able to order Gracie a new camera, C stand, overhead shooting mount, and all the bits and bobs to needed make the whole set up work. Here are some test shots (there’s also one opening this email.)
(With a few notable exceptions.) Most authors write to tell stories and experiences we are passionate about. Creating a fundraising campaign is an opportunity to ask yourself what you need to make the project as best as it can be.
As artists we can be so accustomed to bootstrapping that we don’t always see our options. When Gracie mentioned creating mixed media illustrations (versus digital) I knew that I wanted the campaign to cover the best photography equipment we could fund. This is our biggest creative investment (alongside the cost of printing and mailing the books themselves) and it’s incredibly exciting to see this set up coming together.
This photography gear is essential to making our picture book happen, but it will also serve Gracie in other creative pursuits for years to come. Thank you!!!
Another small step completed was designing, writing, ordering, and re-ordering (due to customer service chaos) thank you postcards for our launch team and backers.
I love how these turned out and they will be winging their way through the postal service very soon!
This autumn I also managed to do two rewrites. Without a sitter my time for focused work is limited to weekends when Nathan can take Davy to the playground or play video games with him. It’s less time than I had before (in which I also have to grade university papers), but we’re finding our way with it.
One afternoon I also created a mockup using the process I learned in Neil Gaiman’s writing masterclass. Which, I suppose, is another thing I did in service of the book this year. I listened to most of the modules whilst parked in our garage after Davy had fallen asleep during a car ride.
https://instagram.com/p/CxEq0bgx3VM/
This mockup isn’t the size or shape of the final book. Its purpose is to decide how much text goes on each page. This gives us information about what illustrations are needed and how many pages the book will be.
Before the holidays I’ll be sending this to a few neurodivergent families as alpha readers asking for feedback.
After that we are set to dive into book design and development in the new year!
Pop them below and Gracie & I will do the best we can to answer them.
We can’t wait to send this book out into the world.
It turns out Amazon can’t make hardcovers with fewer than 75 pages. This means we will likely use Ingram Spark for our small run of limited edition hardcovers. And Amazon for paperbacks due to their worldwide printing and delivery infrastructure.
Even as a kid I would collect notes and information, magazine pages, booklets. I think it’s something of a neurodivergent impulse. Autistic folks often love collecting things and I’ve only just realized that part of that drive for me is in collecting information. I love learning things, but I also love cataloguing what I’m learning.
(Important to note this is not a universal love among autistics. There are a lot of different ways our passions and interests can show up.)
Through the years I’ve tried on different styles of note taking, but I’ve always loved the idea of a centralized system. The problem is I kept trying on other people’s systems and they were never the quite right fit.
Recently, I’ve been working out how to create my ideal note taking system.
A caution, dear reader, not to try and recreate my own system for yourself. But I hope by sharing this it can shatter some misconceptions about research and note taking and open up the realm of possibilities to you.
If you’ve been around for a while you’ll notice this is kind of an amalgamation of several different note taking projects I have had. Gathering up everything under one roof as it were. Over the years I have tried: physical notebooks, file folders, the Pocket app, Evernote app, traveler’s notebooks, blog posts, podcasts, Notion, and finally a library card catalogue drawer. Each of those attempts was, in a way, trying to create a system that I saw outside of myself and they were all too rigid.
I love handwriting notes. Typing them. Shuffling around papers. For years my ideal system (the one of my university mentor) was a series of matching composition notebooks.1
Then it was digital. I went “all in” on Evernote and it didn’t take long to reach the threshold where they wanted to charge a monthly fee. I think I was between degrees at this point and couldn’t imagine paying for that so I pivoted back to paper again.
Austin Kleon blogged about commonplace books and I was hooked. I tried to create a color coded indexing system. I tried numerical systems.
https://instagram.com/p/BI5UgEuD9jR/
The trouble with notebooks is no matter what kind of system you use it can be hard to find what you’ve recorded in the past.2
After a while I gave up on that and started sharing monthly updates on Patreon. A round up of everything I’ve read, watched, or listened to with some of my favorite quotes.
I always circle back to physical though. Early 2019 I tried a physical notebook to document what I wanted to share to Patreon. This was shortly before Davy was born and it quickly went out the window.
https://instagram.com/p/BsbLll3HMfe/
But the digital format survived. It lives on here on Substack as my Down the Rabbit Hole updates.
The trouble is when I’m really in research collecting mode I have more than I can reasonably share in this format. And it’s also not easily search-able.
So in 2020 I started a Notion. That also has stuck with me, but there are some caveats.
It’s a third party app that could disappear or start charging at any moment.
And I haven’t kept up with cataloguing the details like I did in the beginning and it’s starting to become a bit of a tangled mess.
Part of the problem is I created this system when Davy was still napping in my lap a lot. So I had ages to poke around on my phone. Now I have other things to do and this type of cataloguing is not at my top of priorities. Here’s a screenshot where you can see I no longer take the time to fill out “by” and “type” which are kind of essential when it comes to finding what I’m looking for.)
So I swing back analogue…
When Davy started school I read yet another book about note taking and I fell in love with the idea of writing or typing up all my notes on index cards in my “free time.” But Davy was only in school for half days and by the time you take the commute into account I was lucky to get a couple of hours each day. I spent most of them writing a book and making art.
https://instagram.com/p/CMicBqrhi0f/
Now we’re home educating so it’s all a muddle of life and creativity without any clearly delineated “studio time.
Get excited by a project.
Find a creative spark to create a system.
Abandon system.
Feel guilty.
https://instagram.com/p/Cx05uZMxilk/
But something was different this time around.
In all of the research about neurodiversity and autism to support David I am learning to support myself. And to reframe my perceived “deficits” as differences.
Why did some methods work better than others? What would really work best for me?
When I switched up my Substack schedule I freed up some mental bandwidth.
That extra capacity is really key here. I rarely innovate when I’m at capacity.
The second magic ingredient was playing around.
I was reading a new book and wanted to take notes. Instead of using Notion I followed my impulse and wrote them up on index cards. I knew it wasn’t something I could maintain, but I did it anyway.
Meanwhile I’d been thinking about how to document and share content in a more casual way online. The weekly Substack posts had been too time consuming, but I knew if I slowed my publishing schedule to monthly (or even fortnightly) I would have so much I wanted to share and document in the in between.
Then Austin Kleon linked to his Tumblr. I played around with a Tumblr account for a couple weeks and fell in love with the ease of it.
Find something lovely.
Share it.
Type in some tags.
Mostly I was still creating content for someone else’s machine. Tumblr is old (in internet years) and who knows how long it will be around. Also, people started seeing and liking my posts and I was afraid I might start feeling social media feels about the value of posts based on their engagement.
But there were also things I loved about it! One of which was how visual it was! My brain loves scrolling through a visual archive versus something that looks like a giant excel sheet (no offense Notion.)
What I needed was a private Tumblr. Somewhere I could archive notes, images, even videos or podcasts. With a simple tagging system.
I’m not sure how long it took me to realize that I could just make this on my own website.
