Story Farming

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Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

“And everyone I surround myself with, I think they're farmers too. But they're story farmers. It's about getting up every single day and planting those seeds and watering ‘em and watching 'em grow.” — Lainey Wilson

Last weekend Lainey Wilson won her first Grammy award, and said the quote above this image in her acceptance speech.

It made me stop to make a note, because, how beautiful this thought is for writers?

That we are the farmers of stories.

So I gotta ask…are you digging in the dirt or playing in the weeds?

In Other Reading This Week …

Need more insights and inspiration for your writing and mindset?

• Are you a big podcast fan? The Write Life just updated their list for the best writing podcasts for you to check out in 2024. Love that there are lots of heavy hitters AND under-the-radar shows to check out.
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• The real question we’re all asking after The Grammy’s … is Taylor Swift’s new album title grammatically correct? Olivia Rutigliano from LitHub digs into the tricky rules of apostrophes, but do rules even apply to poets?
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• Some writers need to be in a real mood to knock out great writing. John Babbott explains on McSweeney’s that he needs to be swaddled in furs. We all need what we need.
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• A new, and super extensive primer on “how to show, not tell” from Marissa Graff on Writers Helping Writers — which feels like one of those writing concepts that no matter how many times you learn it, a refresher is always good.
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• Did you know that there is a journey many stories protagonists will follow? One we have all seen in books and pop culture and movies and everything in between? Arja Salafranca dives deep into The Hero’s Journey and what it means for your storytelling over on NowNovel.

Weekly Writing Tip …

A quick chance to learn from the masters.

“I wanted to include the whole arc of how we interact with food: from the finding of land, to asking the land’s permission to clear and sow the seed, to the nourishment that enters our bodies, to the political system, and to how we teach our children. We can’t have a book about farming without talking about how we turn those crops into food that’s going to nourish us and also keep our traditions alive.” — Leah Penniman

This Week’s Writing Resource …

Why not use the tools at your disposal?

​Content Audit Database — A great gift from Nick Bouchard over at The Word Merc, a free template for collecting and auditing allllll that content you’ve published and have kicking around, to get a better idea of everything you have!

For the Upcoming Week …

Because we all need a good chuckle to start things off right!

Not helpful, brain. Not helpful at all!

'Til next time! ~ Elisa