Love Letters - Vol. 2026, No. 2

Love letters from me to you about what I've been thinking about, playing with, and obsessing over. Updated weekly.

I can’t believe it’s already been a week! What have I done? Not nearly as much writing and creating as I would like, for sure. I’ve mostly just been stressing about stuff, which I’ve found does not necessarily make for a creative brain.

The move is underway! Which means a lot of decisions to make, people to talk to, plans to figure out, and things to let go of. I’ve started noticing I’m clenching my teeth. But that’s okay. Periods of transition can be challenging but I’m ready for something new, so it will all be okay in the end. 

I ended up having a side hustle start to become very active over the last week. Which is great! I’m super excited about it and I’m glad that it’s happening now, but it’s definitely also an adjustment. I’ve been dreaming of becoming self-employed for several years now, but it’s a little dizzying having it become a reality. It’s also something of a puzzle trying to balance suddenly having a lot of outside demands on my time while I’m in the middle of moving. I find that that’s sort of always how my life goes, though. I have periods where everything is slow slow slow and it feels like nothing will ever change and then very suddenly it’ll just be go go go and I’ll be over employed and over booked and running to keep up with everything happening at once. 

I’m still enjoying Heated Rivalry! I’ve been reading cjr2’s excellent fic “Full Contact” which they are currently updating daily. I also did start writing the fic that I mentioned last week, then had a sudden attack of “maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about.” Which I think is so funny. Clearly that is what Julia Cameron would consider to be the voice of the my inner Censor. Because, sure, I definitely don’t know everything. Hell, I’ve probably forgotten 70% of all the things I’ve learned. But the Censor would have me believe that I was born yesterday, know nothing, and that every line of a fictional story requires a citation in MLA formatting. It doesn’t. It’s fiction. Write something compelling enough and people will suspend their disbelief to enjoy it. I have read stuff that should be absolutely preposterous, but damn, that writer wrote with such conviction that I was hooked. I definitely use research as a way to not write. And don’t get me wrong! I love research. In fact, in my research this week I read a very interesting paper about the history of blood transfusions. It was facilitating! Did it help me write whatsoever? Nope. Because I’m not writing a research paper to be handed in for a grade. I’m writing a work of fiction that is not even set in the real world. Be bold! Write it and research it later! Maybe even never…

I hope you are having an excellent holiday weekend and are finding ways to take care of yourself and nurture your creative self. 

Much love, 

Lucy