Our next Writing in the Junkyard Writing Retreat is April 18–19 — two days of joyful, focused writing in community. Early bird pricing ends April 13th. Come and write!

Dearest writer,

Yesterday, while riding my bike home from my office, I bonked. Hard.

I have a second-hand e-bike, and I love it. I need it here, because our house is 257 metres higher than my office downtown (843 feet). That elevation gain is spread over 6km, so it’s not straight uphill, but it is ALL uphill. Riding to my office, I barely pedal, and my hands get the only workout of the ride as I desperately clutch them the whole way. Going home, though? Whew, my burning thighs.

So yesterday, when I felt suddenly wiped out while climbing the longest, steepest hill, I got stubborn. I was in gear four. I always did this bit in gear four! No way in hell was I going to drop to the easier gear three.

I decided making it easier for myself would be failure.

Really, Rachael?

Who exactly did I think was going to report me? The bike police? Look, ma’am, are you sure you pushed yourself all the way to the brink of exhaustion? Didn’t think so. Sign here, and we’ll see you in court.

I had a bad case of the Should-Be-Able-Tos.

I should be able to ride this in a harder gear. I should be stronger than I feel right now. I should stop mucking around and try harder.

Oh my god, says who? It was late afternoon, I hadn’t eaten since 11am, and I’d gone swimming and done a hot tub after work. Of course I bonked.

Believing I should be able to make my muscles work harder was ridiculous.

But I constantly fall into this trap, because I know, of course, that I COULD do the thing if I just try harder. Like, if I’d needed to get home in order to rush Junebug to the emergency vet (god forbid), I would have set a personal record flying up that hill. If I was chased by an axe-wielding murder wasp, I could have gone faster in a more difficult gear. Of course.

BUT I WASN’T IN DANGER.

I was just tired.

All of this went through my mind in about 45 seconds, and then I switched to the easier gear.

Oh, the sweet relief of it.

When I got home, I ate an ice cream bar for immediate protein/carbs (safety first). Right before dinner. Because I’m an adult and I can.

As I sat in the backyard scarfing down my ice cream, I realized that this Should-ing is exactly what writers do all the time.

• I’ve spent years studying writing, so I should know what the hell I’m doing on the page.

• I’ve written books before, so I should be able to write this one more easily.

• I used to be able to write 2,000 words a day, but now I’m only getting 500 on a good day. I should be able to at least triple that!

• I’m a morning person, so I should be able to write in the mornings—what’s wrong with me?

Say it with me:

SHIT JUST IS. (Those are the words that came to me yesterday, ice cream in hand. Feel free to substitute the ever-popular “it is what it is.” Or say it in a Kiwi accent for fun! “Ut uhz what ut uhz.”)

Shit just is, yo. If you can only write 1,000 words a week, it doesn’t matter what you think you should write.

When we accept what is, a gorgeous thing happens.

We’re right on time. We’re not behind. We are right HERE.

And I find that totally freeing. There are no shoulds.

We can write. We do write. We absolutely don’t need the shoulds. Plans and goals? Yes! Sure. We make plans that we allow to change and grow into something that actually serves us.

So, my friend, what shoulds will you throw out in order to embrace what is? Do you need a plan or a goal to move forward gracefully? Yay! (But set the Shoulds out with the trash and let ‘em go.)

Onward!

❤️ Rachael

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🎉 P.S. - Life is messy — and your writing doesn't have to wait until it isn't. The Writing in the Junkyard Online Retreat is happening April 18–19, and it's two full days of focused, joyful, judgment-free writing in community. No critique, no pressure, just you, your work-in-progress, and a whole lot of words. Early bird pricing ($199) ends April 13th. Grab your spot here →

Testimonials for the Junkyard:

• Writing in the Junkyard was exactly the soul CPR my brain needed to jump back into writing after some time away. Rachael gave me the tools and time I needed to experiment with my writing practice in a kind, gentle playground of a retreat space. - M. Flahive

• "Junkyard" is almost a misnomer for this retreat. It feels more like a visit to a high-quality hardware store where you're allowed to pick up any tools and materials you want and make something new while a kind, on-call expert answers all your questions about the table saw. - C. Klinger

🎉 PPS - Current members of Ink Village, the Junkyard is included for free in your membership! Watch Slack or your email for the form to register. ❤️

🇮🇹 PPPS - I have a last-minute open spot in my in-person retreat in Italy next month! This will be a truly intimate, week-long opportunity to not only write together, but to explore the Italian countryside. You’re welcome, no matter your writing experience (or lack thereof). Come to Italy!

✏️ As always, 100% human-written, please forgive the inevitable typos!

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