Exploring what it means to live a life of words.

10 Reasons Fall is the BEST for this Word Nerd

by 1 Comment

10 Reasons Fall is the Best for this Word Nerd

Photo by Brittney Burnett on Unsplash

I was just sitting here as Milo drifted off for his nap, and I got this joyous lift as I looked into his eyes.  This will be his first fall, and he’s going to love it . . .  because he loves everything. It’s awesome.

But I love this season, too. It’s my favorite by about a bazillion percent. (Yes, I know that percentage isn’t actually possible, but you know what I mean, right?)  I love everything about autumn – the cooler temperatures, the change in the way the air feels, the colors of the leaves, and yes, of course, pumpkin spice (although even I will admit we’ve gone a bit too far these days).

But some of my biggest reasons for loving fall have to do with books and other wordish delights.  Here’s my Top Ten Ways Fall Makes My Word-Nerd Heart Dance:

1. Hot mugs of beverage.  Coffee. Tea. Hot chocolate. Hot Cider. Mulled wine. . . I could go on.  These are best enjoyed, of course, with a book. . . on a porch on a fall afternoon.

2. The way the supernatural and magic are very close to the surface. Of course, this is because of Halloween and Christmas, but I love the way even impossible things seem more possible in these days.  I’m thinking here of Sarah Addison Allen’s books and The Good Witch. But also of Sleepy Hollow (and Starrs’ Hollow – RORY and Jess forever) and a great Poe story. . . of this after-school movie where a room glowed red in a child’s home because it was haunted. (Anyone remember that circa 1985?)

3. Back to school. Apparently some people, my husband included, did not love back to school, but I, I still love it. School supplies mainly. All those pens and notebooks . . . Trapper Keepers!  But also the first day jitters of new teachers and new routines. LOVE it.

4. Sweatshirts and sweaters. These may not seem particularly bookish, but just think about pulling on a big, warm sweater and grabbing that warm beverage to sit on that porch.  My favorite sweater is a wool one of my mom’s. It’s that color brown that is almost green and has a front pocket where I can tuck my hands when I’m not holding that great novel.  (Speaking of which, Tana French’s new one The Witch Elm comes out October 9, and I CANNOT WAIT!!)

5. Long walks. I am not a person built for heat, so in the summer, I tend to sequester myself in the air conditioning. Once the heat and humidity break, however, I’m always up for a good, long walk to clear my head, to ponder what I’m writing, to enjoy the fresh air.  Throw in crunchy leaves, and I’m especially thrilled.  This year, I so look forward to long, daily walks with Milo.

6. Pumpkins. I do enjoy a pumpkin spice latte, but more, I love the way pumpkins appear on front stoops and along the entrances to winding driveways. Pair them with mums, and I’m a happy girl.  A hot drink, a warm sweater, a porch with pumpkins, and a book.  Ahhh!

7. Early sunsets. This time of year, I love watching darkness crawl in earlier and earlier each evening, and likewise, I love the way the changing light makes these early sunsets more orange, somehow smokier. Darker evenings have always felt like prime reading time to me.

8. Wood smoke. Oh, goodness. This may be my favorite fall thing – the way bonfires blaze in cool air leaving the front half of you warm and the back half chilled; the taste of a marshmallow cooked on a crisp evening, the hint of smoke in the farmhouse when we light the wood stove for the first time, the crackle of a fireplace in a great book. (Wuthering Heights always comes to mind when I think of fireplaces. Perhaps that’s why it’s one of my favorite books of all time.)

9. Soft blankets. Hot drink, sweater, porch with pumpkins, soft blanket over my lap, and book.  The scene grows richer as the temperatures grow cooler.

10. The Great Slowing. My way of being, on my best days, is slow and deliberate, and fall is a season of intention. Putting up the harvest (here on the farm, we’re down to okra, jalepenos, and pumpkins in the garden), preparing the house for winter, storing up food for the coldest days.  Those are all things that speak to something deep in my spirit. Maybe I love this season so because it simply means I have more time to read now that farm work is slowing down.