Not a blog, but a microblog. My blog is a place to share long form writing with other people. Whereas this microblog is a collection of bits and bobs. A place to archive research and document my creative process as a tool for myself. Which I might sometimes point to.
I love it.
It feels like such a simple way to make a visual record of my thoughts and ideas. If you scroll through it’s essentially like taking a peek inside my brain. What am I reading? What am I thinking about? What was the obsession of the day?
I am fascinated by the process of ideas unfolding and layering and coming alive. It’s something I’m always unraveling when I look at other people’s work and it’s part of why I love following artists and creators online.3
What I got stuck on was the name. At first I called it scraps, but that didn’t really fit. Eventually I realized the answer had been there all along.
Sometime along the way I started calling my notes “The Chronofile.” You can see the hashtag in early Instagram posts and a note taking folder on Notion.
The name come from one of my creative muses – Buckminster Fuller.
He was a brilliant inventor and artist and writer and is known largely as the creator of the geodesic dome. I could go on and on about him (and I probably will some other time) but for now I’ll explain that he too was an obsessive notetaker. He documented everyday of his life in something he called the Dymaxion Chronofile. His file includes “more than 140,000 papers and 1,700 hours of audio and video” (all of which are archived in physical form and take up 1,400 linear feet.)4
All the more reason to go digital! I do not have that kind of space. 😂
Writing things down engages a different part of the brain than typing5. Not to mention the physical record and embodied act of moving around notes and seeing them in visual conversation with each other.
What I happened upon by writing those notes about Lynda Barry’s books was that I can have the best of both worlds.
Physical notecards of my favorite quotes – in a card catalogue drawer, and a searchable digital archive – hosted on my own website.
I can easily type up notes on my phone (using the Squarespace app) and then later jot them down or type them onto a card for my physical file. This also adds a layer of curation for my physical chronofile.
https://instagram.com/p/CMicBqrhi0f/
It also means the letter and number codes (used above) are largely irrelevant due to the search-ability of my digital chronofile. Which is quite a relief because they never felt natural – just another outside system I was trying to use to reinvent the wheel. Why create analogue reference systems when digital search does that so easily?
I fully accept this process will shift and change. But what I’m trying to do is to utilize the best features of each medium.
Analogue for muscle memory. For embodiment. For serendipitous connections. And for aesthetic share-ability.
Digital for search-ability. For time lord technology (fitting a lot in quite a small physical space). And for the ability to include photos, videos, and audio files.
The real delight here is that scaling back my Substack publishing schedule has freed up bandwidth to rekindle my passion for research.
From deep dives into artist communities like Black Mountain College and the Arts & Crafts Movement to the mundane history of tenterhooks and typesetting.
This hybrid system feels in alignment with my brain and the way it works and that makes all the difference.
One of the coolest things about Substack (or blogs) is that you can update posts as you have more information. Here’s a space I’m creating to do that as I evolve my note taking practice.
2/9/24: I’m experimenting with adapting this method to Obsidian. It resolves a few problems I was having with the Squarespace app and hosts everything locally instead of using my web hosting space. I may still use the Chronofile on my website occasionally as a microblog, but I’ve taken it off the site navigation for now.
I’ll be honest I was drawn in by the constellation visuals (these are called graphs.) I saw this twitter thread from Morgan Harper Nichols and was immediately enchanted.
My own graphs are still small for now, but it’s cool seeing how ideas connect.
There are lots of aesthetic reasons I’m really enjoying the app, but from a practical side it makes sense too. Instead of uploading your data into an app you’re creating text files and nesting folders on your own computer.
This means if Obsidian goes defunct you’ll still have all of your notes.
And that’s the main reason I’m transitioning away from Notion.
The stars are just a bonus. 💫
How do you collect notes and information?
Do you prefer analogue or digital or a bit of both?
Thanks for being here.
I might have stuck with this one for simplicity sake, but around this time the paper and binding quality of composition notebooks went right down. I still remember the gummy goo of one particular notebook binding that peeled up. *shudders*
At least it is for me. Kudos to you if you’ve figured it out.
After watching every single one of the Vlogbrother’s videos I finally read John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars. And it felt like reading a book by a friend. I could see all of the random obsessions he’d had over the years come together in his book. The same for Hank Green’s An Absolutely Remarkable Thing.
Dymaxion Chronofile: an archive of nearly every day of Buckminster Fuller’s life. Atlas Obscura. July 11, 2013.
Study shows stronger brain activity after writing on paper than on tablet or smartphone, University of Tokyo, March 19 2021.
I created this chart to reward myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and submitting my work for opportunities. I give myself a gold star for each submission (whether I get it or not). This is a long term project. Maybe it will take 10 years. I did 10 submissions in 2023.
There’s also a 100 days version. Choose your adventure.
I use this printable to track projects that are inwardly rooting and outwardly reaching. I find this visual metaphor helpful in remembering the value of restorative and reflective work.
I made this video as a complement to the final chapter of Discover Your Creative Ecosystem. As a multi passionate I find I have a constellation of purposes that work together.
This printable is two pages including reflective journaling prompts.
These printables are for personal use only.
If you’d like to share them please link directly to this page.
Here’s a visual guide to my self publishing journey.
There are 5 different books in progress here including Discover Your Creative Ecosystem, My Creative Ecosystem: The Companion (workbook), Entwined: Creativity & Motherhood (crowdfunding in Spring of 2024) and How It Feels to Me (coming in 2025). The fifth is a fantasy novel that I’m taking my time with.
You can see how each book developed from idea to reality. The process is layered and messy and I’ve resisted the temptation to tidy things up and tell each book’s story independent. You can really see how interwoven the process is by following along chronologically.
I started writing a book one day whilst journaling:
https://instagram.com/p/B5lv0UrAUSX/
Journaling has been my lighthouse for the past year. I’ve finally realized that writing is an important part of how I process my experiences. When I write I clear out my mental cobwebs and find thoughts and ideas I didn’t know I had. Like dusty curiosities hidden in an attic corner. Last week when I was journaling I accidentally started writing a book. It’s a creative handbook for new mums. Not a one size fits all method, but a series of reflections and prompts to help other mothers nurture their inner artist while caring for their newborn babes. ☺️
https://instagram.com/p/B7Uq3WugM9b/
Mothers I need your help! Tag your creative mama friends below. ✨ I’m collecting stories for my new book, “Kindle: a Guide to Creativity in Motherhood”. If you are a mother who makes I mean you. This includes artists, writers, crafters, coders, performers, etc… professional or hobbyist. I’d really love to hear from a wide range of experiences.
Since Davy’s birth last May I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about creativity and new motherhood. I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I do think I’ve found some of the right questions! I am endeavoring to write this book while I’m still in the weeds. I hope it will encourage new mothers to nurture their creative spark.
I’d love your input (whether you created during new motherhood or not.) Your experience as a creative mother is invaluable to me! Please share & invite your creative mama friends. I’d love to gather a vibrant collection of stories and feature the brilliant diverse women who are doing this work.
https://instagram.com/p/B7tByZHgPHb/
I reached 10,000 words on my book today! 🎉 I’m amazed because I’ve managed this by writing 300-500 words in small stretches of naptime. Really learning the magic of incremental progress. ✨ I’ve been tracking my writing with a post it board inspired by @helenredfernwriter. You can see a peek of it on my Patreon feed (for free.) Just follow the link in my bio. What I love about the board is how I can visually see my progress! How do you track big projects? And how should I celebrate my first 10,000 words? @carveouttimeforart#2020COTFAProud
.
