The strange and wondrous beauty of the quiet-in-between by Poppy Gee

CRAFT: Let’s talk about the quiet business: how do you maintain your writing life during the “in-between” seasons? How do you keep going between book deals, day jobs, drafts, or deadlines? What systems or habits help you stay connected to your work when there’s no external validation?

The paradox of my writing life is that I prefer the ‘in between’ seasons between book deals and publicity commitments to those intense, heady, long-yearned for days of celebration and achievement.

I found the publication process quite stressful. I loved getting the news that I would be published, signing the contract and working with amazing editors. What made me anxious was the reviews, the publicity commitments, the invitations to speak and, more often, the lack of invitations to speak. I know I’m not alone. I have a writer friend who began seeing a psychologist to help manage the stress of the first few months of a new book being published. I tried to do the same, but it was during Covid, and the psychologists were all booked out unless it was a matter of life or death. It wasn’t.

The public speaking requirements of being a published author used to scare me. It’s an important part of being a writer, especially because it’s how we all support other writers with their work. I made a conscious decision to overcome my fear by accepting every invitation to host my friends’ book launches. Gradually, I became more comfortable sitting up the front holding a microphone. Now, I look forward to having a wonderful, thoughtful conversation. I'm proud of this! And during the quiet-in-between, these conversations are what keep me connected with my writing community.

For most of us, the quiet-in-between is what defines the writing life. We write for joy, to process sadness, to make sense of the world, to understand ourselves and others. Even writing this blog post gives me a sense of calm, a reprieve from disorder, and the quiet pleasure you get from creating something small and meaningful. I’m grateful for the time and ability to sit here on a veranda on a warm morning, with a cup of coffee, looking over a beautiful garden, writing.

I have work I am constantly working on that I don’t ever intend to show to anyone, let alone publish. My tip for writers who might feel unvalidated, or worried about reaching their writing goals, is to do this too. Have a secret, private piece of work that’s only for yourself. It’s a wonderfully liberating feeling know that no one will ever read it, that you can be as honest and vulnerable and revealing as you need to be. That quiet piece of secret joy can soothe a writer's restless soul.