19 Comments
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Lis Speight's avatar

You should definitely write a book about the land, as you capture your connections with it so beautifully. Sorry, I can’t be in your book circle though, as I’m already wrestling with my own book. It’s taking shape MUCH slower than yours though!! 😅 Go for it! X

Carrie Starbuck's avatar

Haha I’d love to hear more about your book Lis!

Lis Speight's avatar

It's got a murder of crows, a disgraced tv reporter and an allotment in it. But it's taking shape very slowly. My brain keeps creating poems, which I'm sharing on Instagram. So I'm going with that for now and crawling along with my book when the mood takes me. My campervan is in the hospital - new cylinder head. Yikes - pricey. Will be nice to get her home though....finally! x

Carrie Starbuck's avatar

Haha your book sounds amazing! Sorry about your camper. Peggy is in camper hospital most winters now 😆

Lis Speight's avatar

She is costing me my savings! Worth it though I think…😫

Dru Jaeger's avatar

If you open a reading circle, count me in!

Carrie Starbuck's avatar

Squeeee thank you Dru!

Ruth Coates's avatar

'Yes Carrie, what you have to say matters.' Echoing this and letting you know that your writing is one of my inbox favourites.

Carrie Starbuck's avatar

Aw thank you so much Ruth. That means alot!

Flora's avatar

Your Substack is always top of my reading list and so I’d definitely buy any book you write.

Carrie Starbuck's avatar

Wow, thank you Flora!

Lynne Francis's avatar

Your idea for a book about your relationship with the land sounds great. Wishing you all the best with it and hope it ends up in print one day.

Carrie Starbuck's avatar

Thank you Lynne - very kind!

Cheryl Kaye's avatar

First drafts are supposed to be terrible. They are how you work out the idea, I bet what you have is more salvageable that you think. You just need to work out which bits (parts of the plot, story threads, characters) worked, and which need scrapping. Then go from there.

Side note: points for sharing your first draft with someone, I would never be able to do that, my first drafts are usually disorganised chaos personified. 🙈

The land book you want to write sounds wonderful too. x

Carrie Starbuck's avatar

You’re right, a first draft is always terrible and I’m sure the bones of it are good. I can’t quite bring myself to read through the first few chapters though 😬 One day I may pick it back up!

Cheryl Kaye's avatar

I think it's okay to give it some time. Maybe you could pick it back up for NaNoWriMo, and work on the second draft. 😉

Hope you are having a good October despite everything this year. xox

Carrie Starbuck's avatar

Thank you Cheryl 💚

Juliet Fay's avatar

Go for it. The idea came to you. If it lights you up, maybe it's yours to birth into form. Good luck. And I love the perspective you'll write from. I think when we are outside something we see it differently from those who've always been immersed in it. Those fresh perspectives are vital for expanding our vision of what the world can be, what we can give by our presence and what we can receive. Our relationship to the land is never static.

Carrie Starbuck's avatar

That’s such a beautiful way to put it “maybe it’s yours to birth into form” really landed with me. 💚 I love what you said about our relationship with the land never being static that feels so true, and maybe that’s exactly what I’m trying to write towards. Thank you for the encouragement.