UPDATE: I celebrated with a giant nap. 😴
https://instagram.com/p/B8wGPTHA1rF/
Thanks so much to everyone who participated in my Creative Mother research. I started working through the data yesterday. It may take awhile as there are almost 1,000 answers to the open ended questions. 🥰 Your experiences are going to add so much texture and nuance to my book. Very thankful for the time you took to tell me your stories. I’ll be sharing the common themes I find as I work through the survey data. My husband Nathan is quite excited to teach me how to use all the fancy features in Excel. 🤣
https://instagram.com/p/B835r7pgfVV/
I’m baffled by the ways our culture still treats mom as a default parent and dads as incompetent goofballs. I’ve been doing research on this topic for the book I’m writing. “Dad’s Don’t Babysit” has been a great resource. It digs into science that shows dads are just as capable of bonding and caring for their babies as mums. Written by two British dads who share their experience as primary carers. They also explore the challenges they’ve noticed that prevent more dads from getting actively involved. 🍼 Have you struggled with this in your family unit?
https://instagram.com/p/B-SUCclAO3t/
I finished the rough draft of my book! 🥳 I’m celebrating by sharing a bit with you. I wrote this last month, but it seems especially timely now. (The book is for new mums, but I this particular metaphor is for everyone.) I’d love to hear if it resonates with you.
.
Imagine your creative life as a habitat. What would it be? A woodland, a mountain range, an island, a desert… Each artist’s creative ecosystem is unique and we all need different things to flourish. This is why no one’s advice is ever a perfect fit. What would support a woodland mama might overwhelm a desert mom..
https://instagram.com/p/CBhLDaGJBx8/
Last week I printed my book manuscript and started editing again. It turns out the three months I took away from this work were actually very helpful. I’ve had enough distance it’s much easier to make cuts and changes. I’ve also spent that time doing more visual art like pottery and weaving and this is informing my book in a good way. Annnnnd… I’m loving doing this on paper. It’s been years since I bothered printing any of my writing to edit and I’d forgotten what a difference it makes. I feel it’s really helping me move forward and not rewrite the same sentence until my eyes bleed. This pandemic is teaching me to honor my creative rhythms and that’s no bad thing. What have the last three months taught you?
https://instagram.com/p/CB30HtcpeBe/
Progress! Here’s a peek at my second draft. I use a blue felt tip for edits because it feels friendlier & less critical than red. 💙 I’m about halfway done typing up these changes. Then I need to do a major structural edit. I want this book to be easy for new mums to dip in and out of. I have a tendency to over complicate so this is the messy middle. 📝
https://instagram.com/p/CCLemUwp2GS/
I used to journal after Davy’s bedtime, but recently I’ve been editing my book at night. So I decided to try daytime freewriting and this was the result. Wait for it… 🤣 Maybe he’ll get bored if I do this everyday? Mama’s, how do you cultivate creative rituals?
https://instagram.com/p/CCRLH78pVnU/
You may have noticed that I changed the title of my book to Maker Mama Manifesto. (Unpictured, obviously.) 🤣 When I finished my first draft I realized I was creating a toolbox for mothers to make their own creative manifesto. Reflections, exercises, journal prompts, quotes & stories from other creative mums. Every mother is different so she needs her own unique approach to creativity. I hope my book makes space for that. Imagine if we took all the energy we spent on comparison & self judgement and poured that into our art?
https://instagram.com/p/CDoTRY6pse9/
This is a failed timelapse of me restructuring my book outline. 😭 So gutted it didn’t record anything. Swipe for the “after”.
https://instagram.com/p/CQgyaGuhd0D/
This time last year I was editing the second draft of my book. The rest of 2020 was derailed by COVID / depression / autistic burnout. When I came back to editing this year I realized that my manuscript was actually 2-3 books crammed together. So I’ve been doing major restructuring. Turns out the first part I wrote isn’t even specific to mothers. It’s the book I wish I’d read a decade ago. I’ve been working on that for a few months now, and it’s taken an unexpected form. I can’t wait to share it with you! P.S. Don’t worry, the Maker Mama book is coming eventually. Just taking things slow and steady. 🐢
https://instagram.com/p/CS13PSQAb89/
I’m tired of one size fits all advice. There’s a simple reason it never works out (even if it is true for the person giving it.) We’re each unique and need different conditions to flourish. Just like this monarch caterpillar has different needs than other wildlife in my garden. 🐛
During early motherhood I spent a lot of time reflecting on this when I was writing my book. When I started editing I realized the first chapter, “Discovering Your Creative Ecosystem” had its own identity.
So I expanded that chapter into a 10 week virtual retreat. It’s all about discovering what works best for YOU. I’m so excited to lead my first group of intrepid adventurers through the material next month. 🦋
https://instagram.com/p/CTHuZm2gTGp/
Have you ever started out making one thing and it turned out to be something else? 🧐 Discovering Your Creative Ecosystem began as the first chapter of my book, but it was destined for greater things. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll even expand into a book of its own. But for now I’m super excited to dive into this metaphor further with a small group of creative souls. 📷 via Unsplash
https://instagram.com/p/CTLE_QGJuzm/
Here’s a clue to our retreat’s first micro adventure. 😉✂️✨ I’m so excited to see what you all discover! There’s enough direction to get you started, but you’re always encouraged to break the rules and make it work for you. Not feeling collage? Write in your journal, make a pinboard, or do an interpretive dance. There’s literally no wrong way to do this! 🥰
https://instagram.com/p/CVvQLjqp60L/
November is for noveling. 🍂 Growing up I would write a novel every year for @nanowrimo. Somehow I even managed to crank out 50,000 words during grad school. But that NaNo, 10 years ago, was my last. Somehow after graduating and becoming “an adult” I’ve had an impossibly hard time with fiction. I suddenly felt like writing was a waste of time unless I was “good enough” to be traditionally published. But I’ve been chipping away at my addiction to perfection and thanks to the incredible modeling of @inspiredtowrite I am going back to my roots. I’m writing a story this month that I’m really excited about. Just to play. And when it’s done, if I want to share it, I’m prepared to choose myself. The gatekeepers aren’t even invited to the party. My new fiction goal – whether with this story or another – is to self publish. But first, a messy first draft. Because mess is magic. ✨
https://instagram.com/p/CVxgW6MLrGb/
One of the books I reread to prep for @nanowrimo. This series doesn’t get enough love. Eilonwy is one of my favorites. ✨
https://instagram.com/p/CV4Aso-MSSS/
The magic of NaNoWriMo is continuing to write even when you can’t see the way ahead. My past novels were all discovery written. This time I split the difference. I have some bones. I know where I’d like to go, but not how I’m going to get there. So I write from where I stand. And then I take a step and write from that place. Its messy. But this first draft isn’t for sharing. It’s for me. To discover my story. To develop my characters. And to play with choices. How do you balance planning and spontaneity in your creative work?
