đââď¸ Welcome, writer!
Now that Iâve used my allotment of one exclamation mark per newsletter, letâs get to the good stuff.
First, this newsletter is going to be too long because Substack alerted me that itâs beenâchecks sundialâtwo months since my last newsletter.
My bad. Iâve missed you.
If youâve forgotten whoâs behind this, Iâm Blake Atwood, a nonfiction editor, author, and ghostwriter. My literary claim to nominal fame is as an early developmental editor on Atomic Habits, but Iâve worked on more than 60 books, including a few of my own.
As an editor, I know unequivocally that Iâm not a better writer than a majority of the authors Iâve worked with. So this newsletter is not offered from on high but rather from beside, both of us following that long, well-trod path of writers seeking to become just a little bit better every day.Â
If this path actually existed, Hemingwayâs quote would be on the archway above its entrance: âWe are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.â
P.S. If someone forwarded this newsletter to you and youâd like to subscribe, please do so below.Â
âQuestion of the week
How long has it been since youâve written something youâre proud of? What was it? Alternatively, if itâs been a while, whatâs gotten in the way?Â
Just hit reply if youâre reading this on email, or leave a comment if you donât mind sharing publicly.
đ New tees for writers
I really wanted to use another exclamation mark in that title.Â
But I am excited to share that I recently designedâOK, designed is a strong word choice thereâ18 T-shirts with pithy, punny sayings for writers. Hereâs a sample:
You can find them on TeePublic and Etsy. (The better deal today is on TeePublic, I believe).
I plan to release more in time, and Iâd love to hear which of the 18 current designs is your favorite.
đś Why every writer should read this book about songwriting
In college, ages ago, I took a full-semester class on the life and work of Bob Dylan.
Prior to that, I only knew Dylan as a nasally voice who seemed universally admired for his songwriting.
I didnât get it until that class.
The only reason that class came into existence was Dr. David Gainesâs insistence that it become reality. As the head of the English department and a deep Dylan fan, he had the power and the knowledge. In fact, he would go on to write In Dylan Town: A Fanâs Life, his own excellent contribution to the Dylan literary universe.
My class was the guinea pig; I believe Dr. Gaines went on to teach the class a few more times. However, I still remember with glee when he confessed to a few of us: âIf I could, Iâd teach early, middle, and late Dylan classes too.â
In other words, though the university may not have accepted that, Dylanâs oeuvre certainly had enough meat to warrant such an in-depth, prolonged inspection.
Dylanâs writing prowess would later be officially proclaimed when he won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature âfor having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.â In fact, Dr. Gaines attended the ceremony in Stockholmâthough, sadly, Bob didnât.
Dr. Gaines can be seen at 2:15 in the clip below:
As Dr. Gaines attests in that clip, some critics took offense at Dylanâs Nobel nomination and win because they donât consider his work as âcapital-L literature.â
But if youâve ever taken a deep dive into his lyrics, itâs hard to admit itâs not literature.
Songwriters have always impressed me.Â
To say so much with so little is an art.Â
To lean on words such that they carry multiple meanings is a well-honed craft.
To then devise a melody to match (or counter) the lyrics is an other-level skill.
I was again reminded of this after finishing Jeff Tweedyâs How to Write One Song, which a friendâhimself an accomplished songwriterârecommended to me last year.
Itâs a short, stellar, practical, and encouraging book for any writer.
No matter your genre, or even if you never plan to write one song, I highly recommend How to Write One Song.
Of the many quotes I could highlight, letâs go with these.
âIn the end, learning how to disappear is the best way Iâve found to make my true self visible to myself and others.â
âYou have to sound bad to sound good. . . . Being willing to sound bad is one of the most important pieces of advice that I can give you.â
âYou canât quit because thereâs a BeyoncĂŠ in the world.â
âIf you think you want to write songs but you canât find time to do something as pleasurable and lovely as making up a song, then itâs just an idea you want to have of yourself as a person who writes songs, but youâve found other things that are more important to you.â
Tweedy also offers a number of practical processes for getting your creativity moving on a productive path. These tips are worth the price of the book alone.
Tweedyâs written two books (so far). So has Dylan (so far).Â
But theyâve written hundreds if not thousands of songs.
So the takeaway Iâm taking is this, and itâs not new advice: write a song, a poem, an article, a 500-word section as often as you can on as consistent of a schedule as you can.
Donât let the hopes or worries of the future cloud your present work.
Donât let âwhat they may sayâ influence what you need to say.
Do the work today. And the next. And the next.
Let your songs become albums become collections become life become legacy.
It just starts with one song.
đť For your consideration
đď¸ Simon Owens wrote an excellent checklist in You're not optimizing your newsletter enough. In fact, Iâm following it for the newsletter youâre currently reading.
đď¸ Camilla Monk, guest posting on Jane Friedmanâs site, offers 8 Tips for Authors to Boost Their Homepage.Â
Itâs a great checklist to work through, but let me offer some hard-won advice: donât feel as if you need to knock them all out in one weekend, or that you even need to do it all yourself.
One reason I donât write as often as I should is that I get mired in the mess of all the other things seemingly required of 21st-century writers. Do what you do best; hire out the rest. Or at least donât let the peripheral work migrate into your main work.
đď¸ Josh Bernoff, also guesting on Janeâs site, published an excerpt entitled How to Write a Nonfiction Book Chapter Without Tears from his recently published book Build a Better Business Book.
I love the idea of a âfat outline,â and I especially appreciate his âone more tip.â Itâs something I preach to my clients, but itâs also something thatâs coming under increasing fire as weâre all trying to emulate Malcolm.
P.S. Iâll try not to always link to Janeâs content, but itâs always consistently good. If youâre serious about writing and publishing, you should subscribe.
If you benefitted from anything in this post, one of the best ways to motivate any writer is to share their work. So please consider doing so:
Thanks for reading, and I hope it wonât be another two months before we talk again.
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Amazingly, itâs only been a day since Iâve written something Iâm proud of. Iâm in the middle of attending the annual David R Collins conference put on by the Midwest Writing Center. Itâs always so inspirational!! I had a piece Iâve been wanting to write for about a year now! I sat down after the first day of the conference and wrote that night and then finished it (somewhat) yesterday. I need to add more to it and do some revision, but Iâm pretty happy with it so far.
Love the shirts!!!