The Mood Board #033
Abundance and creativity, my bedtime essentials, the writing class that changed my life, and more.
The mood this month is abundance. An abundance of mess in my home (new clothes! shoes! snacks!). An abundance of ideas in my mind (soooo many fun things coming up). An abundance of rain (my garden bed loves it). An abundance of time with friends and family. Of kitty cuddles. Of things to do and people to see and stories to write and moments to savor. Of lily pads. And coffee dates. And bright colors. And inspiration.
What feels abundant for you this month?
How can we bask in the abundance without feeling the need to turn it into something productive? How can we create art and write and make things without the pressures of productivity and work and capitalism? What does that look like?
I’m not sure I have the answer, but I’d love to explore it with you all.
Drop a note in the comments with your thoughts – I’d love to hear how you’re thinking about this. Let’s discuss!
xx Brianna
confluence (n.): a coming or flowing together, meeting, or gathering at one point
“The building has a confluence of modern and Victorian influences.”
Another month another Lorde rec, but trust me that this song is WORTH IT, okay? I have listened to it nonstop since her new album came out.
Stories I enjoyed recently:
💌 Who Needs Chairs? Definitely Not Bisexuals With ADHD by Kahini Calcuttawalla – Motely Bloom
💌 The Book Cover Trend You’re Seeing Everywhere by Elisabeth Egan – The New York Times
💌 What Is the Divine Feminine? by Emily McGowan – The Good Trade
💌 How to Get Your Life Back Together – postcards by elle
And one by me:
💌 Is Martie The Discount Retailer We’ve Been Waiting For? – The Good Trade
This month’s mini review is not about a product, but a class! Over the last seven weeks, I took Haley Jakobson’s Writing With Confidence workshop. The class is focused on using affirmation and tools to gain confidence as a writer and really step into your identity as a writer. We did writing prompts, shared our work, peer workshopped pieces, and learned how to lean into positive feedback and curiosity when reading each other’s work. Haley is an amazing teacher, with such kindness and grace, and she shared so much wisdom and insight that I swear I found myself hanging on her every word (and furiously jotting it all down in my notebook).
This in itself was incredibly valuable and helped me immensely as a writer, especially with my novel. But what made this one of the most formative experiences of my life (truly!), was the group of people with whom I shared this workshop. Having a group of people, of fellow writers, who care as much not just about writing and books but about thinking and feeling and giving a shit about the world, has been an incredibly beautiful experience. We shared our writing, our fears, our wins, our aches, our nerdy excitements, and so much more, and I know these people will be right there with me while I finish my novel and beyond.
Ironically, I’m at a loss for any more words on how special the experience has been, and hopefully by the time my novel is published and I’m drafting the acknowledgements, the words will flow more eloquently from my fingers. But all in all, I can’t recommend this class enough. Between Haley’s expert teaching, the feedback you receive, the confidence you gain, and the relationships you make, this class is a gift. And I’m so glad I took the leap to try it out. I truly feel like it changed me as a writer for the better. <3
This month, I’m thrilled to share a super secret glance into the novel that I’m writing! I am about 26,000 words into my first draft, and I am going to share bits and pieces of the process, snippets of writing, and more as I finish this thing. Meet Meg. <3
As I sit on the bathroom floor, picking my nail polish off over the toilet, I think about how I would describe what being in my twenties is like once I’m out of them. It feels like life is hurtling past me faster and faster every year. I had a humanities professor tell me that it only gets faster as you get older and soon days feel like hours and weeks feel like days and years feel like months and suddenly you’re 45 and half your life has flashed by. I rip the top layer of my nail off with the gel polish, leaving it war torn, like my heart. It’s been a month since everything happened, aren’t I supposed to feel better?
Paid subscribers get daily creative prompts sent to their inbox every month! Here’s today’s prompt:
What are your favorite words to use? Make a list of them. Then write a bit using at least two of them.
My friend Nat taught me how to hem pants!!! Here’s me being totally normal during the process and wearing a headlamp to see while I was measuring … because it was dark … because it was 9 p.m. I don’t know who needs to hear this but crafting is actually the best way to spend a Friday night. Let this be your sign to try it if you haven’t. Also, hemming pants is a lot easier than it looks once you get the hang of it!
🌸 I have been listening to this meditation on Insight Timer recently before bed. I love these soft and gentle, yet powerful reminders about the divine feminine.
🌙 My bedtime essentials:
📖 If you’re in/near Milwaukee, I’m doing a chat with author Rebecca Anne Nguyen (who I interviewed for Creative Conversations – read that here) at Thirst Books on July 25 at 6:30 p.m. We’ll be talking about the anatomy of writing a good sex scene. ;)
💙 An important reminder that our wellbeing is resistance, plus inspiration for ways to take care of ourselves.
⚡️Anyone else remember the hilariously snarky 2010s memes that are Someecards? My coworker sent me one the other day and it took me back ten years.
🌿 Anyone near Montreal? My friend Despina has a beautiful (!!!) spa, Peauésie, and trust that if I was in Montreal I’d be booking an appointment immediately. (Can someone please go for me?)
Thank you for reading The Mood Board! It means so much to me that you are here, and I hope you found bits of inspiration here today. Say hi on Instagram here, shop my faves here, and read my other writing here.
Wait I was just thinking that I need to learn to hem my own pants!
My mood was just lifted reading this! Happy that your writing class was so beneficial!