Give thanks... to writers
Tis the season for giving thanks.
I love this a moment in our year to be optimists, to find the silver lining, to appreciate even the little things (because sometimes all we have are the little things). I hope that you have a chance to gather with family, or friends, or neighbors, or your dog (đ) and take a moment to thank them for what theyâve done to make your year better and brighter.
Thanksgiving might be my favorite American holiday, simply because it is this brief respite parked on the calendar before the BUY BUY BUY of December (although we can discuss how that has drifted earlier and earlier every year) and too-critical introspection of New Yearâs Eve (âLook forward, make resolutions to fix the things that made you unhappy this yearâ).
At Thanksgiving, we get to look around us with hope and positivity, to find good in the world and embrace the joy in life that we might miss in our day-to-day hustle. We eat, we laugh, we share. This is the one time we even get excited about eating something terrible, and we look forward to it year after year! What other holiday has that sort of âget over your problems and just enjoy lifeâ optimism?
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I reach out to you with a request and a challenge to add one more person to your âthanksâ list.
Whether you are a writer, a reader, or just someone who loves a writer or a reader, take a moment this holiday season and reach out and thank a writer who has made a difference in your life. Writers work so much in isolation, spending weeks, or months, or years on a computer, trying to bring something to life in the hopes that it makes a difference in someoneâs life. But sometimes it can be so hard to tell. When you read their book and it changes your life, I hope that you pass it on, recommend it, share it. But how often do you tell them directly?
This Thanksgiving, I ask you to reach out directly to a writer who has made a difference to you and say âthank you.â
This could mean sending an email or a text to a friend who you know is working on a book, or has published one already that you proudly display on your shelf.
It might mean jumping on Twitter (before Twitter dies?), or Instagram, and finding a writer you know and love and just messaging your Thanks!
It wonât be weird. It will make their day. And it will mean more than you might ever know.
Take a moment. Give thanks to a writer in your life.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Just one week left in NaNoWriMo! Keep up the amazing work!
This is a quick reminder that when you make it to the end, itâs a great idea to find a coach or editor to help you bring order to the chaos and give you that 30,000ft view of what youâve accomplished.
Your hard work is worth writing forward, but it can be hard to do when youâve been up so close to it for the last month. Thatâs what Iâm here for!
Iâm offering a full review and planning call for your Nonfiction or Memoir NaNoWriMo project in December and January (sometimes you just need a break - I get it).
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P.S. If youâre writing fiction, a number of my fabulous coaching friends have pulled together their deals over at www.nanonowwhat.com