A January Writing Challenge
How I wrote a book while working remotely with two toddlers in a pandemic. Plus: an update to the Substack!
Happy New Year! I want to kick off 2025 by thanking all of you and saying how much I’ve enjoyed this space and your comments. It’s been great to see all the new subscribers in the past week; I look forward to hearing from many of you.
Today, a little update about the Substack, and the launch of a January writing challenge, aimed at those of you who are busy with jobs, commitments, parenting, and, well, life.
First, as I noted yesterday, after much reflection, my posts about writing and craft and analyzing essays, poems, and fiction will be moving to a paywall structure. This will allow me to spend time crafting thoughtful posts that aim to be helpful guides to common writing and editing issues and questions, drawing on my experience as an editor, and my practice as a poet and nonfiction writer who works in a variety of modes. I’m also going to open the chat to questions in Office Hours at least once a month.
I’m really looking forward to being in dialogue with all of you, and answering your writing and publishing questions. I’ll kick off with an Ask Me Anything about publishing, editing, and submitting work for paid subscribers tomorrow in the chat.
Second, I’d love your help in spreading the word and making this as useful to you as it can be. If you want to help this space become more visible within the platform and to the algorithm, you can do the following:
Click the “Like” button on posts.
Share posts with those you think might enjoy them.
Comment: I love to hear from readers.
Send along your ideas for craft and and publishing questions you’d like to see addressed. Your input will make this better!
Last but not least: I’m going to launch 2025 with a writing challenge! It’s something that helped me write my first two books while working a full-time job (first at The New Yorker, then at Slate), and then helped me write The Invisible Kingdom while working remotely with two toddlers at home during the pandemic. It’s very simple but very effective for those of you struggling to find time…
Your January Challenge
Starting today, I’d like to ask you to do one thing:
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