Sunday Sundries 010: Craft Books on Writing & the Perfect T-Shirt
Plus, soup season has arrived!
Welcome to Sunday Sundries, the antidote to—or at least a distraction from—your Sunday Scaries.
Hello,
How has your weekend been? I’m writing this on Friday afternoon and it’s shaping up to be a rainy one here. I’ve already had one set of plans cancelled, and I’m secretly thrilled.
I adore an occasional no-plans rainy weekend where I don’t feel a single ounce of guilt about curling up under a blanket and spending an entire day lost in a book or bingeing something new on Netflix. I have my eyes on the new Kristen Bell/Adam Brody rom-com series, Nobody Wants This, about a podcaster (Bell) dating a rabbi (Brody). I’m also keen to finish Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors, which I’m loving, and dive into the buzzy new release from Sally Rooney. I have some ground turkey in the fridge waiting to become chili, a perfect accompaniment, if I do say so myself.
Let’s dig into what else is on my mind (spoiler: one topic is soup…):
📚 Craft Corner: 3 New-To-Me Books About Writing
A low-stakes confession: I’m addicted to craft books. In what is otherwise a very individual sport (writing), where I have no formal educational background, I’m frequently plagued by an itchy feeling of, “Am I doing this right?” So, I love hearing other writers discuss the minutiae of their processes.
I find that when I’m at my most productive writing-wise, I often have a craft book I’m reading alongside my own writing. Here’s an older post with a rundown of my favorite resources, but these are 3 I’ve been reading lately:
1000 Words: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round by : I mentioned last week that I’m revisiting this book, which came out earlier this year. (If reading something twice in 10 months isn’t a solid endorsement, I don’t know what is!) The book is divided into “seasons” of writing that roughly equate to different phases of a project: preparing, drafting, editing, and having a complete nervous breakdown. Within each, there are mini-essays from acclaimed writers—think: Rumaan Alam, Emma Straub, Carmen Maria Machado, Lauren Groff—with advice and pep talks. This is a great one to keep on your desk and pop into at random when you need a boost. I tabbed my favorite essays to return to again and again.
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg: In an early chapter, the author writes: “I have not worked much with a computer, but I can imagine using a Macintosh, where the keyboard can be put on my lap, closing my eyes and just typing away. The computer automatically returns the carriage. The device is called a ‘wraparound.’ You can rap nonstop. You don’t need to worry about the typewriter ringing a little bell at the end of a line.” And yet, this book—originally published in 1986—is surprising the hell out of me with its relevance. Its practical advice about the mental game of writing and dealing with ego, procrastination, and structuring your writing life are valid as ever.
Intuitive Editing: A Creative & Practical Guide to Revisiting Your Writing by Tiffany Yates Martin: By far the most tactical craft book in my current stack, this manual on editing goes through each aspect of the process from the most macro-level—character, stakes, and plot—all the way down to line-level editing. This one is giving me a lot of questions to ask and checks to make as I go through this latest draft of my WIP.
This brings me to a question for you: are you a writer? Do you enjoy when I cover these more niche aspects of the writing process?
🛍️ A Perfect T-Shirt
I think my personal style is changing. I mean this in a more macro way than “it’s a new season and there’s a new set of trends.” Though, it’s probably some of that, too. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a dress girl. A brightly patterned dress girl, to be exact. But recently, I’m finding myself intrigued by separates. Specifically, pants and skirts. But that begs the question of what to wear on top, especially in my wardrobe where most of my tops skew more athleisure than outfit-y.
As if the universe knew I was on the hunt, I stumbled on my personal perfect t-shirt last week completely by accident. You see, I was picking something up from a friend and running early (rare), so I killed some time by popping into a few nearby shops. In Everlane, I spotted a cute striped tee and decided to try it on. Trumpets and harps from heaven began playing in the dressing room cubicle. It’s the perfect length—not belly-baring, but not too long either. It fits a larger chest, but isn’t huge everywhere else. It made me believe I could be a jeans and a t-shirt girl.
When I got to the register, the sales associate told me the shirt was buy 2, get 1 free. Would I like to get 2 more? Sure, why not! Reader, I have worn these three t-shirts on repeat for the past 10 days.
I bought 2 in my usual size that are a bit snugger (more like the model on the left) that I’ve loved tucking into skirts or pairing with baggier bottoms (these Target pants are in heavy rotation; so are my Cozy Earth wide-leg lounge pants). Then, I got another a size up for a boxier fit (like the model on the right) to wear with jeans for an easy outfit. What a win!
Everlane Box-Cut Tee in Essential Cotton ($30)
🍜 Happy Soup Season
Would you like to hear the world’s shortest romance novel? Last year, a friend’s boyfriend decided to make her a new soup every Sunday. The end.
Soup as a love language!
Also, there’s a soup festival in France:
Soup as community!
I will be making soup regularly and with gusto until the weather thaws next year. Apologies to my blood pressure, my sodium intake is about to skyrocket. While I, unfortunately, will not be attending said French soup festival, I thought we could have our own virtual soup swap in the comments and trade recipes. Here are 5 of my favorites:
White Bean, Sausage, and Kale soup: I’ve been making a version of this soup for years. The original recipe I started with was from an issue of Cooking Light magazine circa 2009(?). At this point, I’m just doing it from memory and vibes, but here’s a pretty similar recipe to start from.
Copycat Zuppa Toscana via The Chunky Chef: Olive Garden at home, need I say more?
Chicken Tortilla Soup via The Pioneer Woman: Another old standby. Also, you can use a store-bought rotisserie chicken to save time.
Alison Roman’s Matzo Ball Soup With Celery and Dill via NYT Cooking (gift link): I skip the broth part and use store-bought. I like to add some kale to it, too.
Italian Sausage and Orzo Soup by Salt and Lavender: Make sure to heed the warning of cooking the orzo separately if you plan to save leftovers.
BONUS: Is chili a soup? Here are my go to’s for regular chili, turkey chili, and white bean chicken chili.
Your turn. Leave me a soup recipe in the comments!
Where to Next? More Links to Stave Off Your Scaries:
Selena Gomez interviews Mariska Hargitay (worth it for the photos alone!)
If you love our annual ‘Obscure Erotica’ episodes of the podcast, you might be interested in these truly unhinged Halloween reads on Kindle Unlimited.
Had a ton of conversations in the DMs about these red mary janes that I bought and shared on IG this week (yes, they’re super comfortable and true-to-size). Apparently the brand’s ads are stalking us all.
I’ve been sleeping on Suki Waterhouse as a musical artist. Her new album ‘Memoir of a Sparklemuffin’ is great! “Nonchalant”, “Lawsuit”, and “Think Twice” got added to my 2024 playlist.
My favorite fall apple candle got discontinued—or, more accurately, turned into a limited-edition release that already sold out on the brands’ site—but there are still some available on Amazon.
PSA: I spotted a weird freckle earlier this week and made an appointment for a skin check on Zocdoc within 48 hours. It turned out to be nothing, but maybe you need a nudge to get a skin check, too.
See you next Sunday!
Becca
This taco soup is the best! https://iowagirleats.com/cheesy-taco-soup/
I'm a journalist, and I'm working on my first novel, which means I'm also deep in the world of craft books. Thank you for these recommendations! Unsolicited rec of my own: I recently finished "What About the Baby? Some Thoughts on the Art of Fiction" by Alice McDermott, and I found it really helpful.