https://instagram.com/p/CWPO468ofCk/
https://instagram.com/p/CWtmQMfJdoy/
First day back in the studio since our stomach bug. (Photo from another warmer day.) I managed to catch up on my NaNoWriMo word count this afternoon so I invited Davy out. He played with his new alphabet magnets while I got back to this cross stitch piece. Hoping for a bit more of this vibe over the weekend after such a hard week.
https://instagram.com/p/CXOQfeqLk-9/
Time to let you in on a little secret. ☺️ I’ve been adapting “Discovering Your Creative Ecosystem” into a book. Right now I’m formatting the hardcover edition. There will also be a PDF and audiobook, but I am most excited to see my book in print! Which would you order? 📖🎧📱
P.S. Preorders will open in early 2022 once I have a shiny sample hardcover to show you. ✨
https://instagram.com/p/CXeaYQZo9V7/
Just finished recording the audiobook version of Discovering Your Creative Ecosystem. 🥳 Huge thanks to my Patrons who funded this swank professional microphone. Y’all are the best!
https://instagram.com/p/CYDBi42M_6A/
My experience of time is not fixed. Time expands and contracts based on when and how often I engage with my interests. So when I write and make time feels expansive. When I don’t it crushes in on me and feels very suffocating. This is one of my biggest struggles as a neurodivergent artist mama.
This year I’ve swung wildly between those two feelings.
Learning how to navigate fractured time has been a huge theme in my work these past two years. Looking back I made so much more than I did in 2020. This is largely due to pivoting to whichever project I had the bandwidth for in that moment.
I’ve just posted a roundup of this year’s creative projects on the blog. Those I’ve finished, started, and abandoned. Linked in the bio if you are curious. 🐇
https://instagram.com/p/CYuWnxgoRSC/
I’m planning to self publish my book Discover Your Creative Ecosystem this year.*
And, y’all, it is A LOT.
I know I could easily lose myself in that and burn out within a month. So I chose my word for 2022 as a counterbalance of sorts.
My word of the year is ROOT.
To consciously cultivate a balance between productive and restorative time.
I need more time focusing inward.
Growing roots to support my branches.
Tending my own creative ecosystem.
And learning to respect my own needs.
Or, that’s how I envisioned it last week. When Davy was at school and I spent a luxurious morning with @susannahconway’s Unravel Your Year.
Now that I’m in full time mom mode for January (and perhaps longer) the word ROOT has taken on new meanings.
(This one’s too long to fit in captions. Keep reading on the blog. Link in the bio.) ✨
P.S. If you’re wondering why I’m talking about ecosystems when I was writing about motherhood… that book is next! This started as the first chapter of my Maker Mama manuscript and has become a work of its own. Once this baby is out in the world I’ll start structural edits for my creative mama book. ✏️
P.P.S. How lovely is this custom collage by my friend @lionheartcanyonstudio? 🥰 If you’d like a reminder of your word-of-the-year she’s your lady!
https://instagram.com/p/CZE3T-Yr-xm/
I’m ditching the whirlwind book launch for something that slowly unfolds over the course of the entire year. I’d planned to hit the ground running in January, but it’s been more of an army crawl. 😂
Still, I have made some measured progress so far…
Final draft edits. ✔️
ISBN. ✔️
Library of Congress number. ✔️
Formatting fixes. ✔️
First proof ordered! ✔️
HUZZAH! 🥳
https://instagram.com/p/CZzHIO0L0Xq/
You’ve heard me talk about writing a book… or two… or three over the past two and a half years. Even my mama is confused by now. So I thought I should walk you through my WIPs before I start talking about “my first book.”
(This is also on the blog if you’d rather read there.)
Manuscript #1
The first book I started writing explored the intersection of motherhood and creativity. I specifically wanted to hold space for new mothers, but that has expanded over time. I finished two drafts and surveyed over 100 mothers. 2020 sidelined this project because I had no quiet space to work.
Manuscript #2
Once my studio was finished I started a third draft of my artist mother book. But chapter one kept expanding. As words piled up I realized this concept wasn’t specific to motherhood and deserved a life of its own.
Starting with a smaller work felt right so I paused edits on my motherhood book, and started drafting what became Discover Your Creative Ecosystem.
What started as a retreat slowly became a book. Sharing these words in book form will make the material even more accessible. Creative souls can now work through the material in their own time. This book is short and conversational and full of magic! (And pictures! More about this soon.) ✨
Manuscript #3
During NaNoWriMo of 2021 I started writing fiction for the first time in a decade. I have a reeeeaaaallllllyyyyy rough draft of a fantasy novel casting the hero (traditionally an adolescent boy) as a mother. I tried to keep the setting and plot simple, but quickly realized the joy of fantasy (for me) is complexity. So this is an ongoing project that, let’s face it, I may be working on for decades to come.
So, that’s where I’m at!
Discover Your Creative Ecosystem is coming soon. (Really soon! Like I already have proof copies winging my way.)
After that release I’ll return to editing my maker mama book. I’m seeing the whole motherhood experience as more of a spiral than a straight line now… so I am glad that I didn’t rush it.
And my fantasy novel is on a slow simmer. I’ll keep giving it a stir and tossing in different ingredients I find til I’m ready to draft again.
Which book are you most excited for?
https://instagram.com/p/CbSbcqVA17a/
I’m so excited to reveal my book cover! 📖
Preorders open next month. If you don’t want to miss early bird bonuses hop on my mailing list. Linked in the bio. 💌
P.S. Last year I started hoping I’d be ready to launch today (my birthday). I’m not *quite* there yet, but this felt like an exciting peek to share today. 🌿
https://instagram.com/p/Cbz5_-cg8eb/
I am SO CLOSE to finishing this book! Typed up all of these changes today. Re-recording the audiobook tomorrow. Then it’s time to record the Indiegogo video. 😱 Now I think I’ll watch this on repeat because it’s so satisfying. I wish editing in real time could happen that fast. 😂
https://instagram.com/p/Cb30bVoJ24L/
Setting up to record my audiobook. 🎧 When big dreams feel overwhelming break them down to the next smallest step. 🌙 My tiny steps have carried me far. So excited to share this with you very soon! 🌿
Preorder waitlist in the bio. 😘
https://instagram.com/p/CcVOJBOOJtY/
Next week is book launch! 🥳 Today I’m off to the woods to photograph my books! 🍃
Wait… bookS??? 😮
Spoilers!!! 😉
https://instagram.com/p/CcsdTLoufv_/
It’s time! 🕰⌛️⏰
I launched book preorders on Indiegogo! 🥳
Early pledges really help so if you preorder by midnight… 🌙
You will also get free 1:1 coaching to dig into your creative ecosystem via text and voice message. One week coaching for ebooks and one month if you preorder a hardcover! 📖✨🐞
I wrote this book to break the cycle of hustle, hustle, burnout to build a truly sustainable creative practice. ♻️
Discover Your Creative Ecosystem is designed to help you build a holistic creative process that works for you. 🐝
Linked in my bio! Drop your questions below. I’m planning a Live Q&A tomorrow. 🥰
https://instagram.com/p/Cc8pgAhp5_M/
Announcing our first stretch perks! We hit $900 today which means every hardcover preorder (past and future) will now include a library pocket AND a vinyl sticker. 🥳 The Kindle Curiosity campfire is now the logo for my author imprint as well as my podcast. So excited to add these extra goodies into your preorders! 🔥
https://instagram.com/p/CdBw_Q7Jr55/
How do you take author photos when you’re always blinking and freezing up in photos?