Just writing this list gave me joy. . . and I cannot wait for that first crack of air cool enough for me to turn back around and get my cozy sweater when I take to the porch with a book*.  Oh, autumn, I do love you.

Anything about fall you love, fellow word nerds? 

 

*Right now, I’m reading Anne Bogel’s charming and winsome I’d Rather Be Reading. Might I suggest it as an ideal read for an autumn day?

 

 

The Indigo Girls, New Bands, and the Gift of New Artists

by Leave a Comment

The Indigo Girls, Show Openers, and Trying New ArtistsTonight, my friend Elissa and I are going to see the Indigo Girls in concert.  I have this vivid memory of Elissa and I taking a roadtrip to Bowling Green College for a poetry conference when we were in college.  Elissa is a superb singer, someone who holds close harmonies with ease, and I can carry most of a tune. So all the way to the conference, we sang Indigo Girls songs, in harmony and with great abandon as my red Geo Metro took the turns on Pennsylvania’s back roads.  I imagine we’ll be doing the middle-aged version of the same thing tonight.

But before our girls take the stage, there’s an opener.  I admit that tonight, when the idea of being away past 9pm feels a little overwhelming given how little sleep I’ve gotten of late, I’m not thrilled about sitting through a new band, no matter how good they are. They aren’t who I’m going to see.

Here’s the thing though – this band – The War and the Treaty – is probably going to become a new favorite of mine. After all, they’re singers who pull from soul, folk, and gospel to create a big, rich sound, and their lyrics – well, these are songwriters, ya’ll.  Plus, the Indigo Girls invited them along, so there’s some credence they get just through that fact.

And honestly, it’s too easy for me to dismiss new things – new shows, new authors, new bands – because I like what I like, right? I think that’s why well-known bands invite lesser-known bands along – to help pray open the ears of people like me.

As writers, we can do the same for other writers.  We can tell people we love about books we’ve discovered and tell them why we think our friends should read them.  We can invite authors to post on our blogs, include them in our public readings, give them shout-outs on our social media.  We can let them be our opening acts, and when we do that – particularly for authors who are lesser-known and given lesser access (woman writers, writers of color, LGBTQ writers, for example) – we are not only helping the authors, we are helping our readers with a reading life that is richer and more full.

So will I probably still hope to just get to “Closer to Fine” in the Indigo Girls’ show? Yep.  But do I also hope that The War and The Treaty steal my breath, I sure do . . . because sometimes, the new stuff becomes the stuff I belt out with joy on the next road trip.

Tell me, what bands and authors do you love that I should know about?  Leave a comment with a link below, and I’ll be sure to check them out.  

 

Coming Back with Joy: Our Son and A Book Giveaway

by 26 Comments

Coming Back with Joy: Our Son and a Book Giveaway

Milo Says, ‘Hi!’

On Monday, I returned to work, to writing and editing work that is, after giving birth to our son Milo on June 9th.  The work of caring for him, of tending him, of simply basking in his long-awaited presence is tiring but the most beautiful work I’ve ever done.

But already, I see how doing the work of words is going to be important to me as a mother. It grounds me in something I know when so much of mothering is new to me, and it gives me a joy and a sense of accomplishment that even the great heart-warmth of mothering cannot do.  I’m grateful to have a loving partner in Philip and wonderful parents and in-laws who help when we need it so I can keep doing the work I love, even as I stay home with this beauty of a man.

**

In the midst of my maternity, Kelly Chripczuk, Shawn Smucker, and I hosted our annual writer’s retreat here at our farm. It was a wonderful weekend full of stories and questions, conversations and quiet.  29 writers joined us here for meals, readings, workshops, and craft talks, and when we all parted ways, I once again felt like we’d all stepped into the most rich elements of the writing life – a community of people who get it.  (The retreat for next year will be June 21-23, and we’d love to have you join us.)

