An Appreciation for Lulls 🐛

September has been so full and rich with ideas and activities that I'm re-learning an appreciation for the "lull." 

But before I get to that, let me share with you that the retreat was a huge highlight of my year. Stowel Lake Farm was a wonderful location, and OMG--the food!! The participants were stellar, the conversations deep and rich, and the daily creative work poured forth steadily and productively. Everyone got a lot done, and there was still time for massages, yoga, and glasses of wine at the end of the day! I've included a few pictures below. (I had so much fun I think I want to do it again, so I'll keep you posted as those ideas unfold...)

My good friend Sabrina, from Hamburg, Germany, attended the retreat and stayed on to visit a while. This allowed us to take a side trip to visit a writer-friend, Kathryn, in Portland as well as offer a live webinar on a new and interesting topic that blended both our areas of expertise and gave us each a chance to explore new territory and expand our interests. We called the talk, "Stories to Live and Die For" (a recording is on youtube now) and it went so well we're going to delve into a second conversation on Sunday, November 3rd.

But first, a lull please. This strange yet soothing word dates back to Middle English and relates to the Latin, lallare, which means to sing to sleep, and the Swedish lulla, as in lullaby. Today we take it to mean a period of rest or soothing, or a period of reduced activity, or, nautically speaking, a period without waves or wind. I'm ready for a period like this. Time to read, think, write, reflect. I came across this quote by an 18th Century writer named Ann Radcliffe that captures my feeling: “When her life was discomposed…a book was the opiate that lulled it to repose.” (Interestingly, Radcliffe was a money making female writer in her time.)

In the writing world a "writing lull" is similar to a "writing block," and seen as negative, but I see the value in lulls, whether in the process of writing or within actual stories. Little lulls are needed to break up tension, integrate plot consequences, and give space for characters to grow believably. We may need to have more tension-relieving moments in life than in stories. Elmore Leonard cautioned us to, "Try to leave out all the parts readers skip." From a story perspective, I agree. But from a living perspective, lulls are needed.

I had been feeling inspired to focus this newsletter on the topic of writing and friendship, but I think I'll let Maria Popova's article on Henry Miller on Friendship and the Relationship Between Creativity and Community speak for me this time. Dig into this lovely meditation full of fun rabbit hole-links to wander through, or simply appreciate a personal "lull" by closing your eyes, taking a deep breath, and just letting things be.

“I must rest here a moment, even if all the orcs ever spawned are after us.”

~ J.R.R. Tolkien ~

“That’s what you’re looking for as a writer when you’re working. You’re looking for your own freedom.” 

~ Philip Roth ~