Anne is such a beautiful character to relate to. My kids cheered when we finished the book. 🩵 I love what Amy said about working hard on the process and worrying less about the end result. I also love seeing glimpses of people’s writing space. Thanks Amanda & Amy!
Thanks so much for your comment. Did you show your kids the 1985 Anne of Green Gables mini series? I haven't seen it in years, but I remember loving it.
"I’ve applied all the writing advice and have literally edited myself down to a blank page. It felt like a constant game of Twister. I’d have one hand on red, put my foot on green, and keep going like that. My voice just got so awkward and self-conscious that it couldn’t hold itself up anymore."
I appreciated this so much. I do use an AI-based editing tool to catch basic grammar stuff that I'm really bad at, but I balk at the way it attacks my word choice or sentence structure. And then you add actual people on top of that who all have opinions about your style. I'm glad that Amy has gotten so clear about preserving her own voice, which it seems to me is supposed to be the point of the creativity business. I hope folks reading this will take it to heart for themselves as well.
I hope so. I love reading distinct voices. I think we've all fallen in love with a writer after the first paragraph, not because of what it said, but because of how it was said. Yet, we keep telling each other to read the same writing books. It seems like I can't go anywhere without someone mentioning Stephen King's On Writing, and if you read his work, you see that he doesn't even follow his own advice!
I think it's because we're trying to take something that's inherently subjective and turn into something objective.
I've turned off all the grammar editing tools. This means that I sometimes put stuff out with embarrassing mistakes in it. I guess I feel like it's worth it to not feel harassed by a machine while I'm writing.
It IS!! Or else 'nerd-power' of weedom wouldn't have gotten any subscriptions in this 1st year of SubStack life. Attracting readers is definitely a learned, not innate skill, which accrues very slowly, but it's happening. Those Substack Office Hours people are often helpful.
I get tips and tricks and reminders from it, which have helped with growth. Also dropping helpful comments there sometimes directly gets people to look at your Stack. Notes helps too.
such great questions posed at the end of this terrific interview
One way my writing changed over time is that I began to see it all as a lifelong body of work ... when I was younger, each individual piece of writing mattered so much. Today, it matters in that moment of working on it but also it isn't the be all, end all. I give myself to it then I release it into the world and let it find who it's meant to find. I keep working on the whole body ... and I follow my curiosities more easily because I recognize that if I could look back from a vantage point of 100 years from now the whole trajectory will make sense even if it's all confused meandering paths now
I love how you're framing a very open-handed sort of "creative faith" here, Kathryn. I relate a lot to needing to ultimately trust that what I give to the world will reach who needs it most. Love this reminder. Thank you for sharing.🫶
I share it all the time but I pretty much live by Martha Graham's quote: “There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open"
I love this so much Kathryn. Thank you for sharing it.
I appreciate what you're saying about looking at the whole body, not an individual piece. I can get caught up in the details, sometimes. I do this while researching literary journals for submission. I get so worried about the trajectory of a certain piece that no place seems like the "right" fit. So, in the end, nothing gets submitted.
It always helps to take the long view when practicing what we hope to be a lifelong vocation.
I can definitely still get wrapped up in those details but it helps a lot when I remind myself of that bigger picture. The piece will work or it won't ... it may become the foundation for another piece later ... it may just go on a blog and seem not to matter at all but then five years later someone stumbles across the blog and leaves a comment about how much it impacted them. We can't really know what the work is going to do in the world so I try to just do my best with it then let it get out there. <3 <3
Hi, I really enjoyed this interview, thanks Amy and Amanda! I’m not a writer, I’m an illustrator, and I came back to art in my late thirties (nearly ten years ago) after a childhood and teenage good drawing all the time, and a belief I would be an “artist” when I grew up. I really relate to what you say about developing your practice. The main thing I feel it’s about it learning self trust. At first you feel there are some rules to follow, and you will be there, but as you say, that leads you to a point where all you can do is blend in with your talent in the most bland way, so then you have to start to break the rules and find your own voice. I think working consistently is really important (for me anyway), and having a daily practice means that I get more and more fluent. I know what I want to do (mostly) when I approach the paper, and my intuition races ahead of my judging, critical brain. Anyway, I’m getting carried away, thinking about the creative process! So interesting to read your journey. I am in the middle of an ADHD diagnosis and it has been very healing, and helps me understand many things in my past that I couldn’t understand why I did. And now I am learning to allow myself to be, without trying to constantly tidy myself up, and tightly pack myself away always!
