WHERE'S KATE, GHOSTWRITING AND CALMING DOWN

LIFE OF A BOOKMAN

Bookman: 1. a person who has a love of books and especially of reading. 2. a person who is involved in the writing, publishing, or selling of books. Oh, hi that's me!!

Calling all writers: I'm finishing a truly gorgeous book that I can't wait to tell you about next week. Until then... here's a throwback for anyone itching to write: Story Genius, by Lisa Cron. This was one of the first bits of homework my writing coach gave me. It's a guided experience around what makes a story work, how to outline your way there, and what it looks like to write a character-driven book. If you want to be a better storyteller, this will help. If you've got a secret idea for a novel, start here. 



What I'm writing: That Novel is on a journey to her next phase. This week I had a calm come over me like, “It can take as long as it needs. Wherever she ends up will be perfect.” I felt my whole body relax because I can't control what happens or the timing anyway, so why think/strategize/analyze as if I can? Maybe I should start telling myself this about other areas of my life because it really does turn the pressure down.

WOMEN'S STUDIES

What gets passed down becomes our history. A few for the canon: I don't have a single group text that has left the “Where's Kate?” topic untouched. It's amazing to me how absolutely unraveled this entire thing has become. I'm not so invested in where Kate Middleton is (likely resting, recovering, recouping) as much as I'm invested in how we got here. How the Palace lost the plot on this entire thing and made it much, much worse (and sent it mainstream). Then, I read Culture Study's Unraveling of a Royal Fairytale. It's an incredible analysis of the Royal narrative once portrayed by its ever-beautiful and willing star, Princess Catherine of Wales, and how this “Where's Kate?” plot line went so terribly wrong (for them).


PASS IT ON

Stories are heirlooms. Here's one of mine: I've been ghostwriting books for the last five years. When I was working toward getting my first book You're Not Lost published, never did I dream that I'd get to turn out book after book without ever having to be the expert or have my name on it (or make great money doing it). Ghostwriting is a joy. I get to work with wildly interesting, accomplished, and fascinating people. I get to live out my life's work making sure their stories don't go untold. AND, it's such a siloed expertise which can be frustrating at times. Then a friend sent me this article in The Guardian, The Secret Life of a Celebrity Ghostwriter and I felt myself nodding along to most of it. There's so much in this that I can relate to, albeit not all of it. And since so many people who find out that I ghostwrite are bewildered to find out that “this is a thing that even exists”, much less the fact that “I do it”...I thought you'd find it a fun read! Don't ask me who I've written for though; I'll never tell :)

xx