Editorial Notes = clarifying information, additional insight, annotations

Hiya Reader,

It's a pretty divisive topic in my family, but I absolutely love Good & Plenty. I like black licorice of all kinds, but the chummy pink and white ovals of yumminess are my favorites. I like them when they are hard to chew. I like them when they are super soft. I really like them, Sam I Am!

Recently, I saw the movie theater boxes on the store shelf and wondered, why do I never buy these any more? So I bought a box and consumed the whole thing. Then I bought more boxes. Then I ordered a case.

Perhaps you see where this is going. I remember now why I stopped buying this candy: I cannot be trusted. I will eat them well past the point of sickness. If there's a support group for addicts, I really need to join the next meeting.

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Example of the Week

Sometimes this is a good example—or a great one. Sometimes this is a bad example—or just a funny blooper. Sometimes a combination. You never know.

See these three shelves of books?

They are all on hold for my daughter. Could I be prouder that I raised readers? No. No, I can't.

Unlike Good & Plenty (ahem) you can never have too many books on your "want to read" list. Writers are often given the advice to read a lot. But beyond being a good idea to support and consume what you aspire to do, why, exactly, does just the mere fact of reading improve your own writing?

Well, for one thing, reading shows you a wide variety of sentence structures, rhythms, and ways of organizing thoughts. Whether or not you are reading “intentionally,” you’re (unconsciously) absorbing how writers approach craft and internalizing your own approach.

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Actionable Tip of the Week

A trick to add to your self-editing toolbox right now!

One of the most effective ways to bring life and movement into your writing is to... [continue reading the article]​

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Reader Question of the Week

Joanna wrote: What motivates you to write?

Joanna! Honestly, I don’t know, except that... it’s just what I do. It’s how I’ve always thought of myself.

My brother and sister were so much older that by the time I was in elementary school they were both already off at college. So, I grew up like an only child. We were practically a generation apart. That meant I spent a lot of time alone. Books were my friends. The characters in them, the stories—they were my world. I’d read my favorites over and over. I lived in a very small town where the library was just a short walk away, and it was safe enough (especially back then) that I could go as often as I wanted by myself. I’d bring home these giant sacks of books, plop down, and read through them all. Usually, I’d be back the next day for more.

Yes, I did go outside—but, you know, I was that kid sitting under a tree with a book.

So I also tried to write my own great books. They were terrible, of course. The usual childhood stuff. But I loved it. And I’ve always known it’s what I needed to do, because it helps me make sense of the world. Of my thoughts. My brain is... well, it’s basically a gerbil on a never-ending wheel. I’ll even wake myself up in the middle of the night in a panic because my mind just won’t stop going. Writing became my way of sorting through it all — organizing the chaos. So I guess the real reason I write is because I have to. It’s just how I function.

Now, that said—I’m also extremely good at procrastinating. My house is always really clean. Not because I prefer cleaning over writing, but because, well, it’s a great distraction. Writing takes so much out of me — it’s so intense and immersive — that I’ll lose hours, sometimes whole days, when I’m in the right zone. I’m not visual — I’m verbal, like a lot of people, but mostly through text. Language has always come easily to me, but I’ve also spent a lifetime working at it.

Even if someone told me I’d never be published again, that no one would ever read what I wrote, that no one would care — I’d still write. Because I don’t really know how to exist in the world without it.

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Link of the Week

So this is a relatively old piece, part of December's annual round-up lists of practically anything you can think of. But it's worth it. Check out LitHub's list of 2024's most scathing book reviews. For extra credit, you'll find links at the bottom of the page to lists every year since 2017.
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I ❤️ Hearing from You!

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Thanks for reading!

~Helene, your writing sherpa

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