I'm glad that you found this helpful, Ella. I studied drawing in college, and I learned a lot about the creative process there. I think it helped me move forward as a writer.
This is such a generous and perceptive interview! Sometimes I wonder if the most unique and smartest voices aren't the most vulnerable to self-doubt and "editing down to a blank page" while others blaze on confidently ahead.
I don't know, but that's a very kind thing to say, Alicia. I think people prone to self-doubt spend a lot of time thinking about what we want to say and how we want to say it. Maybe that's why we come off as much smarter than we would if we were just speaking off the cuff.
Also, right now, as a society, we're suffering from loud-stupid-people-itis, so it feels like it's everywhere.
I just realized that today is the day I have on my calendar to reach out to see if you would like to set up virtual tea. But also that notes on each others walls (or whatever these are called) is how we communicate. I’m reachable via my full name at gmail. If you’d like to coordinate. If you’re still feeling like your plate is full, no worries at all. Time is sort of imaginary anyway.
I remember you talking about that book ages ago. I still haven't read it, yet. I'm going to go to the library right now and see if I can get it.
Anne is such a beautiful character to relate to. My kids cheered when we finished the book. 🩵 I love what Amy said about working hard on the process and worrying less about the end result. I also love seeing glimpses of people’s writing space. Thanks Amanda & Amy!
Thanks so much for your comment. Did you show your kids the 1985 Anne of Green Gables mini series? I haven't seen it in years, but I remember loving it.
Yes! That was the one I grew up watching - but their favorites adaptation was the new Anne with an E on Netflix ❤️
Yeah, I liked Anne with an E on Netflix, too. I should rewatch it, sometime.
"I’ve applied all the writing advice and have literally edited myself down to a blank page. It felt like a constant game of Twister. I’d have one hand on red, put my foot on green, and keep going like that. My voice just got so awkward and self-conscious that it couldn’t hold itself up anymore."
I appreciated this so much. I do use an AI-based editing tool to catch basic grammar stuff that I'm really bad at, but I balk at the way it attacks my word choice or sentence structure. And then you add actual people on top of that who all have opinions about your style. I'm glad that Amy has gotten so clear about preserving her own voice, which it seems to me is supposed to be the point of the creativity business. I hope folks reading this will take it to heart for themselves as well.
I hope so. I love reading distinct voices. I think we've all fallen in love with a writer after the first paragraph, not because of what it said, but because of how it was said. Yet, we keep telling each other to read the same writing books. It seems like I can't go anywhere without someone mentioning Stephen King's On Writing, and if you read his work, you see that he doesn't even follow his own advice!
I think it's because we're trying to take something that's inherently subjective and turn into something objective.
I've turned off all the grammar editing tools. This means that I sometimes put stuff out with embarrassing mistakes in it. I guess I feel like it's worth it to not feel harassed by a machine while I'm writing.
This reminds me of that line—Maya Angelou?—about how people won’t remember what you say; they’ll remember how you made them feel. 🧡
Truth! The homogenous voices are vulnerable to AI.
Every writer who can coherently put their words together has their unique audience.
Sometimes a 'diagnosis' gets in the way of our development and ability to adapt.
"Every writer who can coherently put their words together has their unique audience."
I really hope that's true.
It IS!! Or else 'nerd-power' of weedom wouldn't have gotten any subscriptions in this 1st year of SubStack life. Attracting readers is definitely a learned, not innate skill, which accrues very slowly, but it's happening. Those Substack Office Hours people are often helpful.
Oh? I'm glad to hear you're finding your niche. I haven't looked at Office Hours in ages. I never feel like I have the extra brain space for it.
