If there’s one blog I read every day, it’s this one–BREVITY’s Nonfiction Blog. Outside of writing for my blog, I mostly write fiction, but, boy, those CNF and memoir folks really do a good job of pondering their work and the writing life in general. Often, Brevity’s blog features guest posts, which are generally excellent, but when their Social Media Editor, Allison K. Williams, posts, I find myself nodding along. “This is it; this is just what I needed to read this morning.” So, while I plan blog posts downloading the highlights of my writers retreat, last weekend; and writing advice about reading and researching outside one’s usual genres, I’m re-blogging this gem today… I hope you find it as useful to your life–writing or otherwise–as I did. ~Rebecca

BREVITY's Nonfiction Blog

Many people think I’m an overachiever with everything under control. If you’re also an overachiever, you probably understand the hollow laughter that inspires in me. So often, the symptoms of organization—paper planners, to-do apps, regular social media appearances—mask what feels from the inside like abject laziness.

But Allison, you reassure me, you do a lot. You blog! You edit! You write! You travel all over!

Thanks. That’s true, and I’m privileged to get to do those things. Paradoxically, I often feel the most lazy when I’ve gotten the most done. Sure, I checked six things off my list…but I know in my heart I did them because they were easy instead of working on a larger, more difficult goal. I vacuumed instead of working on my proposal. Ran errands instead of analyzing the structure of my novel. Read 100 pages for clients instead of writing one of my own.

Often…

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8 thoughts on “Tiny Water Bottles”

    1. You’re so welcome–great stuff every day at the Brevity blog. Sorry–AWP is the Association of Writers & Writing Programs, and its (huge) annual conference and bookfair is going on in Portland OR right now. It’s where writers, writing students, teachers, and anyone involved with a college writing program or program literary journal or press goes to network (and party). My first year of the writing program I did, I went to AWP with a friend. It was all very daunting–big time authors and academics–and we stood awkwardly in corners the whole time. I’m hoping it comes back east or at least Midwest next year!

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