I realized my favorite newsletter and Substacks are weekly, have a reliable format, and give me something to think about or do after reading them (cook something, read something, write a poem, make a collage.)
So, I’m trying something new: a weekly short newsletter from me about what is inspiring me, a writing tip, a prompt, and any news I have to share.
I hope you enjoy it! Please reply or comment if you have any feedback, ideas, thoughts, or you want to share your response to the prompt.
Currently obsessed with
📚P.S We Made This (affiliate link) - I bought this for my kids a few days ago and they’ve already made a boat from a shoebox, a basketball hoop for laundry, a backyard tent, shrink plastic, and fake snow. It’s a big hit and just what I needed for our first week of summer break (my kids are 8 & 11 and can do the activities with only light supervision).
🎧 Wiser Than Me podcast - thanks to fellow writer Vicky Fang for telling me about this podcast. I adore it. It’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus interviewing older women like Jane Fonda and Isabel Allende and it’s full of advice, funny stories, and joy.
📺 Ted Lasso - just in case you haven’t watched it yet, Ted Lasso is heartwarming, funny, and has some great character arcs. I really want there to be a fourth season or spinoff.
Writing Tip of the Week
If you’ve read Evelyn the Adventurous Entomologist (affiliate link) you’ll know I love a good refrain. There’s not a thing better than an auditorium of 400 kids yelling “But Evelyn went anyway” with you. I feel like how Taylor Swift must when everyone is shouting one of her iconic bridges along with her. Maybe.
Take a look at your current work in progress. Is there an opportunity to add a repeated line? Refrains are beloved by readers, can give your book structure, and can emphasize your book’s message. What’s not to love?
Read more about picture book refrains in this article I wrote for Writer’s Digest.
Writing Prompt
Take a classic fairy tale or nursery rhyme and set it at the ocean. Bonus: add a refrain!
Book News
The fifth book in The Wish Library series comes out in September and it already received its first review! Booklist said: “A compelling mystery with themes of friendship and bullying, where the reader knows more than the characters, this fifth book in the series can be read as a stand-alone.”
Preorder The Vanishing Friend now (affiliate link).
Until next week, happy writing and reading. Let me know what you’re enjoying this week.
Christine
Ooh, I like the weekly short format!