Happy Halloween!
If you’re anything like me, you’ve found this year to be…how shall I put it? A challenge. A shit show. A heaping dumpster fire of despair. I can’t think of any other time in my life where everything, everywhere, all at once has felt overwhelmingly bad. It’s exhausting and stressful and very easy to get sucked into the blahness of it all.
So, in order to keep my spirits up, I started keeping a note in my phone where I’d mark down something each day that I found interesting or inspiring. These are things that spark creativity or make me laugh or just take my mind off all the stuff happening in the world right now.
Before we wrap up October, I thought I’d share my list with you. Maybe some of the items will resonate and you’ll find a favorite new show or song or artist in the process.
Enjoy!
First up is the brilliant I-can’t-believe-they-just-said-that dialogue of Succession, which I’m currently rewatching. A few years back I interviewed one of the show’s writers, Georgia Pritchett (who also wrote hysterically mean dialogue for Veep) and she was polite, almost shy, with a lovely British accent. I asked her if writing dialogue for these characters allowed her to say things she might not feel comfortable saying otherwise. She replied, “Maybe! When Armando Iannucci first asked me to write for The Thick of It and then Veep, I remember thinking rather primly, ‘Well, I don’t think I know enough swear words.’ And then day one, writing pages and pages, just filth pouring out of me. It was very cathartic.” It’s also cathartic to watch, I have to admit.
Other things I’ve watched and loved this month (some new, some old): Task, Brad Ingelsby’s new HBO series (if you enjoyed Mare of Easttown, make sure to check this one out); Carrie, Brian De Palma’s 1976 adaptation of Stephen King’s debut novel, which I hadn’t seen in decades; old music videos on MTV (which in some cases are like mini movies); Stranger Things seasons 1-4, which I’m rewatching to prep for the premiere of season 5; the game show The Floor, which is a great way to test your memory or general knowledge of useless information; and Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery, a documentary that gave me the most intense nostalgia for late ’90s music.
(Fun fact: I went to all three years of Lilith Fair and one year I caught Emmylou Harris just hanging out by herself, no entourage or team around her, watching the lesser-known acts on the smaller stages.)
I’ve also been watching a lot of true crime documentaries. I’m always interested in how a documentary filmmaker chooses to tell a story. Some use the traditional talking-head style of interviews (My Father, the BTK Killer), while others rely on police bodycam and interrogation room footage (The Perfect Neighbor).
I love traveling—to anywhere, and as much as possible. This month included trips to my hometown of Boston and a few days in Baltimore.
Speaking of, Baltimore’s street art was incredible, as was the absolutely weird, wacky, wonderful American Visionary Art Museum, which was so much fun to visit. Spending some time there inspired me to do some of my own painting when I returned home. Using a palette knife to smear paint over a canvas is so relaxing. 10/10, highly recommend.
Another relaxing tool is Happy Color, which is one of those paint-by-number apps where you just pick a color and then tap where it should go. Some of the artwork is actually quite beautiful. And using the app beats doomscrolling on social media.
I’ve become strangely obsessed with stickers again. It was a hobby as a kid. I had one of those giant ’80s-era sticker books and I’d trade stickers with my friends. Lately, I’ve found myself buying them again and putting them on my journal covers, random spots in my office, etc. I picked up a few in Baltimore that I’m very excited about.
Speaking of journals, I’m rereading my old ones. I’ve been keeping them since I was 10 years old and I’ve gone all the way back to the beginning to read through my various memories. It’s a humbling experience, for sure. But what’s kind of exciting is watching my writing develop over time, as I found my voice and figured out what it is I wanted to say.
For writers, I recommend Writer’s Digest Magazine, which is one of my all-time favorite print magazines (surpassed only by Entertainment Weekly, may it RIP). I typically go through each issue with a highlighter and pen, and I have many old issues taking up space in my office closet.
While in Baltimore I picked up an issue of The First Line, which is a fun magazine where every story starts with the same first line. I love seeing how various writers take the same sentence into very different directions. I also picked up a pack of McSweeney’s Author Cards, which are the trading cards I wish existed when I was a kid. (My set included Joan Didion, which was a huge score, as far as I’m concerned.)
I’ve gone on many long walks in my neighborhood—I’m trying to get out as much as possible before it gets too cold—and it’s been incredible to see the stunning foliage in the neighborhood. (Especially knowing that in a month or so, the leaves will all be gone.)
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When I’ve felt a little unsure about my writing or painting, I’ve used Beth Pickens’ The Artist’s Deck, which my husband and son gave me as a birthday gift. Pick a topic that resonates with your creative struggles and the card gives some advice on how to break through the issue.
Two of my favorite Substacks are Jenny Lawson’s Let’s Art Together and Andrea Gibson’s Things That Don’t Suck, which her widow, Megan Falley, has continued to write since Gibson’s passing in August. Each issue of Let’s Art Together includes a drawing and a funny, often moving essay by Lawson, while Things That Don’t Suck is a devastatingly beautiful series of posts about life, death, love, all the things. It makes me cry, without fail, every time I read it.
At least once a week I’ll bring my laptop to a local coffee shop and will work there for a few hours, simply because it’s nice to be around other humans once in a while. Plus, I like their hot chocolate. I try not to listen in on conversations, but I will say that the age-old trick of eavesdropping is a great way to get story inspiration.
That said, when I don’t want to listen to others, I’ll put in my headphones and blast some instrumental music. A few favorites: Jóhann Jóhannsson’s work on The Theory of Everything soundtrack; Atli Örvarsson’s work on the SILO soundtrack; tracks by Ludovico Einaudi and Ólafur Arnalds on the Nomadland soundtrack; and pretty much any instrumental track by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. I’ve also become a big fan of the Relax Jazz Cafe channel on YouTube.
Of course, I have to give a shout-out to Halloween costumes—the weirder, the wilder, the better. And creative Halloween decorations, like the Skeleton Travis Kelce Proposing to Skeleton Taylor Swift setup in my neighbor’s yard.
When all else fails, conversations with creatives about their work and their process are a great way to cut through the blahness. It’s enormously healing to talk to people who are putting smart, interesting, thought-provoking work into the world.