Writing craft beyond the books
Welcome to Through Lines! Living creatively, thinking imaginatively, practicing the craft of storytelling, and uncovering your invisible strings
I was browsing Books Are Magic in Brooklyn this weekend, which is the best way to spend a weekend. Readers know that there’s something uplifting about the mere presence of books, whether or not we walk away from the store having purchased any.
One book on the display table caught my eye: Syme's Letter Writer: A Guide to Modern Correspondence About (Almost) Every Imaginable Subject of Daily Life, with Odes to Desktop Ephemera and Selected Letters of Famous Writers by Rachel Syme.
I’m not a letter writer, nor are many of us nowadays, I imagine. But I’d seen some buzz for the book and the cover is well-designed, so I picked it up and thumbed through.
Immediately, I was overwhelmed with motivation. It wasn’t so much that I necessarily wanted to begin penning handwritten letters (but if I have your address, you might want to watch out for incoming mail), it was that I was struck by the desire to write. I wanted to take the perspectives and nuances, the language suggestions and the tone, the beauty and the softness of the pages I’d flipped through, and sit at my desk for as many hours as I could get away with.
This book made me think of craft books I’ve read, which hold undoubtable merit. But I also considered how the crafts of writing and illustration aren’t contained to templates and checklists, or one person’s thoughtful perspective. There’s so much creative wisdom to glean outside of the usual channels. Syme's Letter Writer inspired me, and even in the short time I spent with it in the bookstore, I had brainstorms about my own WIP that I eagerly brought with me to the nearby coffee shop (shoutout to Liz’s Book Bar!).
While Syme's Letter Writer is a book about writing, it’s not a book on the craft of writing in a traditional sense. But it invited me to think more deeply and thoughtfully about my own writing. We don’t only need to be reading literature on craft to be absorbing wisdom about the craft of creating.
Stumbling across this book made me think about the countless opportunities we are given every day to experience insights and creative breakthroughs. I’m going to be on the lookout for those, and maybe you’ll be inspired to seek out your own artistic invitations, wherever you can find them.
Glimmers to share
✨The annual SCBWI Winter Conference was held this weekend in New York City, and my entire Agency showed up to be a part of it, along with many of the creators we represent. I spent hours connecting with my colleagues, chatting with amazing industry professionals, celebrating creative successes with writers and artists, and making memories with the best people in kidlit.
✨Younger. This show came out in 2015, but I only recently discovered it on Netflix. I can’t remember the last T.V. show I binged with such obsessive devotion, but this one has me completely hooked. It probably has something to do with the premise hitting a little too close to home: a 40 year-old woman lies about her age in order to re-enter the book publishing workforce after staying home to raise her kid. But this series is so much more than an unhinged premise and ridiculous depictions of the publishing industry. It’s full of heart and romance, explorations of motherhood and identity, epic adventures through NYC and profound examples of female friendship. It’s a show about being a Milleninal. The storylines delve deeply into ageism, sexism, and women leadership in workplaces.
I want to go back to school simply so I can write a dissertation on Younger. I want to talk about it for hours over coffee and go on a Younger tour of Williamsburg. This series is my personality at the moment.
✨Mini print vending machines, like this one at Annie’s Blue Ribbon General Store. Completely whimsical!
About Me
I’m Christie, and I’m a story person. I work as a children’s literary & illustration agent. I’m a writer, with published essays and a novel + short stories in the works. I’m a former elementary school teacher and current homeschooling mom. I also do exploratory data analysis (stories abound!). Some of my enthusiasms are baking, urban walks, forest hikes, gothic poetry, horror movies, Taylor Swift, and cats. And books - books are my passion and stories are my mission.
Through Lines is here to examine the craft of storytelling, explore publishing industry insights, celebrate the joy of learning, and discover the magic hiding in ordinary moments.
The Symes book sounds (and looks) wonderful! Definitely adding it to my list. I love the mini print vending machine, too. It reminds me of our local Art-O-Mat: a repurposed vintage cigarette machine that now vends tiny art pieces.
You really make the Symes book sound delicious! A question--my mom loves books like these, but her concentration/attention span has become shorter lately. I get the sense this is a book she could dip in and out of with ease--is that right?