winter journal for word lovers

& honest thoughts for those who long to write

…but before we get to all that, some quick housekeeping, which we usually save for last:

We are starting At the Back of the North Wind!

Next week. By George MacDonald. If I recall correctly (I’ve only read it once before, several years ago) it is less weird than Lilith and more fairy-tale-ish like The Princess and the Goblin…if that helps. I think (hope) you’ll love it. We’ll be reading about four chapters a week through December and January.

If you need a copy, you can find it here: free audio online, read free online, or get new or used copies at Thriftbooks here.

recommended books for logophiles

Logophile: someone who loves words. (Logo=word, phile=love…basically.)

One of these is not like the others, but it’s not obvious from this photo. A Green and Ancient Light is here just because my daughter recently finished it, and when I read it a few years ago I loved it so much. It is reality mixed with fantasy, beauty and danger, mystery and myth. Also, as I was typing this I realized I talked about it on my blog in my favorite books of 2023 post, whoops.

But! These other books are all wordy-nerdy — puns and letters and grammar and punctuation and vocabulary, all in fun ways. No, really, I promise. There’s something here for all ages.

Eats, Shoots, and Leaves by Lynne Truss — pictured is the kids version, but I also loved the book for adults. Why are commas important? And why should you make sure you put them in the right places? Because we’re not savages, that’s why.

But also, this:

from the children's version, of course

Other-Wordly by Yee-Lum Mak: A small dictionary of sorts, filled with beautiful words from all over the world. The illustrations are dreamy and hygge, too.

Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn: A clever epistolary novel written in letters…that is, of course, what “epistolary” means, but also, I mean it’s written in letters — as in, a b c d, etc — that diminish as the story progresses. How much could you write without certain vowels? Or a W? Or…well, most of the alphabet?

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster: We just finished reading this as a family. It is great fun that young kids will enjoy, but older kids and adults will enjoy even more as they recognize all the plays on words that happens throughout the entire story.

“In this box are all the words I know…Most of them you will never need, some you will use constantly, but with them you may ask all the questions which have never been answered and answer all the questions which have never been asked. All the great books of the past and all the ones yet to come are made with these words. With them there is no obstacle you cannot overcome. All you must learn to do is to use them well and in the right places.”

— Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth

and now, a word for those who long to write

…but maybe you don’t know where to start, it’s so overwhelming, or you can’t find the time, or for whatever reason. Or, you’re just curious about the process.

Writing is no trivial thing. Private journaling may be simple, but writing in any public sphere is a different beast entirely. And when you add business to it (like selling books, or any kind of monetization) it expands into a many-legged creature that invades your thoughts at all hours and demands to be fed in a variety of time-consuming, creative ways.

Sometimes that beast lays a golden egg. But for it to do so, you have to feed it…a lot. And some beasts, no matter how much you feed them, don’t lay eggs at all. They’re just not, you know, oviparous.

Maybe that seems discouraging. It is, sometimes. But what I want you to hear is that even if you’re not a writer — or, you’re interested in writing but not sure where to start, and you have other giftings you are already really good at — there’s room for you in this discussion. Because writers need you.

Writing and business are not simply about writing and business.

It is also about graphic design
and marketing
and readership
and distribution
and editing
and research
and merch creation
and networking
and sales
and social media
and collaborations
and photography/illustration
and publishing
and so many, many other things.

Are you good at any of those? There’s a writer out there who needs you. (Us. It might be us.)

Also, it’s about handling public criticism, and vulgar online weirdos, and the effort to keep privacy sacred while living in many ways as an open book.

It is the exertion of transforming a culture of instant, scrolling gratification into one that reads and thinks deeply again.

It is the fight against the cheapening of our craft as we compete with those who cheat by cranking out fake work with chatGPT.

It is about honesty and transparency, and priorities and time. So much time.

this is Bingley, speaking of beasts who do not lay eggs

It is learning how to deal with people misunderstanding what you said, and lovingly ignoring them when they tell you how you should have written it differently, though they themselves don’t seem to bother writing anything more than negative comments and certainly not 2500-word posts.

It is about learning to not defend yourself when Mildred says you should have added her personal perspective or soapbox issue into your article, and blessing her as she unsubscribes — or unsubscribing her yourself because she’s clearly not your target audience anyway, and as much fun as her negativity is, you don’t need to be her target anymore, either.

It’s hard. If you’re dealing with any of that, you are already learning the process.¹ Kudos.

So there’s a place for you in the writing world — unless you’re Mildred² — and jumping in with your other “non-writerly” giftings is a great way to learn about writing and get a feel for what it might look like for you.

And one of the best ways to support writers (and encourage them to keep going) is just to read their stuff and share it.

Is it worth it? I think so. I mean, ask me in another seventeen years. If we’re still going by then, then the answer is definitely yes.

Happy reading, writing, and learning,

Shannon

1. I keep mentioning these books elsewhere, but Boundaries by Cloud and Townsend and Keep Your Love On by Danny Silk are two excellent books for this. Five stars each. I’d give them ten if I could.

2. Apologies to any wonderful Mildreds out there. I had to pick a name. Bless you.