At the retreat, I got the privilege of spending time with literary agent Ruth Samsel of the William K. Jensen Literary Agency. (She represents Shawn and does it marvelously.) She gifted me with a few books from her authors, and I am thrilled to be giving them away to you.  Lisa Deam, one of our retreat speakers, also gifted me with a couple copies of her book to giveaway.  Yay for great, free books!!

I love supporting authors, and I particularly love supporting woman authors who produce gorgeous books like these:

Coming Back with Joy: My Son and a Book Giveaway

Aren’t all these beautiful?

If you’d like to receive a copy of one of these great books, please leave a comment below and tell me two things: 

  • What book you’d like and why you want to read this particular book. 
  • Where you will share the book to help other people know about it. 

I believe mightily in the ways that writers and readers can help support writers, so it’s really important to me to hear how you’ll get word about these titles into the world.

I’ll use a random-number generator to choose the winners on Saturday, July 7 and contact them via email to get shipping information. (One book per person, please.)

**

One thing this near-month of mothering has taught me is that my son needs me to be the best mother I can be, and if he needs it, every child needs the best of their parents. For me, that best requires that I work, and goodness, it feels good to be back into the words.

 

Just an FYI, two of my friends have written great books that I hope you’ll check out.  Shawn Smucker’s The Edge of Over There* came out on Tuesday, and you won’t want to miss this mysterious, engaging YA story that is a great read for everyone. 

And Christie Purifoy’s new book Placemaker: Cultivating Places of Comfort, Beauty, and Peace* is now available for pre-order. I’m so excited about this book because that sort of place is just what we’re hoping to create here at the farm. 

 

*These links take you through my affiliate page on Amazon, which means if you place an order after following them, I get a small commission at no extra cost to you.

 

The Company of Pieces of Paper

by 8 Comments

The Company of Pieces of Paper

Photo by Kira auf der Heide on Unsplash

It should surprise no one that the life of the writer–such as it is–is colorless to the point of sensory deprivation. Many writers do little else but sit in small rooms recalling the real world. This explains why so many books describe the author’s childhood. A writers’ childhood may well have been the occasion of his only firsthand experience. Writers read literary biography, and surround themselves with other writers, deliberately to enforce in themselves the ludicrous notion that a reasonable option for occupying yourself on the planet until your life span plays itself out is sitting in a small room for the duration, in the company of pieces of paper.  — Annie Dillard in The Writing Life*

Today, I will go to the post office. The post office is right across the highway from our farm, and I can walk there.  In the 12 x 12 building, I will see Kay, our postmistress, and probably a couple of neighbors or three. We will chat, Kay will ask about my pregnancy, and then I will walk home.  Those will be the only people I have seen in three days, besides my beloved husband.

I like it this way.  I’m an introvert, so that’s part of it. But the other part is what Dillard describes above: I prefer to sit in my office and ponder, to consider angles, to weigh memories, to parse out words.  I prefer that to almost everything else in the world. And to be honest, I think this preference is part of what makes a writer.

When writers tell me they don’t know how to make time to write, the first thing I suggest is that they need to cut out some activities, some time with people. They need to slow down and give their brains time to actually ruminate on their experiences.  And because some things – like the raising of children or the working of paying jobs – are not optional, most of the things that people can cut out of their days are the things we associate with pleasure – time with friends, favorite TV shows, concerts, etc.  Sometimes, too, the things that need to go are the compulsion to clean out just that one closet, the desire to have spotless floors, the 45 minutes of time on our hair.  (In case you’re curious, I have tamed my curls with a bandana today.)

None of these activities are bad. But for the writer, they can be the difference between actually doing the work and just saying we want to. 

I have found that most of the writers I know who are actually doing the writing life, who regularly complete projects and share them with the world, are people whose lives are fairly circumscribed – both in terms of activity and in terms of geography.  We may travel, but travel isn’t a regular activity. We may attend concerts and go to play, but those things are rare, too. We may be a part of groups to read books or discuss issues, but even those gatherings are rare. (Of course, some folks write about these very things, so part of their life is to visit and go. . . but even these folks, I note, spend an immense amount of time at home to balance out the energy and focus required to attend to their work in these ways.)

