Writing Prompt

"At the End of..."

Hi, Friend.

I’m home from my latest book event and am writing to you from my back patio, where my dog is sleeping in the sunshine on a small cot. Yes, a small cot made just for dogs. Life is good if you’re Phoebe.

In this post you’ll find a writing prompt—and some thoughts on the challenge and importance of finding the right title—linked up to my last set of annotations (“After the Divorce, I Think of Something My Daughter Said About Mars” and “At the End of My Marriage, I Think of Something My Daughter Said About Trees”). One of my hopes for this newsletter is that it will be useful for writers, teachers, and students, so I’m being mindful about these connections.

Today’s post is for paid subscribers, as a thank-you for the tangible and meaningful support. THANK YOU. Writing is work. (Not “work.”) It’s how I pay my bills and support my kids (and this happily napping dog beside me). This newsletter is completely reader-supported, so you’re making this thing—and the time and thought I devote to it—possible. I’m grateful.

I also understand that not everyone is in a position to chip in. I love so many Substack newsletters (check out my recommendations!) and wish I could subscribe at the paid level to all of them, but I can’t. So I get it. There will always be plenty of free content here, because this space is for all of us.

In whatever way you’re here, I’m glad you’re here.

Onward!