I go real half-ass in summer. I half-ass my housekeeping. The vacuum may as well be on vacation for all of August. I half-ass the cooking. Pre-packaged salads and rotisserie chicken for the win. I even half-ass getting dressed in the morning. Pajama shorts and a sports bra? Sure! It’s hot as hell, and it’s not even 9 a.m. yet.
I also go down to bare bones with work, which is why you haven’t heard from me since I launched the kick-ass Write Your Memoir course in July. After putting all my love into that course, I took a break, took off to the lake, and ate ice cream for a month.
It was delightful.
It was COVID-y and tough, too. My family is spread over three continents, and we’d planned to spend this summer together. That didn’t happen, of course. And it was busy without any childcare and with full-time work. You might know something about that.
So my summer was a weird mash-up, being half-assed yet still jam-packed. It included a lot of things, and those things were wildly varied.
Getting inspired to write at the beach!
I had long days lounging on the beach and long sessions sitting at my desk working on books. I helped people write about politics, finances, childhood memories, abuse, art, culture, personal development, and healthy eating.
I wrote, swam, edited, paddle boarded, coached writers, ate, edited, wrote, and ate lots more. I drank beer, margaritas, gin, wine, and I think a Smirnoff Ice slipped in there somewhere.
I splurged on variety, in work, and in life.
And I became inspired.
Variety is the spice of life, and it ought to be the way of the writer’s life.
It’s so easy to get stuck in a rut. But a rut looks the same from every angle. It doesn’t have any variety. Without variety, we lack inspiration.
And without inspiration? It’s really damn hard to write!
Since my summer of variety, I’m more inspired than ever.
I started writing a fiction story that’s lighting me up. My editing skills have skyrocketed as I’m having more profound insights into the work. Every time I get on a call with a coaching client, I feel like I’m on fire. We’re able to make so much progress on their books so friggin’ fast!
If you want to be a writer—or a better writer—reboot your inspiration. Find some variety. As we shift seasons, shift your perspective with some new inputs.
Try a new activity.
Write about something unusual.
Crack open a Smirnoff Ice.
Then email me and let me know how you’re getting inspired to write this fall.
I’m going to stop half-assing life and use my full ass for everything I do. I’m excited for what a full-lived life means for my writing.
And I’d love to hear what it does for yours, too.
Thanks,
Liz "Full-Ass" Green
Book Coach, Green Goose Writing
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