I get tips and tricks and reminders from it, which have helped with growth. Also dropping helpful comments there sometimes directly gets people to look at your Stack. Notes helps too.
such great questions posed at the end of this terrific interview
One way my writing changed over time is that I began to see it all as a lifelong body of work ... when I was younger, each individual piece of writing mattered so much. Today, it matters in that moment of working on it but also it isn't the be all, end all. I give myself to it then I release it into the world and let it find who it's meant to find. I keep working on the whole body ... and I follow my curiosities more easily because I recognize that if I could look back from a vantage point of 100 years from now the whole trajectory will make sense even if it's all confused meandering paths now
I love how you're framing a very open-handed sort of "creative faith" here, Kathryn. I relate a lot to needing to ultimately trust that what I give to the world will reach who needs it most. Love this reminder. Thank you for sharing.🫶
Yes, faith is a great word for it.
I share it all the time but I pretty much live by Martha Graham's quote: “There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open"
I love this so much Kathryn. Thank you for sharing it.
I appreciate what you're saying about looking at the whole body, not an individual piece. I can get caught up in the details, sometimes. I do this while researching literary journals for submission. I get so worried about the trajectory of a certain piece that no place seems like the "right" fit. So, in the end, nothing gets submitted.
It always helps to take the long view when practicing what we hope to be a lifelong vocation.
I can definitely still get wrapped up in those details but it helps a lot when I remind myself of that bigger picture. The piece will work or it won't ... it may become the foundation for another piece later ... it may just go on a blog and seem not to matter at all but then five years later someone stumbles across the blog and leaves a comment about how much it impacted them. We can't really know what the work is going to do in the world so I try to just do my best with it then let it get out there. <3 <3
You're so right about that.
I love the phrase about following your curiosities
Wow, such a fascinating interview. It was great to hear about Amy and her writing. Such brilliant insights. Thank you, both!
Thank you for reading it!
Hi, I really enjoyed this interview, thanks Amy and Amanda! I’m not a writer, I’m an illustrator, and I came back to art in my late thirties (nearly ten years ago) after a childhood and teenage good drawing all the time, and a belief I would be an “artist” when I grew up. I really relate to what you say about developing your practice. The main thing I feel it’s about it learning self trust. At first you feel there are some rules to follow, and you will be there, but as you say, that leads you to a point where all you can do is blend in with your talent in the most bland way, so then you have to start to break the rules and find your own voice. I think working consistently is really important (for me anyway), and having a daily practice means that I get more and more fluent. I know what I want to do (mostly) when I approach the paper, and my intuition races ahead of my judging, critical brain. Anyway, I’m getting carried away, thinking about the creative process! So interesting to read your journey. I am in the middle of an ADHD diagnosis and it has been very healing, and helps me understand many things in my past that I couldn’t understand why I did. And now I am learning to allow myself to be, without trying to constantly tidy myself up, and tightly pack myself away always!
I'm glad that you found this helpful, Ella. I studied drawing in college, and I learned a lot about the creative process there. I think it helped me move forward as a writer.
I love Elisabeth Gilbert! When she replies to one of my letters from love, I die. ❤️
I love her, too. I'm not a paid subscriber, so I haven't been able to comment. I'm on the fence about whether or not to join.
Amy,
you are a writer in the truest sense of the word. Don't ever stop. Keep modeling what is possible.
Pat
Pat, you are so kind. You are one of the braces against me that has kept me from falling over this past year.
This is such a generous and perceptive interview! Sometimes I wonder if the most unique and smartest voices aren't the most vulnerable to self-doubt and "editing down to a blank page" while others blaze on confidently ahead.
I don't know, but that's a very kind thing to say, Alicia. I think people prone to self-doubt spend a lot of time thinking about what we want to say and how we want to say it. Maybe that's why we come off as much smarter than we would if we were just speaking off the cuff.
Also, right now, as a society, we're suffering from loud-stupid-people-itis, so it feels like it's everywhere.
We all help each other. I am keeping my eyes out for memoir publishers.
Thank you, Pat. I still haven't gotten around to revising it, again, yet! I keep promising myself it'll be soon and then things keep coming up.
I just realized that today is the day I have on my calendar to reach out to see if you would like to set up virtual tea. But also that notes on each others walls (or whatever these are called) is how we communicate. I’m reachable via my full name at gmail. If you’d like to coordinate. If you’re still feeling like your plate is full, no worries at all. Time is sort of imaginary anyway.