When the Act of Making Makes Us

My correspondence with Jen Pollack Michel continues. Here is an excerpt of her letter to me this week:

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I have no idea what the process of writing a novel looks like, but I’m sure there are chapters you’ve abandoned, characters you’ve excised, scenes you’ve written and rewritten. Imagine if you could hold all of it in your hands and feel the weight of your creation in its entirety: the parts that remain as well as the parts that were sloughed off. I think this, too, is part of the creative process. The appraisal of it. It reminds me of God the Creator ending every new day with a kind of backward glance at his work: it’s good.

It’s good to be making in the world, Shawn. Not just for what we make but for how we’re made in the act of making.

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To read the entire letter, head to Jen’s post.

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What began as a Twitter conversation between two writers on creative work and family life has become an exchange of letters. Here is where Postmarked began:

Postmarked: Dear Shawn (1)

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This week on our podcast, The Stories Between Us, we spoke with Anne Bogel and her husband Will. She’s the founder and creator of the popular site, Modern Mrs. Darcy, as well as the podcast, What Should I Read Next?

She’s also the author of numerous books including her latest, Don’t Overthink It (which released just a few days ago).

Will is the strong silent type mostly in the background who helps make everything happen.

We talk about why Modern Mrs. Darcy became a site primarily about books and reading, how she got the idea for What Should I Read Next?, and what’s on the list of things that they will be working on in the future. Shawn even asks Anne when her first novel is being released. Did she answer? Not really, but she didn’t rule it out, either. Listen HERE.