Low-key January inspiration

This is not a thirty-day challenge

In praise of low-stakes learning

Y’all have heard me talk a lot about how I downloaded the Merlin Bird ID app and started identifying birds in my neighborhood by their song. Then I go home and draw the birds, along with whatever fun facts I can learn about them.

A nice pastime. What I haven’t said is this: I’m still terrible at identifying birds, whether by sight (having drawn them, you’d think I’d remember what they look like) or by song (having picked up their songs with my app a gazillion times and gone, “Oh yeah! A song sparrow!”)

Apart from the six or so that basically live right outside my window year-round, I have not actually learned that much about birds. But I keep looking them up! I’ll hear a bird, identify it with my app, and think, “Ah yes, the Pacific wren! I recognize its chirp now! I’ll get it by myself next time!” and then I don’t.

I learned a bit of Italian this way, too. We were going to Italy in 2019, so several months before we left, I started listening to Coffee Break Italian podcasts at the gym. I didn’t try very hard. Some days, I didn’t pay much attention to the podcast at all. I didn’t do vocabulary flashcards or take quizzes. I just sort of dabbled in it.

And I went to Italy with a smattering of Italian, which I often got horribly mixed up with my much better (but still not great) Spanish, and it was awesome. I ordered in restaurants. I asked baffling questions of taxi drivers. I actually got us out of a tight spot in a train station once, all thanks to my extremely minimal Italian.

My dad can’t travel internationally anymore, but he spends a little time every day learning Spanish, until he gets bored with that, and he goes back to his first love, French, and sometimes he dips into Italian for the hell of it. Why? For no reason other than to say goofy little phrases to me in one of those three languages, and see what I might come up with for a reply in whatever language I can muster.

So I’m going to suggest that this kind of low-stakes learning — with no goals, no grades, no outcome, and maybe even no point of any kind—is a delightful activity and a nice sort of hobby to have, if you’re in the market for a hobby or just a pastime—literally, a way to pass the time.

Nishant Jain

decided to learn the names of some nearby trees as he drew them. Do you know the names of the trees on your street? Why not get a field guide (or try the Seek app, although it’s not always accurate, and field guides are more fun) and just see if you can get to the point where you can greet your neighborhood trees by name.

Or go to YouTube and learn a dance move that you’ll never actually remember or perform in public (you must, of course, start with Soul Train.)

Just an idea for the new year.

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Gardening in a war zone: I’m not crying, you’re crying

I’ve known Erin Benzakein of Floret Flowers since way back in the days when my book Flower Confidential came out. She’s an extraordinary person but I was not prepared for this new extraordinary thing she’s done with a Ukrainian flower farmer.

Just watch. With tissues.

And here’s the full documentary. And here’s Alla’s website. She’s completely sold out of seeds for now, but if you’d just like to kick some funds in her direction, you can buy digital downloads of her photos. And here’s an interview with more information. What a beautiful, remarkable story. Good on you, Alla and Erin.

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You heard it from Harvard: Ask for advice, not feedback

I get a lot of questions from writers about the practice and business of writing books. I answered most of those questions in a series of classes I teach online (scroll to the bottom of the page for the writing classes).

One of the questions I hear a lot is about how to get feedback, and who to get feedback from. Personally, I’m not in favor of asking a bunch of people to read my work in progress and give me notes. I don’t like the way it feels, I’m not sure it’s helpful, and besides, I have an agent and an editor and that’s their job.

I caution writers to be careful about who they give their manuscripts to, and why. Don’t put your spouse or your best friend in an awkward position. If you’re looking for love and validation, you can get that from them without putting a couple hundred pages in their lap. If you just want a high five for doing the work, then take them out for celebratory drinks and tell them a bit about what you’ve done and why you’re so excited about it, and let them raise a glass to you.

But if you are going to seek out feedback…for a writing project, or anything else…I love this suggestion: Ask for advice, not feedback.

What would you do next, if you were me?

What else do you think this needs?

How would you suggest I improve upon this?

This is such a great idea, because it puts people in the position of seeing themselves as experts with useful advice, rather than awkward deliverers of difficult truths.

It also gives them an easy out. “Gosh, I just don’t know the first thing about science fiction. I wouldn’t know where to begin, but I think it’s so cool that you’re doing it. We still on for pickleball?”

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Another idea for the new year: Start a new sketchbook, fill it with just one thing

I’m not offering up any kind of January 30-day challenge. I personally do not feel that I’m in need of any more challenges right now. Instead, I’ll suggest this: Buy yourself a lovely new sketchbook and fill it with just one thing. Birds, for instance, as I’ve mentioned.

Take as long as you like to fill the sketchbook. Just have it hanging around as a fun thing you can do whenever you want to.

For paid subscribers, I’m reviewing different kinds of sketchbooks and suggesting what sorts of things, other than birds, you might draw in a book like this. A monthly subscription is about the price of a couple colored pencils and you can cancel anytime.

And for beginning artists, or anyone looking to get back to basics, I’ve rounded up my favorite drawing exercises. No special supplies or experience needed. They’re more like games and puzzles that anyone can play. Join us!

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What Are You Reading?

I love all of Ann Patchett’s books, and I knew I would love this one. Nonetheless, I put off reading it because I was so annoyed by the cover. Why the weird little random flowers, and the title and author in small text in a clunky box placed awkwardly at the top? She’s a massively popular author and the book was obviously destined for the bestseller list. What about some big beautiful type and a gorgeous compelling image of…oh, I don’t know…a LAKE? A theater? (the book is about theater) Cherry blossoms? (Cherry orchards play a role) Something?

At the very end of the book, you find out why this cover makes sense. I did develop a little affection for it after that. But covers are for people who haven’t read the book.

Anyway, that’s my cover rant. Tom Lake is a lovely novel. I found it very soothing to read and looked forward to it every night. It cast a sort of delicious spell and I didn’t want to leave its pretty little world. If you want a warm and wonderful novel about family and nostalgia for one’s youth that is filled with joyful and heartfelt moments without ever getting cloying, this is for you.

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If you read this far…

This free newsletter might be a little less frequent for a while, like a couple times a month, probably, as I gear up to take on new projects. Paid subscribers still get a weekly art tutorial and help keep this whole enterprise going generally. Thanks for reading.

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The bit at the end

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