👨🎨 You Can’t Do It Alone
Hi friends,
Over the weekend, I attended a book reading for Shubnum Khan, who recently published her second novel The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years. The first time I met her was on a Zoom call during the pandemic. I remember during the Q&A part of that session, I asked her if it was a good idea to go back to school and get a degree in creative writing.
“It’s not necessary, but you’ll meet people who are passionate about the same thing you are. That’s something!”
When I saw her last Saturday, she pointed at me and said, “I remember you!”
“Really, from where?” I asked, surprised at her sharp memory.
“Were you in one of my readings before?” She asked.
“I was a few years ago, on Zoom.”
“Yes! You wanted to become a writer, no?”
“Yeah, that’s right,” I said, now convinced she had a photographic memory or something.
“What happened?” she asked.
I almost laughed because her question was genuine, but I received it as an interrogation. Like ‘why haven’t you published a book yet?’
“I got an MFA recently,” I said, trying to save face.
“Nice! How did you like it?”
“I liked it a lot. I’m friends with the writers I met there.”
“That’s the best thing a writing degree can offer you. A group of friends you write with. It’s the only way to write. It was the best thing my writing degree offered me.”
Writing is hard, but for it to get done, it needs to be fun. Anything that lacks fun takes too much willpower to do. Anything that depends on willpower can’t be done consistently. And the only way writing can be fun is if it is done, shared, and discussed with other people who care about you and what you can offer the world.
It’s not just the feedback or the discussions about technique that enrich us—it's the understanding, the shared struggles, and the collective desire for everyone to write their story. It’s about turning writing from a solitary practice to a communal ritual.
💎 New From Me
Last Friday I posted a YouTube titles: Will a Writing Degree Make You a Better Writer? I’m sharing this video while fighting the urge to delete it. I haven’t gotten used to sharing long videos of myself. It feels a little performative. But I only hope it can help someone.
🔖 Quote I’m pondering
“Happiness depends upon ourselves.”
— Aristotle
📸 Through My Lens
