It’s morning. I have a few minutes of quiet before the alarm goes off and Jarrett wakes up and the house comes to life. But these few minutes of quiet with a blank sheet of paper and a steaming mug of coffee—they make my whole day.

No matter what else happens in my day—the chaos, the surprises, the worry, the dishes (oh, the dishes!)—I always feel better if I start my day by doing something creative and making headway on a big project. From there, the rest of the day feels like downhill skiing.

Moments like that are precious, and I know we’re all craving more of them. More time to write. More space in our schedules for creativity. More quiet in our homes so we can think, for pete’s sake. And much more energy for the things we want to bring our best selves to.

But if I’ve learned one thing it’s that having a creative life of your own isn’t a luxury—it’s a need. It invigorates you. It brings you to life. It makes you feel like you again. 

That’s why I’m so proud to share with you something special I’ve been working on. Over the past 5 years of writing this blog, I’ve been listening to your stories of feeling squeezed in your creative lives, feeling uncertain about publishing, feeling doubtful you can do it at all.

At the same time, I’ve spent the past 5 years as a literary agent (and 5 more as an editor) watching the people who are doing it all—the bestselling authors, the career writers, the artists, the cooks, the bloggers who finally got to make that book they’ve always dreamed of.

And here’s a secret: they’re struggling with the exact same fears, doubts, and scheduling snafus as you are. We all are.

But after 10+ years of what I jokingly refer to as Author Adventure Academy, I’ve learned some of the tricks, tips, and most importantly, foundational habits, that have helped the most successful creators power through anything to get That Big Thing done.

Now, I want to teach those habits to you—not as a course, not as a book, not as any online program. (Those are all great, but they have their limits.) Instead, I want to give you the actual items and the actual plan that you can start using every single day to make big progress toward your creative goals.

I really want 2019 to be the year we all stop saying “I want to write that book” “I want to make that thing” “I want to take that risk” and start doing it. Because spoiler alert: the doing is insanely fun once you get past the whole scared-poopless part.

Sound like the kind of 2019 you want to have?

 

Click here to find out more!

 

 

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What I’m reading this week

1. Oh, the drama.
2. 17 inspiring gifts for writers (I want #16 so desperately).
3. Click for the adorable graphics; stay for all the amazing book recs (I spy Season, by my author, Nik Sharma)!
4. Stuck? Here are 252 ways to get going again.
5. Vacations are really just an excuse to create a travel reading list, aren’t they? Yes, yes they are, I tell myself.

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What we’re eating this week

Guys, we are just hanging on. I’ve been working so hard on my Big Thing (see above) that meal planning, cooking, and even grocery shopping are kind of nonexistent around here now.

Current state of the fridge: 4 eggs, 8 florets of boiled broccoli, one prosciutto butt that I don’t know what to do with, almond milk, and…SCENE. (I feel like there’s a Chopped challenge in there, but not even I would watch it.)

And apparently, Pepper feels the same.

Monday: Rooted around in the freezer and found drumsticks, ground sausage, and Trader Joe’s frozen root vegetables. Cooked them, ate them, then it was over. I give this show a 1-star review.

Tuesday: Rooted around in pantry and found a bag of Rancho Gordo beans I’ve been saving for a week juuust like this one. Cooked them plain because I just cannot with the chopping this week. Yelp review would read: “Great ingredients and menu items, but the chef sucked.”

Wednesday: Jarrett’s in DC, so yes, I will eat Trader Joe’s frozen ravioli alone on the couch while working. Trader Joe’s gets a 5-star review for literally keeping me alive.

Thursday: OMG I don’t know. We might die.

Friday: Sweet Mary please let us go out to dinner; I PROMISE I’ll cook SO MUCH next week.

Cheers!