Tag Archives: creativity

Booklife Essay: Luck’s Child by Marly Youmans

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Marly Youmans has published young adult, genre, and literary fiction in a variety of publications and in book form for publishers including Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, Penguin, and many others. Her essay here, originally published in the appendices to Booklife, reminds us that some elements of a career are out of our control.

This week as the book tour winds up, I’m at the Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia, the Chapel Hill Comics Shop, and Manuel’s Bar in Atlanta. Check the schedule for more details. – Jeff

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Booklifenow: What Are You Thankful For?

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(Mike Brotherton is thankful for being an awesomely creative person. Photo by Jeremy Tolbert.)

We’re taking a break here at Booklifenow, returning with new content next week. But since it is Thanksgiving week here in the United States, we’d like to know what you’re thankful for in your writing and your career. Also feel free to tell us about your upcoming books or other creative projects.

Me, I’m thankful that I have such amazing and creative friends–like my partner in crime here, Matt Staggs–that I am able to do this five-week book tour, and that I’ve had the opportunity to write, edit, and create so many different types of books. I’m also deeply thankful for your patronage of Booklifenow.com, and your acceptance of my book.

Writer Despair for a Cheery Monday!

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(Is it dawn or is it dusk? Photo by Jeremy Tolbert.)

Good morning! How’re you feeling this morning? Optimistic? Not so optimistic? Still need your coffee? Regardless of how happy you are now, chances are you’ve had bouts of despair about your writing. I know I have–and not just as a beginner trying to get published. Over the entire course of my career waves of despair have at times washed over me. Writing is such a perilous calling that you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone engaged in it who hasn’t succumbed to these kinds of feelings. Here’s an excerpt of what Booklife has to say about despair. Will you feel better or worse after reading it? It might not matter. The point is: acknowledging that despair is something everyone has to deal with can be a kind of balm. We’re all in this together.

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Envy for a Cheery Wednesday

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The tour continues! Tonight I’ll be at the National Book Awards, covering them for Amazon.com. Tomorrow I’m at MIT in Boston, delivering a lecture on Booklife, followed the next night by a reading at Borders. Then, Saturday the 21st, I’m back in New York City participating in a discussion on fantastical and real cities. – Jeff

Protecting your Private Booklife means confronting issues like envy. I don’t know of any writers who haven’t experienced this emotion. Here’s an excerpt from my essay on the topic in Booklife. Next week: Despair!

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