Writing always starts small

How's your year shaping up so far, Reader?

For many people, the best-laid plans for the year are crashing headlong into reality, in big ways and small. If you're affected by the fires in Los Angeles, my heart goes out to you. If you have an unexpected illness, or a family member to care for, or any other unexpected situation, you're not alone.

Life is messy.

In mid-January, the bulk of the year lies before us, unwritten. It may well be filled with surprises.

But we have this day. This hour. This moment. What will you do with it?

How do you string together small moments into something meaningful, even amidst chaos or uncertainty? That's the challenge of writing, and of life itself. And, it's a theme for this week's email, which includes:

1. Reflections on the January Voice exercise: Reading aloud and listening
2. January's book drawing: The Art of Noticing
3. Your writing inspiration for the day: Embracing the small

Are you reading aloud?

If you're playing along with my year-long Writing Voice adventure, January is about reading passages from other writers aloud and listening. (Find the challenge here if you missed it.) Pick up books you have around and read the opening passages aloud.

(You might warn the people you live with that you're doing this so they don't think you're losing it.)

My page of notes is growing—this is a great way to jump-start your writing inspiration for the year!

Want to see an example of how I do this? Watch this short video on YouTube for inspiration!

​Watch the video here.​

Book Drawing: The Art of Noticing by Rob Walker

The subtitle for this book describes it best: "131 Ways to Spark Creativity, Find Inspiration, and Discover Joy in the Everyday." You'll find 131 small practices to try, which may inspire you to show up differently in your life. So. Much. Fun.

To enter the drawing:

• Respond by Sunday, January 19
• In your email, describe one thing you noticed by simply opening your attention. Could be small — the particular color blue on a book cover, or the pattern the bare branches make outside your window. Or bigger. Anything that catches your attention in a way that you enjoy.

Paying attention to the small things might inspire your writing.

Writing in the margins

What if our writing doesn't have to be a big deal? What if the small things count: the beautifully crafted post, a short poem, an essay you share with the world or friends? A collection of tiny insights? (Some of my favorite books are collections of small, bite-sized insights.)

This week's writing post has three ideas to help you find time for your writing, whether you're getting unstuck on a big project or simply trying to shoehorn creativity into a busy calendar.

Read the post online

Other news

The Curious Reader's Field Guide to Nonfiction has been honored by the Digital Books Today awards in the Literary category! Thanks to everyone who has supported this book! If you don't have a copy yet, get yours now:

• Ask your local indie bookstore to order it for you, or buy it from BookShop.org​
• ​Find it on Amazon​
• ​Get the PDF directly from me. (Discounted for my email list.)

That, my friend, is all for now. Whatever the year throws at us, keep writing. Find the small spaces for creativity. And, enter the book drawing!

Until next time.

Anne

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