Notes from the field

Five things from the awkward gap between essays

Aug 16, 2024

The Webs We Weave is a free weekly-ish newsletter on staying connected to ourselves, making connections in our creative work, and feeling more connected in the world.

focused photo yellow-and-green flowers — Photo by Joey Banks on Unsplash

1. The awkward gap between essays

For a few weeks I’ve been working on a new braided essay after having so much fun writing the last one, and so far this one’s been a bit of a slog. In between research sprints and long bouts of staring at a blinking cursor, I've been reckoning with the tension that tugs between the types of essays I want to be writing (meaty, tightly-crafted, research-heavy) and the frequency with which I hope to show up here (weekly-ish).

In fact, there's a part of me that's throwing a tantrum at this very moment, insisting both that it's been too long since I've hit 'publish' on Substack AND that writing a list like this one and calling it a piece worth publishing is somehow ‘cheating.’

Riddle me this: what does it look like to be a writer who increasingly wants to write and be known for toothier pieces, but who can't quite let go of old ideas about consistency and frequency? What untamable things are allowed to crop up in the space between those craftier pieces in the time it takes to write them?

2. The visceral urge to pare down

It's feeling more and more like fall is officially on the way, praise be. Beyond the tendrils of cooler temperatures sneaking in, I was just saying to a friend this week that there are definite tectonic shifts happening, too—something I almost almost notice when the seasons start to change.

Topping the list for me is a visceral urge to pare back: from the amount of stuff in my drawers/office/closet, to the number of notebooks in my notebook stack, to even the number of writing-focused Substacks I subscribe to. (It pains me to say, but the line that separates ‘hooray! an abundance of options! so much inspiration!’ from ‘this is too much, I’m frozen in overwhelm, cue decision fatigue’ is a fine one.)

Anyone else feeling the transition into fall inching closer? What does that seasonal shift look and feel like for you?

3. A return to analogue

Related: in the past week or so especially, I've been feeling pulled toward a decisive return to analogue. I notice I feel somewhat at sea when my life veers too far into the land of screens and comfort-scrolling—and for as much as I refuse to berate myself for screen-heavy coping during what has been a Weird, Hard Summer™ in many ways, it also feels like time for an intentional pivot.

I'm craving more pens on paper planner pages with my coffee, more holding books and leafing through print issues of National Geographic (a real thing I just bought myself!), more mornings on the deck listening to the birds, more scribbling poems in notebooks and spilling into the margins, more time with my parents sharing stories on their patio after dusk.

4. In seach of podcast recs!

I am in desperate need for new podcasts to listen to on my walks. My queue is feeling stale, and with several of my favorite shows scaling waaaaay back on their frequency (ahem, lookin' at you, Michael Hobbes) I'm hungry for a fresh infusion.

I find I often love a two-host format, particularly when those two hosts have great chemistry and a sharp sense of humor—but I’m willing to branch outside that format if the content is compelling. Not tied to a particular genre or episode length, as long as it's interesting and entertaining.

What podcasts do you love? Pleeeease share your favorites!