You use video stills!
I set up my camera to record and pulled as many ridiculous happy faces as I could manage … between deep breaths and horse noises of course. 😂
The results were 10-15 joyful freeze frames versus my usual 1-2 awkward photographs.
10/10 would recommend. 📸
P.S. Book preorders are open! Link in the bio. ✨📚🥰
https://instagram.com/p/CelsS1qg24Y/
Now that Davy’s older I’m finally able to journal again. The key to summer creativity at our house is parallel play. Last year it was weaving and DUPLO. This year it’s writing.
(I knew I wouldn’t be able to edit audiobooks over the summer so that’s why my book release was strategically set for October.) 😉
After drafting three books in two years I’m quite enjoying short form writing again. I’m working on a few new pieces to share with you soon. ✏️
What are you making this summer? ☀️
https://instagram.com/p/CiGVk1nJYZR/
Small progress is progress. This weekend I fixed all of the images for my book. Tweaked saturation and brightness in a few photos that were printing too dull and standardized all of the crop ratios. One more round of text edits and I can order the next proof. 🥳
https://instagram.com/p/Cip-vpEJK6w/
I finished book edits today! 🥳
Turns out I just needed a few hours of quiet to look it all over. I found a few typos, fixed some formatting issues, and updated my logo. 🔥
I’ve just ordered what I hope will be the final proof!!! (But holding space for the possibility I might need one more to get the images looking their best.)
This means I am still on target for you to get your books this autumn! 🍂🍁✨
If you missed preorders and want to squeak in and grab a preorder bonus (free audiobook with every hardcover purchase) send me a DM and I can take your preorder through Venmo. 🥰
Thanks to everyone who has already ordered a copy! You’re making little Sarah’s dream’s come true. (I’ll have to dig out some of my childhood “books” and share them on Substack to celebrate.) 🥳
https://instagram.com/p/CjYdulQJ1LB/
Discover Your Creative Ecosystem is the book I wrote when I realized every artist has their own unique way of working. I was a new mum and Julia Cameron’s rigid approach from The Artist’s Way wasn’t working for me. So I expanded my idea of creativity beyond productivity and began to tend all areas of my life and to pay attention to what worked for me. 🍂🍁🌾
https://instagram.com/p/CkOlb0PJ_fY/
Your books are here! 🥳 I should wait for the perfect natural lighting to post this, but I just can’t! 😂
If you’d like to add something to your book preorder you can use the code ADDON (no spaces) in my shop and it will give you free shipping. 💌✨
This offer is only open to hardcover preorders who paid previously for shipping. 😉
I’m still waiting for the workbooks to come in, but these should start winging your way next week!!! 🥰
https://instagram.com/p/CkWZh_KhE_7/
November is for noveling. ✏️ Swipe to read a snippet from last year’s blog post about NaNoWriMo. ✨🍂🍁 If you haven’t heard of it November is National Novel Writing Month. The idea is to write 1,667 words a day and end up with a 50,000 word first draft by the end of the month.
I’ve been participating on and off since high school and love it for moving past perfectionism and quarantining my inner critic. If you’re noveling this year and would like to join a small writing group let me know. NaNo is more fun with friends. 🥰
https://instagram.com/p/CkbMFi5u5km/
I’ve wanted to be an author since I was six years old. But when I grew up I was full of excuses. After graduate school it took me ten years (and a baby) to return to writing.
Look at me now! Signing all of your preorders. 🥰
If you’ve been waiting for permission… give it to yourself.
Make your art.
Tell your stories.
Be your own publisher, agent, patron, producer, gallery. We don’t have to wait for gatekeepers permission for our work to have impact. 💥
The workbooks have just arrived so I will be using the rest of the week to organize your preorder bonuses and package them all up.
Official publication day will be November 16 and ebooks will go out then! I hope this book inspires and supports so many more creative projects. Tossing my pebble into the pond and ready to watch the ripples grow. ✨
https://instagram.com/p/Ckix7b3gQui/
And just like that the first run of Discover Your Creative Ecosystem is SOLD OUT! 😱
To pull back the curtain this was a rookie mistake because I did not account for damaged books when I ordered. So while I’m ordering replacements I’ve decided to make it an opportunity for you.
I’m reopening preorders with all of the original discounts and bonuses for a limited time! This round of preorders will close on Monday November 7. (Link in bio.) 🍁
We don’t have the physical space to store boxes of extra books so I’ve decided to do limited print runs each year and only order a small number of extras. The next print run will be in 2023.
So if you want a book before then order now! 😘
https://instagram.com/p/Ck01s5ppZBa/
Yes, I did collect autumn leaves for each preordered book. Wouldn’t you? 😉🍁✨
If you missed this round I have a second batch of preorders (with all the perks!) open for a short time. There’s an illustrated workbook too which I have been woefully negligent at posting. You can see it in the video on my website.
The next print run will be in 2023. When do you feel that fresh start energy? Autumn or New Years?
P.S. After a short break to tend a sickly toddler I am back at work packaging up your book orders. Thanks for all of your patience as I keep my own creative ecosystem in balance. 🍂🦌🌲
https://instagram.com/p/Ck_Nlq4O-i-/
Your books are ON THE MOVE. 🥳 Well, technically they have been for some time now… it’s been a long day.
Any time I ship packages I say they are “on the move” because it reminds me of Mr. Beaver saying Aslan is “ON THE MOVE” in the 1980’s Narnia. Have you seen it? That BBC mini series is the ONLY Narnia in my book. 😘
If you haven’t seen it consider this your invitation. It is a delight. 🦁❄️✨
P.S. Ebooks will go out next week! 💌
https://instagram.com/p/ClHCyUnpOqK/
The first print run is already SOLD OUT! 😱 If you want a physical book to start reading in January you’ll need to preorder this weekend. 🍂
Preorders close Monday and the next print run won’t be until Spring of 2023. ✨🌸🌱
I’m planning to restock once or twice a year so I don’t cram our bedroom floor to ceiling with book boxes. 📚😱😂
https://instagram.com/p/CllvDi-u0wg/
And just like that November comes to a close. I’ve enjoyed noveling in community this month for nanowrimo. 🍂
November for me is all about quarantining my Inner Editor and getting words down. As a recovering perfectionist this is essential to my creative process.
I get my best story ideas when I get out of my head and dive in. I have to allow myself to get something down on the page – no matter how messy it is – so I have something to work with.
