Jumpstarting My Creative Discipline
A few faves for when life has completely derailed your artistic practice
On Tuesday night, I landed in Lima’s Jorge Chavez International Airport with three suitcases hitting their weight limit, one carry-on brimming with books and notebooks, and a backpack heavy with all my tech needs (laptop, iPad, an embarrassing number of chargers). I’m camping out in my hometown for a few months while I reset my whole life. I needed a break from exorbitant NYC rental prices. A respite from wearing myself thin to cover expenses, especially after a medical emergency. There are family reasons—aging parents, brand new nephews, the usual obligations and delights of someone in their 40s.
Overall, though, I needed to reconnect with my writing under benevolent circumstances aka not having all the financial stress of the past two years overwhelming most of my mental space. I’ve indeed accomplished more than I thought possible, given The Worst Year insisted on throwing me every curve ball known to man. No one would have faulted me for giving up on my art altogether, at least not for a bit. I’m proud that I didn’t, but the only times I could muster real momentum was in intense spurts, like attending residencies. I want more than spurts. I want a mundane kind freedom to focus on my silly little essays without caving into bankruptcy.
Lima is my safety net, one I’m beyond lucky to have. But now I’m here! Soooo…what is the grand plan exactly? LOL.
At first, I was going to title this “Jumpstarting My Creativity”, but I’m not lacking ideas. They’ve been simmering away in my mind, while I languished in a hospital bed, while I pawned off my clutter at a garage sale, while I toasted to my new life stage at Brooklyn bars. Right now, I have messy notes on the following:
15 pitch ideas
Poetry collection
Family memoir
Article/podcast idea on a family mystery
Instagram account to archive a micro food scene in Lima (truly a labor of love because I’m way too behind on “best practices” to become — or even want— to be an influencer, lord save us all)
Juicier, more reported, deeper essays for this Substack
I’m not lacking creativity. But I am sorely lacking creative discipline, at least right now. If writing is a muscle that needs consistent exercise, mine is akin to whatever happens to your glutes when you’ve been sitting on your ass for months binge-watching both the US and international versions of The Ultimatum. It gets harder to get on your feet and go for a walk. My brain is aching for some structure. I’ve been here enough times to know that I need a gimmick. The universe, my old foe, has thankfully offered them to me at the best time.
My friend Erica went deep into The Artist’s Way earlier in the year, which reminded me that it existed LOL. I bought a copy of the book during my senior year of college when the looming terror of trying to make it as a writer kept me up at night. I don’t remember too much about that initial experience, but I’ve called journaling “morning pages” ever since (though it’s rarely 3 and I do them whenever) and I schedule artist dates for myself so frequently that I just consider them part of my normal routine. I doubt I completed any of the exercises because 22-year-old me was the type of pretentious snob wannabe who found them corny. Now, I’m corny-ing it up! Whatever it takes to exorcise my demons.
(By the way, I happened to literally find a free, intact copy of The Artist’s Way on a NYC stoop right when I was deciding whether to embark on it again or not, which is one of those Signs From the Universe that I find oh-so convincing.)
Then, I started my summer (now winter, sobs loudly, #SouthernHemisphereProblems) the way I always do: by signing up for 1,000 Words of Summer and challenging myself to keep up that pace for all 14 days. I usually give up after Day 5 LMAO. This year, I haven’t been able to write much beyond morning pages because a TRANSCONTINENTAL MOVE is one of those irritating processes that take over your entire life. Now that I’m settled though, I’m catching up. Could this be the year I write all 14,000 words in two weeks? Does it even matter? Despite abandoning ship every single year, 1,000 Words is effective in getting me to write at least a little bit each day—a habit that sticks with me long after Jami Attenberg has sent her final letter. I’m excited to dig into her book for more motivation.
Finally, I signed up for an online poetry workshop via Brooklyn Poets. I wrote verses back in high school, the kind of cringe-worthy emo output that make you groan (and grow! hahaha). Always the good student, I’m incredibly motivated by deadlines and external validation. Give me an assignment and I’m the most prolific human this side of Corin Tellado.
