~special trip~ with Jami Attenberg
"When we sit down to write, we're part of a larger community even if we can't see it."
Howdy, Field Trippers! Today we’re visiting with a special guest, the New York Times bestselling author and absolute FORCE FOR GOOD behind the #1000wordsofsummer project, Jami Attenberg.
I’ve been following Jami for many years, reading her novels (All Grown Up is maybe my fave) and memoir; enjoying her sense of humor and dog pix on social media; and marveling at her creation of a virtual community of tens of thousands of writers through the #1000wordsofsummer project, 14-day sprints during which writers all over the globe commit to putting down that many words every damn day, while Jami cheers everyone on and sends amazing pep talks from a world-class range of published authors. There are now occasional mini-#1000words weeklongs at other times of the year—helpful, I think, for those who find summer even more time-crunched than other seasons (cough-parents-cough).
Like all the best projects, this one grew up to become a book, 1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round, published last January; of it, I wrote in BookPage that it “collects and distills that project into a motivational volume every writer should keep close at hand.” I was telling the lord’s truth! I do keep it close at hand.
Jami’s 10th (!) novel, A Reason to See You Again, is out September 24, and is a Most Anticipated Book from The New York Times, People, Associated Press, Time, Saturday Evening Post, Real Simple, Book Bub, Alta and more. In advance of its publication, she’s popping up on folks’ Substacks, answering questions about the writing life. Below are mine, and you can follow her on Substack to read the rest. Last I checked, she reported not receiving a single repeat question!
In your years of sharing many excellent voices on the practice of writing, is there one consistent piece of advice that seems to come up again and again and again?
You know, every year there are different letters that strike chords and often they're reflective of whatever is going on in that moment in our culture. So it tends to be ever-shifting. I think people really love the letters that tell them they simply can, and that things are hard for everyone but we must fight through our distractions to get to our creative place. I'm less interested in the craft aspect and more interested in the encouragement aspect. So the letters that make us feel supported and less alone in the universe are always a big hit.
Because we're not alone. When we sit down to write, we're part of a larger community even if we can't see it. We are all just trying to make something beautiful or cool or important with our words. And that's a nice feeling to return to when we need it.
Can you speak to the role that selfishness—or let's call it protectiveness—has played in your successful and very productive writing life? You seem to have a joyful and full social life. How do you balance requests on your time from friends and loved ones (and of course, desires of your own) with the need to be alone, to be quiet and think and read and write?
Because writing is my day job, I think I pretty much have the same life as another working gal. Get up, go to my job, maybe meet a friend at the end of the day for a drink. You have to be disciplined during the day though!
But I do make the effort to get up extra early when I know I won't get texted and the internet isn't noisy enough to distract me yet. I love the mornings so much. It's really on me to be focused though. I have fought to have this time and I must use it wisely. Like you really have to take yourself and the act of making your art seriously or it won't work. And I will go home early from an event if I know I want to be productive the next day. It's truly about prioritizing your art, which I think is the same as prioritizing your own happiness, or at least it is for me.
You really have to take yourself and the act of making your art seriously or it won't work. It's truly about prioritizing your art, which I think is the same as prioritizing your own happiness, or at least it is for me. —Jami Attenberg
I'm sitting in a combination brewery/coffee shop right now, and I find this a magic combination for getting some writing done. (I wish there were more coffee-and-booze joints in Nashville.) What's one of your favorite public places to write in New Orleans?
I'm sitting in a cafe in my neighborhood right now writing back to you! I live in the Bywater neighborhood and there are lots of good spots to be creative. I like Petite Clouet, I like Honey's. Those are two of my faves for working or sitting quietly and thinking, although there are other cafes I like as well, for socializing or just getting out of the house and mixing things up a bit in my brain. A good cafe is honestly crucial to the happiness and success of a writer.
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Thanks for this, Jami!
And thanks to everyone reading F I E L D T R I P today. If you’re new to these parts, here are a few other trips, which tend to explore the realms of music, nature, Gen X midlife, and other delights:
Jami Attenberg is the New York Times bestselling author of nine books, including The Middlesteins, All Grown Up and a memoir, I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home. She is also the creator of the annual online group writing accountability project #1000wordsofsummer, which inspired the recently published USA Today bestseller 1000 Words:A Writer’s Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round. Her tenth book, publishing September 24, 2024, is A Reason to See You Again. She lives in New Orleans. You can find her online regularly at Craft Talk.
Loved being here, thank you!!