This year’s novel centers a mother in a classic Fantasy novel quest. I have a lot of work left to do, but have made some big discoveries especially surrounding the mother’s neurodivergence and how that intersects with the magic system. ✨
I’ve accepted fiction writing is a slower process for me than non fiction (at least right now) so I’m planning to keep at this for a few years with a goal of self publishing.
If you want a peek at what I’m working on I’ve shared a completely unedited preview with my paying Substack subscribers. 🫣
Shifting into holiday mode and planning to weave fiction writing into my creative rhythm next year. 🍁
How do you push past imperfection to get stuff made?
Have you ever tried NaNoWriMo? It’s not for everyone, but I love it. 🥰
https://instagram.com/p/Cn7E0icOGZB/
I only have a few copies left so if you’d like to order a hardcopy for the book club don’t put it off.
I’ve chosen not to offer print on demand for this book so these books are all I have until the next print run. I’m only restocking once or twice a year (to balance my own creative ecosystem.)
https://instagram.com/p/Cqfw0bbulxY/
A reminder for local folks I will be at @nwabookfest reading and signing books today! 💫📚✏️
https://instagram.com/p/CqvOVZhuB9m/
Last week I attended my first author event @nwabookfest. It was my first time seeing my book connect in person and was so honored to be included. Thanks to everyone who came out for my reading. 🥰 I’m sharing about the experience over on Substack later today. 💌
https://instagram.com/p/CrdtX59OXLT/
We are teaming up to write the book we wish we’d had growing up as autistic kids–when we knew we were different, but didn’t know why.
Our picture book project, How it Feels to Me, is all about sensory processing and neurodiversity. The message of this book is that every sensory experience is valid, and there’s nothing wrong with you! Readers will explore how each brain experiences the world differently, learn about the concept of sensory supports, and build empathy and understanding across different neurotypes.
Our project is live on Indiegogo now! We will be crowdfunding for one week, so jump right in if you want to help bring this book to life!
If you’re planning to back the project, please do so within the first 24 hours if possible. Early pledges help us reach beyond our personal connections by offering “social proof” that we are worth investing in. We want this book to reach as many kids (and adults!) as possible, to help us all understand ourselves and each other better.
Here’s the details:
How it Feels to Me is an #ownvoices book about neurodiversity and sensory processing by an autistic author and illustrator team! You can pledge to bring this project to life at: https://igg.me/at/howitfeels
(You can also find the link in our bios.)
P.S. If you would prefer to support the project via Venmo or PayPal send us a DM and we can make it happen. 💫
https://instagram.com/p/CrtvQf0vB9Z/
They didn’t know it then–that it wasn’t their fault. That they weren’t just weird. Too loud. Too shy. Too wiggly. Strange. Loners.
That others didn’t feel things the way they did.
That lacey socks didn’t make everyone’s skin crawl.
That other people didn’t find showers torturous.
They didn’t know that there were others like them,
who also collect keys (we both do),
And struggle with change,
And feel the creeping fear of being caught, in every second of every social interaction, if they don’t appear “normal” enough.
That their “flaws” weren’t really flaws–just differences.
That there were words to describe the way they experience the world.
We both grew up undiagnosed autistic (among other things–we’re both multiply neurodivergent), and it’s hard not to feel… a bit haunted by that. To look back at our past selves and wonder if they would have felt less ashamed, discouraged, lonely, if they’d known. But we know, too, that being diagnosed at an early age doesn’t make life easy, or magically mean everyone understands you. As much as we didn’t understand ourselves, neurotypical people didn’t understand us, either. Even if we’d known we were different, we didn’t have any of the words to try to explain how. What it feels like. Why it matters.
That’s why we’re creating our picture book, How it Feels To Me.
It’s for neurotypical people, to understand more of how brains work in general, and why some of us might seem different.
It’s for neurodivergent people, to learn about themselves, & put some of how it feels into words, & find ways to express that to people who wouldn’t understand otherwise.
This book is focused on sensory processing, & the science of how brains work, but if you follow the threads deeper, it’s about a lot more than that.
In a lot of ways, we’re making it for our younger selves.
To reach back through time, & yes, give them facts and words and tools to care for themselves–but even more so, to give them a hug if they want it, and a gentle whisper:
It’s okay, darling. You’re not alone.
We are 69% funded, & there’s ONE day left! If you’d like to help make this book happen, now is the time!:
https://igg.me/at/howitfeels
(Or in our bios)
https://instagram.com/p/Cry5k5qPmZE/
Hooray! Woo Hoo! We did it!! With your help, we met (and even exceeded) our crowdfunding goal! As of late last night, How it Feels To Me was 105% funded! 🥳
THANK YOU SO MUCH, each and every one of you, for all the ways you’ve supported this project! Every pledge, share, and comment has helped us along the way, and thanks to you we’ll be able to bring this book to life. It means so much to us that you care about this project, and this topic, and want to see it happen, too. This is for all of us. 🧡
If you missed the campaign, don’t worry!–we’ve set it up so you can still preorder the limited edition hardcover copies here: http://sarahshotts.com/howitfeels
We’re so grateful, and excited–and honestly, so exhausted now. We’ll be resting up and caring for our own neurodivergent brains for awhile after this, so please don’t expect any updates for a month or so, BUT we’ll be keeping you all posted on our progress through our Substacks (also linked in our bios if you want to follow along)!
https://instagram.com/p/CuQXxO4xlOk/
Submit your writing to Entwined: Motherhood and Creativity. 🌿
The purpose of this anthology is to inspire mothers to pursue creativity, to reframe what “counts” as art, and to hold space for rest and ideation within the creative process. This isn’t just a book about making art. It’s about the whole of motherhood and how that impacts our creative process.
Meet the Creative Team
Editor / Publisher: Sarah Shotts
Cover Artwork: @twiggyboyerart
Interior Illustrations: @emilyjalinsky
Workbook Cover Artwork: @anniekingstudios
Submission Guidelines
Non fiction written works and poetry about the intersection of motherhood and the creative process. There is no strict word count requirement. Long form and short pieces are both welcome.
Anyone who identifies as a mother is invited to contribute.
Link in the bio. 💫
On this date I posted a screencap of this Substack post:
https://instagram.com/p/Cw3f_xmRtwg/
A pin for every city someone has collected my art or my book. 🥰📍🌍
This has been on my to do list for a full year so I had a lot of pins to add. Any excuse for a Carmen Sandiego reference am I right? 💃
https://instagram.com/p/CzwFICrMHZD/
Celebrating the one year book anniversary of Discover Your Creative Ecosystem with new headshots! Which should be the author portrait in my next print run?
Thanks to @tamzen_bryant for a fun photo shoot at Buckminster Fuller’s Fly Eye Dome. 📸
Last week I went on a creative pilgrimage to South Carolina.
I visited a library.
I saw a tree.
I met up with my “book club.”1
That’s the easy to digest version.
The facts, if you will.
For the uninitiated, metaphysics is:
“the branch of philosophy that deals with the first principles of things, including abstract concepts such as being, knowing, substance, cause, identity, time, and space.”2
This journey was about all of these things in a really intricate and profound way.
But first, let’s take a step back into the late 90s.