You can see that the three methods of jumpstarting my discipline share some traits. There’s a clear structure in place, whether it’s a word count or a specific number of tasks to complete. Time plays into this as well, since you are supposed to experience them for a set period time. Someone else is guiding the process. What can I say? I love a boundary!
However, I’m also running on the natural high I get from novelty, a fresh start. Yes, I come to Peru at least once a year, but always with the mentality of someone on vacation and a mandate to focus on my family as much as possible. The Lima that’s unfolding in front of me right now, where I’m expected to make friends, have a gym schedule, find a co-working space, all that day-to-day shit—it’s a mystery. I haven’t lived here since I was 19. I might as well be in a completely foreign city. I find that intoxicating. And all I want to do is take that energy and write, write, write about it.
Homework
Check out of one of my tried-and-true methods for jumpstarting a writing/creative practice or look for one that best fits your art. A few off the top of my head that I know about is NaNoWriMo, Inktober, NaPoWrimo, 52 Frames, and the 48 Hour Film Project. If you know of any others, please share in the comments!
State of My Wallet
May Invoiced: $5,912.42
May Received: $4,163.66
Moving took over my entire life. Marketing my services? Sending out pitches? Applying for gigs? I don’t know her. To be honest, selling my furniture and a whole assortment of stuff covered most of my moving costs and I had enough work on my plate last month to want to add more during an already hectic time.
I’m well aware I need to rev up my content marketing and translation work too, but right now I can’t tell if my slow year is due to my roller coaster of a life or the weird vibes economy. Alicia Kennedy wrote about the ongoing freelancer angst in media and Jeanna Kadlec also mentioned lean times in her newsletter. Every freelancer I know is in a famine cycle, whether they’re writers or offer totally different services. Every full-time worker I know is frantically applying for jobs and bracing themselves for layoffs. (Let’s be honest, some wish for them to enjoy a few months of severance-paid rest before returning to this grueling thing we call a career.)
All to say that, I don’t know what’s going on ! I don’t know how we’re all surviving! But an eternal thank you to everyone who supports my work because that money is more than pocket change, at this point. It covers a bill or two.
Progress Report
Received two rejections! On to the next ones.
Substackers for Palestine’s Children Relief: A Fundraiser
In the midst of all this chaos, I’m certain I missed instructions for how to participate in the Substackers for Palestine’s Children Relief Fundraiser. My apologies to messing everything up! At the very least, I wanted to bring it to your attention and invite you to contribute, if you can. Per Mikala Jamison’s post:
According to PRCF:
“The funds raised will primarily focus on immediate relief, including providing essential medical supplies, food, medical treatment, clean water, and other necessities ... additionally, our campaign will support rebuilding healthcare facilities and providing long-term support through impactful programs and projects ... it will also allocate resources towards trauma counseling, mental health support, and other initiatives.”
You can donate here.
Shameless Self-Promotion
Thanks to all my new minty-fresh subscribers and to everyone still here after my rebrand! Your support means a lot. As a reminder, paid subscription includes:
Samples of my pitches & rates, applications, and spreadsheets & templates
Weekly, virtual write-ins (resuming next week!)
Access to the full archive (free posts go behind a paywall after a year)
I’m still looking for house-sitting/pet-sitting opportunities in NYC and Chicago for August and September. I’m also open to scoping out other locations at other times, so if you need someone to take care of Fluffy while you’re away, let me know.
I’d love to book up my June-August with freelance assignments! I’m still looking for more work in these areas:
Overseeing Spanish-language recording sessions. I really miss it!
Editorial/long-form work especially for universities, trade publications or non-profits.
Journalistic and other media translation, including slogans, radio spots, subtitles, etc.
Interview-based pieces. Think About Me sections, profiles, internal reports, etc.
Half-hour, virtual Tarot readings are back on! The suggested donation is $40. Books yours here.
If you ever want to peruse all the books I recommend in the newsletter, head over to my Bookshop bookstore!
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Pease get a gig in Chicago so we can hang out and eat delicious things!