Here’s the hard part. Many writers have learned that as monochromatic, as small, as “limited” as some might say our lives are, the richness of writing fills our days with color and meaning so powerful that it’s more than enough.  

Just now, I can hear the hens next door in our chicken coop cackling as they lay today’s eggs. I can see the Lohr farm across the road by the post office and imagine our neighbor G growing up there. I can feel the chill of the late winter air on my spring and hold hope for the promise of daffodils soon.  I’m content with the what and where of my life, so that I can pour my discontent into the page and find a way through it with my travel companions of paper.

P.S. Incidentally, it is this companionship of paper that has fostered in me – and many a writer – a deep love of great notebooks, fine papers, and amazing pens and pencils.  (See, there are some really good perks.)

 

*This link will take you to Amazon, where – if you make a purchase – I get a small commission at no extra cost to you. I’ll use it to buy Uniball Vision Elite pens, by the way. 🙂

Honoring the Woman who Challenged Us All, Ursula K. LeGuin

by 9 Comments

The Woman who Challenged Us All, Ursula K. Le Guin

Photo by Nathan McBride on Unsplash

Resistance and change often begin in art and very often in our art, the art of words. – Ursula K. Le Guin

Whenever anyone asks me to recommend short stories, my first suggestion is always “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” but Ursula K. Le Guin.* It’s a story that has haunted me and spurred me to action. It’s a story that taught me that I didn’t have to be a part of a society that didn’t love everyone well, that I could choose another way to walk. It’s a story that taught me that writing could be a very powerful way of making change in the world.

But I don’t want to say more than that because I want you to read it.  Really.

This story introduced me to the work of the wise, ruthless, talented gift that was Ursual Le Guin, and yesterday, she died, leaving the entire world – not just the literary one – a little more silent in the face of injustice.  Le Guin, both in her writing and in her speaking, challenged any system, any people, any literature that oppressed. She believed we could do better, and she fought for us to believe it, too.

In 2014, Le Guin gave an epic, icon-toppling speech when she received the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to Letters at the National Book Awards. When I need to be reminded about why I do what I do, I watch that speech.  Maybe you’ll be spurred by watching it, too?

Rest in peace, Ms. Le Guin. May you find utopia in the hereafter.  Thank you for being someone in whose footsteps I can follow as both a writer and an activist.

 

Just a reminder — Workshop Submissions for our annual Writer’s Retreat at God’s Whisper Farm are due on February 1st.  To get all the details and submit a proposal, please visit this link.  Thanks. 

*This is an affiliate link, so if you visit it and make a purchase, I get a small commission at no extra charge to you.  Thank you.
Back to Top

Testimonials

Andi’s editing services are amazing. After reading the rough draft of my memoir, she encouraged me to dig deeper, to be more vulnerable, to push through until the real meat of my story shone through. With her suggestions, I was able to approach my work with a new perspective, and it encouraged me to keep writing and to make my work the best I could possibly make it. Her encouragement and gentle nudging helped me push through and finish.

“Andrea helped me revise a lot of my work. She was a great editor who worked patiently with me and really tried to understand what I was trying to communicate. She is a definite hire!”

“Andrea helped me overhaul my resume and also reviewed my cover letter for a job application. Wow! Quick turnaround and super suggestions.”

“Andi has helped me immeasurably in developing my writing style. She has tirelessly shaped and molded my works and has helped to push me to the pinnacle of mediocrity that I am today.”

“Andi was a great help in preparing my resume for distribution. While I greatly appreciate her writing skills, I was worried that she would not have the ‘business’ perspective that I needed. That worry went unfounded and Andi provided both an analytical and literary perspective to the review process that made my resume much stronger.”


AndiLit.com Copyright © 2018 Andrea Cumbo-Floyd