Observe Sarah, who has fallen asleep on the bed with a dictionary. Again. To the side of the bed is a stack of large thick blue books and several notebooks. If you thumbed through the notebooks you’d find clumsily written facts and lists of names.
Or carefully calligraphed prophecies.
At this point in my life I had no concept of neurodivergence or autism. But I had fallen for the deepest special interest of my life. When I wasn’t doing schoolwork or working I was thinking about these books.
The Wheel of Time.
I’ve written about this before, but it’s almost impossible to get across how important these books are to me or why. Here’s where metaphysics comes in.
It would be easy to say I love the characters, the genre, the use of language. That I’m drawn in by the depth of world building, the complexity of the magic system, and the sheer scope of the books. All of these things are true.3
Yet, I don’t think these are why I connect so deeply to this story.
It’s more ephemeral than that.
More metaphysical.
There’s something in me that feels seen by these books.
A sense of belonging and knowing that runs deeper than thought processes. A recognition at the soul level.4
The same feeling as when you meet a friend who just “gets it.” When the things that felt weird and unknowable about you become points of connection.
“You too? I thought it was just me.”
But it’s not just about similarities. Differences form this bond as well. And they expand your worldview. You begin to see the world through the eyes of your friend.
That is how I feel about these books. They see me and they also stretch me.
These characters were my peers. The fact that they weren’t real didn’t make their influence any less impactful.
I read these books at the height of my social anxiety. And I took away important lessons from the Aes Sedai. I saw their confidence and how they carried themselves in the world. I learned that perception can be more powerful than reality. And the that the truth you hear isn’t always the truth you think you hear.
I also saw teenagers leave their village and reshape the world. Everything felt possible.
When I finished the series I put the books on a shelf and didn’t touch them for a decade. (I talked about this a bit in my podcast chat with Morgan Harper Nichols.)
I didn’t realize at the time that my interests are a tool for self regulation and a lens I use to process the world. I had no idea what function they had in my life until they were no longer there.
In 2020 I hit rock bottom.
I couldn’t cope.
Then I started re-reading The Wheel of Time.
I’d forgotten how these books made me feel. I knew I loved them. But I also enjoy other stories and books that don’t have the same resonance. These stories are different.
They are etched into my bones.
When I re-read the Wheel of Time I’m always surprised at the curious mix of what I’ve retained – the details I know as if I lived them. And what became hazy over time.
There’s always something new to notice.
Sometime after that re-read I also reconnected to the Wheel of Time community. I was surprised and delighted to find there were other nerds who still loved these stories as much as I do.
It felt like rediscovering part of myself that I’d forgotten existed. My joy at listening to livestreams on The Dusty Wheel was palpable.. an embodied sense of belonging. “These are my people.”
The more time I spend in this community the more incredible I realize it is.
There’s a generosity in spirit and a value in creative joy that I haven’t seen in other corners of the internet. The more I watched these people nerding out the more I knew I needed to make time and space for this in my own life.
This January I wrote down “Wheel of Time convention” and “Pilgrimage to Robert Jordan’s Notes” as long term goals. It felt impossible at the time, but also important. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine both would happen this year.
After winning a ticket to WoT Con this summer one thing led to another and I signed up for Ogier Con – a small gathering of fans who were planning to make the pilgrimage to Charleston…together.
Instead of traveling alone I was destined to go there in community.
The wheel weaves as the wheel wills.
When I made it to the library I found myself reading Wheel of Time manuscripts with Matt Hatch, Tamrylin of Theoryland, Innkeeper of The Dusty Wheel.
In that moment, time collapsed in on itself. I existed in four timelines simultaneously:
the moment I learned these notes existed
thinking this trip was impossible
writing the intention
holding RJ’s notes in my own hand
Over time other hard core fan freaks joined us at the table. We’d each come with a different purpose.
My curiosity about RJ’s writing process doesn’t come from a desire to replicate it. I could no more write in his particular style than you could teach a bird to swim.
But I’m learning that his process was messier and more intuitive than what I had come to accept as “the right way.” It’s given me inspiration to toss out the rule book and develop a writing process that works for me.
It shakes my inner writer awake. I wondered if I’d feel that reading his notes. And I did. The more I learn about Robert Jordan’s writing process the more I see pieces of myself.
Don’t get me wrong. We’re wildly different people. But there are mundane similarities.
Looking at his notes I found lists. Facts, idioms, and so much research. He filled notebooks with information about plants and herbal remedies. Historical and mythological figures.
Other notebooks had a single list and the rest was empty.
(I vow never to feel guilty about abandoning notebooks again.) 😂
These were just the kind of notes I used to keep as a teenager. I had one small green notebook that was a collection of names – especially for writing.
I also have an obsession with collecting what I call colloquialisms. An interest originally sparked by their use in Robert Jordan’s writing, and expanded during my time living abroad.
For example, I love the contrast between
and
It’s even better with accents, trust me.
I looked up some of the phrases RJ had collected and determined they were from films. I can only imagine that he then studied those to work out how to create his own. He was an expert at this and it made his world feel rich and lived in. For example, a character who grew up in a fishing village says,
“You bore a hole in the boat and worry that it’s raining.”6
I love seeing evidence that Robert Jordan had similar drive to collect information.
Instead there were plenty of notes in a style that RJ called “rambling.”
These ramble files read almost like freewriting about the story. He seemed to craft his plot on the page. Not in an outline.
The first ramble file I read opened with a few paragraphs about Emonds Field – the houses, the economic structure, the village’s contact with the outside world (peddlers, grain traders, and gleemen.) Then he starts working through details. I love the bits where he asks himself questions or sets down two different options to consider.
“The peddler is dead(?)”7
“Tea: where does it come from?”8
“Lan falls in love with Eguene (?) or with Nyneve (?)”9
“????? the Rods of Dominion ?????”10
Many of Jordan’s early ideas are very different to what happens in the books while others remain unchanged.
I already use freewriting to process experiences in life. So it feels like a natural fit to weave that into my storytelling.
I stayed in the library until a librarian came up quietly and asked, “Did you know we close at 4?” It was 4. I thanked her and packed up. I paused to look at the display outside the library. RJ’s old desktop computer was there with a sticker,
I started a 15 minute walk to the Air B&B my rolling suitcases in tow. Along the way I serendipitously came across Ogier street. The Ogier are a forest dwelling people in the Wheel of Time who have a penchant for long winded stories and info dumps. (Sound familiar?)
I took a photo.
The rest of the weekend was an exploration of Charleston and the places that inspired the books.
We visited the Angel Oak, known affectionately by the fandom as Avendesora, the Wheel of Time’s version of the Tree of Life. I’ve seen live oaks before, but the scale of this one was otherworldly. It’s impossible to convey the sense of scale with a photograph.
The next day we walked the gardens of Harriet McDougal’s home (Robert Jordan’s widow and editor). We were given a tour by Maria Simons (Head of the Brown Ajah). Every time I thought we’d seen it all we would turn a corner or step into a passageway and discover more. A true secret garden.
I took photos of flowers to plant in my own garden next year (including these tithonia which the butterflies loved… I even spotted a monarch.)
