Hello!

Man, the weather took it out of me this week. It’s been stormy here—Wellington actually had to declare a state of emergency. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen that much water flowing through our back yard, and it made me look up our flood risk (not zero, eek) and decide to get some sandbags before the next storm rolls in. 

The storm tried its harest to tip me into migraine (it failed, ha!), so yesterday, on our first sunny day, I was wiped out. 

No way could I write. I was out of willpower. Out of words. 

Honestly, I often feel like I need the energy of the sun to write. If I don’t have it, if I’m blue or stressed or fighting something off or just don’t like the way my socks fit, I couldn’t possibly write. Not under these circumstances. 

But I still had non-writing work to do, so I went to my downtown office a little early. In Midland Park, people sat in the cold sunlight, smiling up at the blue sky, and on a whim, I decided to join them. I’d just have a quick coffee and then hustle to work, where I was meeting some Ink Villagers on Zoom. Maybe the coffee would give me the energy I would need to write. 

I sat, and the cappuccino was brought to me. Even running on empty, I had the thought that there’s nothing I love more when traveling than sitting outside at a cafe and writing over a cappuccino — why don’t I ever do it at home? 

The thought crossed my mind — I could write right here. Except, nah. I was too tired for that.

And then I thought of the question I ask writers all the time. 

“Scale of 1-10, what energy level are you at right now?”

I LOVE this simple tool. All we have to do is go with our gut. We intuitively know the answer. 

• 1 - Go directly to bed. If your answer is below 1, you should be under the bed, wrapped in a duvet and asking a loved one to bring you a warm cookie and an extra box of tissues. 

• 2-9 - Write. (At a 2 or 3, write for a short time and ask yourself the question again. Can you keep going? Do you want to? Great! Need to stop? Good job getting a little work done!) 

• 10 - Oooh, be careful now. Give your wallet to someone else to hold until you come down a bit or you might end up buying a boat or adopting seventeen chihuahuas. When I’m a 10, I could move to Argentina as easily as I could hire a digger and start building a garage. You might not want to write at a 10 or you’ll start four books by noon and light them on fire by three.

2-9, though? What a sweet spot.

You can write. 

Even at a 2. 

What level was I, sitting at that table in the park, the cappuccino cooling at my elbow?

I was a 2. 

But I remembered that I can write at a 2, even if I can’t do much.

I got out my journal. As usual, I wrote nonsense—that’s what journals are for, after all. But then, without my even deciding to do it, I started to journal about the book I’m writing. Ideas started flowing. Questions I didn’t have answers to crowded onto the pages. 

I was so delightfully into the writing, I almost missed getting to my office in time to do the Zoom writing. 

I’d love to tell you that when I got to the office, my energy had flown from a 2 to an 8. It didn’t. But it did what it often does—it went up a notch or two. When I got to my desk, I was at a 4. By the time we finished writing together two hours later, I was at a 5. 

This morning, in contrast, I’d slept great, and I’m over the storm hangover. I sat at my desk at an 8 and stayed there for my writing session. 

Later, I won’t be able to tell which days I wrote which words. They’ll all add up, they’ll all blend together, like magic. 

Is it your writing time? Can’t quite seem to open the document? Ask yourself, what’s your energy level? Then act accordingly.

Onward!

Rachael

Website | Ink Village | Instagram | Podcast | Patreon

PS - Since the online retreat this weekend, I’ve gotten quite a few emails/questions about exactly HOW people can work with me, so I’m going to compile them here, for ease!

Choose Your Own Rachael Adventure:

90 Days to Done / 90 Day Revision: NOW OPEN! The next session runs June 1 - Aug 31. Click above to grab your spot if you’ve been waiting for this!

Ink Village: This is where we write together on Zoom (up to 14 hours a week). We chat in our private Slack about how and what we’re doing. Plus, you get a weekly Q and A (all questions are welcome!), and there are options for you to be edited or get coaching from me, one-on-one (limited availability).

Writing in the Junkyard: A quarterly weekend of writing over two 6-hour days, it’s some of the most joyful fun you can have while getting your work done. The next two Junkyards are now open for registration: July 11-12 and October 10-11. (These are included with membership in Ink Village!)

Patreon: This is the sweetest, kindest, most generous way to show your support of what I do. Each month, I write an exclusive essay about the creative life, and I pour my heart into each one. If you’re interested in creative non-fiction or memoir, this might be just what you’re looking for. Just a buck a month! Binge all the past essays! (At the $5 level, I can be your mini-coach and answer any of your questions on my podcast, Ink in Your Veins!)

PPS - Please consider forwarding this email to a writing friend who might also like it? They can subscribe by clicking HERE!

PPS - As always, 100% human written, so please forgive the human typos! 🤦