Sometimes all you've got is the chair
Fortunately that's all you need
I’ve been thinking a lot about “belief” lately. What I believe about myself as a writer, a novelist, an author. What I believe will or even can happen in my future. What I believe about my abilities in the present. And I’ve been really working on believing in my own success.
This is a good thing, because things went sideways this week in a way that makes me feel sort of unmoored.
The chair is my anchor. And by “chair,” I mean the place my physical body resides while I write. For some people this is a bed or a standing desk or a spot on the floor or the car during kids’ soccer practice. Wherever that place is for you, honor it. It’s the place that holds you while your mind goes into the realm that the poet Keats called “negative capability.” By which he meant—or I am understanding him to have meant—the ability to tolerate the unformed unknown, without grasping after premature certainty. It can be a hard place to get to, and a hard place to dwell in. But it’s where creative work is its most fertile.
One thing I know I believe, is that the only way I’m going to reach my goals and become the novelist I want to be, is to settle my body in the chair, enter that negative capability, and do the work. And the work itself is the point.
We hope you’ll join us for writing time on Mondays at noon or Thursdays at 8pm Eastern time. If you join as a paid subscriber or use the free trial, you’ll get another email with Zoom links. When you go to that unformed space where the words are born, it’s nice to have company.
—Sara
P.S. For everyone doing #1000wordsofsummer… GO TEAM GO!!!
Times to Write in June
To participate, become a paid subscriber. We will send Zoom links in a separate email.
Synchronous writing times are loose and welcoming—need to show up late or leave early? No problem! Just turn off your mic/camera as you enter the Zoom. Often, we’ll rename ourselves in the Zoom to indicate what time we’re reconvening to chat. And if you’re on a roll and don’t want to chat, then no worries—just keep doing what you’re doing!
Sunday, June 15, all day: Asynchronous writing time on the chat
Monday, June 16, noon ET: Zoom writing time (90 minutes)
Thursday, June 19, 8pm ET: Zoom writing time (90 minutes)
Monday, June 23, noon ET: Zoom writing time (90 minutes)
Thursday, June 26, 8pm ET: Zoom writing time (90 minutes)
Sunday, June 29, all day: Asynchronous writing time on the chat
Monday, June 30, noon ET: Zoom writing time (90 minutes)