Next, we met with military historian and author of Origins of the Wheel of Time Michael Livingston.
He talked about his own creative process and showed us around The Citadel – the military college where RJ drew inspiration for The White Tower. There was also an impromptu book signing at Robert Jordan’s desk, which is now his. Michael signed a copy of his fiction book Shards of Heaven for me, which I look forward to reading. It is a historical fantasy novel set in Ancient Rome.
I’m still processing everything I was able to see.
Most of it didn’t seem real. Kind of like seeing Big Ben for the first time.
And between every surreal moment was soul to soul connection.
The intimate size and setting of the gathering made space for expansive and meaningful conversation.
A Dreamshard, if you will.
I went looking for Robert Jordan and I found his spirit alive in these people.
If that’s not metaphysics at work I don’t know what is.
Many thanks to everyone who worked hard to make this weekend come to be, and also to every single sweet spirit who was there.
You are all doing The Light’s Work in your own way.
I’m in proper long winded Ogier mode today, but I’ll try to wrap things up.
Circling back to my creative process:
I’ll never be Robert Jordan.
No one will.
But I can be Sarah Shotts.
I can tell the stories that are important to me in the ways and timelines that are right for me. My goal isn’t capitalistic success, but creative expression. To make something that’s true to me and share it with others who may find bits of themselves in it.
I’ll always have multiple projects. But I’m learning how to them weave them together. One project bubbling away in the slow cooker. One on the stovetop. And another fermenting in a dark cupboard.11
That cupboard is where my fiction writing has been. It’s time to wake up that sourdough starter and start proving some bread.
Do you have any projects in the fermentation cupboard you’re ready to pull out?
Have you ever had a creative pilgrimage? Where did you go and what did you learn?
Cheers,
P.S. Did you miss my first post about rediscovering Wheel of Time? Catch it here.
P.P.S. Want to know more about The Wheel of Time? I wrote this for you.
We realized over the weekend that the easiest way to explain why 12 strangers were flying across the country to visit a library and an old tree was simply to call ourselves a book club. It worked on my chiropractor.
Metaphysics definition via Oxford Languages
Also true, and something I love about this fandom is that we each bring our own criticisms to these books we love. I don’t love these books in a way that is infallible. I know they are flawed. Everything human is. And I love them anyway.
Perhaps I should reread John O’Donohue’s Anam Cara with this in mind. Maybe there are answers there. (Anam Cara means “soul friend” in Gaelic.)
For the curious that’s 88 NaNoWriMo novels. The reason I went for words instead of pages.
Siuan Sanche, The Great Hunt by: Robert Jordan
Box 20, EOTW Revision #1, Filename: Ramblings, pg. 10 (James Oliver Rigney, Jr., papers, College of Charleston Libraries, Charleston, SC, USA.)
Box 24, Folder 1, TGH, “Misc Random thoughts” (James Oliver Rigney, Jr., papers, College of Charleston Libraries, Charleston, SC, USA.)
Box 24, Folder 1 “Notes on course of books” (James Oliver Rigney, Jr., papers, College of Charleston Libraries, Charleston, SC, USA.)
Box 75, Folder 2, “Additional White Goddess Notes” (James Oliver Rigney, Jr., papers, College of Charleston Libraries, Charleston, SC, USA.)
It turns out fermentation is actually a key part of my creative process, and not one I’m going to feel guilty about any more. Maybe I’ll write more about this another day.
I’ve gathered together several resources for a peek behind the curtain at my self publishing process. These include:
Sales Stats
Book Costs & Profits
IG Timeline
Personal Reflection
I hope these help to demystify the self publishing process and show that you don’t need a massive following to put your book out into the world.
Every audience is unique and mine is relatively small, but dedicated. At the time of launching my book I had:
2,147 Instagram Followers
125 Email Subscribers
The number of your email subscribers who make a purchase is called a conversion rate. A “good” conversation rate is typically 2-3%.
My Indiegogo had 27 backers which was 21.6% of my mailing list at the time.
Furthermore those backers preordered a total of 36 books.
There is no magic way to know how many people will preorder your books. A large following does not equal sales. Sometimes having a strong connection with a smaller audience can work. But it all depends on how much money you’re spending to print and publish the book, which brings us to…
A more visual perspective…
And the timeline in text form…
Hey y’all,
I hadn’t planned to send this out today, but I’ve hit a wave of creative energy and just riding it out. This should probably be 3 different emails, but I’m just rolling with it.
Maybe grab a tea or coffee for this one. ☕️
First off, I’m really excited to announce a new collaborative Substack zine called !
This is a passion project – not a side hustle.
To make the time and space for it I’m setting new Substack boundaries, sending fewer emails, and removing the paywall.
Paid subs will now get an old fashioned thank you via snail mail. 🐌💌
Hop over to this post to learn more about Neurokind…
This is part of a new intention to disentangle my art practice from capitalism.
Instead of spending time every month writing paywalled posts I’ll be redirecting that energy into passion projects.
If you pledge financial support that money will be invested in the following projects…
– a collaborative publication and exhibition space for neurodivergent artists.
Kindle Curiosity – an indie press, author incubator, and self publishing mentorship programme.
The Companionship – a creative community that puts your work and wellbeing at the center.
Here are some of the posts previously locked for my paid subscribers.
I recently moved my membership program The Companionship to an intimate, algorithm free space which I love. There are limited spots so this community will stay cozy and comfy.
The first 3 members who join this autumn will receive a free hardcover copy of my book Discover Your Creative Ecosystem.
The Companionship provides creative kinship, gentle accountability, and ongoing support.
This isn’t another “to do”.
It’s a support system.
You can choose your own adventure and engage in the way that works best for you.
P.S. There are limited sliding scale, comp, and trade spots available. Just reach out via email if you’d like to participate, but cannot due to financial hardship.
A peek into my creative process this month…
https://instagram.com/p/CyTwxzyO5Ki/
I’ve been preserving giant leaves from a self seeded papaya plant that appeared in our neglected compost heap.
I’m doing tests printing these on clothing, paper, and pressing as many as possible to make leaf imprinted pottery over winter. (Short scrappy IG video linked above.)
A few bits & bobs I’ve collected for you.
Two important reflections on heritage and identity through clothing. Tap through for the stories behind these garments.
https://instagram.com/p/CxkXMX5N9Rc/
https://instagram.com/p/CxgOf6VOC9o/
How losing your “no” impacts the creative process from .
The concept of “intentional creative dormancy” from .
This podcast sparked memories of early blogging days and my first art journal. Maybe I’ll start a new one. 💫
I‘m late to listening to this podcast episode, but I loved what Morgan and Katherine had to say about neurodivergent energy cycles, perception, and communication. It’s been weeks and I’m still thinking about it.
A visual artist I discovered during a brief fling with Tumblr. (After which I decided to set up a microblog on my own website. More about that later.)
https://instagram.com/p/CnSRedBvMn8/
Here’s what I was writing about last October…
And that’s it! There was a lot to share today. Gold star for making it this far. 🌟
Leave a comment to share a recent post of your own or let me know what resonates.
I’ll be back in November. 🍂✏️
Cheers,
