It’s a lot. I know. It’s hard to keep up with all of the things. This is an attempt to:

Provide some notes on some of what I’m reading, writing, and working on
Do a bit of reflection
Think about what’s coming up in the near future

Writing

I’m still taking a lot of notes for two nonfiction books that tie in really well with my other work. Over the past several weeks I’ve done a good amount of research and writing for the book proposal I’m working on, but I didn’t do much writing this past week because I’ve been consolidating two websites into Our Faith in Writing. My goal is to have my book proposal for Book Number Two ready by October 15th. I’m counting the website and podcast consolidation as part of that work since I describe my podcast, online presence, and goals for both in the book proposal.

Reading

One of my favorite reads from the past few weeks is David Copperfield. I’d never read it before, and I’m really glad I made the decision to do so. I also watched a recent-ish movie based on the book that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I’ve read a dozen or so books recently for research purposes for Book Number Two. Some were great. Some were helpful. Some are unremarkable.

I read two new books about faith and loneliness this week. One has been published, one isn’t out yet. One is decent, one is infuriating. I’ll probably write more about those books soon.

I started reading Little Women, which I confess I haven’t read before now. Don’t tell my daughter.

Art and Faith

I’ve been listening to a lot of Antonín Dvořák and watching a lot of trash reality TV. Reality TV shows are manipulated and far from authentic, but are still great studies of the human condition. It’s fascinating. They’re either highlighting the human depravity of their characters or appealing to the human depravity of their audience. Or both, I guess.

Spiritual Direction for Writers

I had some great spiritual direction sessions with existing clients and an introductory conversation with a new client this past week. I am truly amazed by how the Spiritual Direction for Writers sessions continue to unfold. Sometimes things happen that are obviously inspired by God which makes me realize everything is inspired by God, even when it’s not as obvious as the things that are spooky-witchy-wild-how-in-the-world-did-that-happen.

I’m accepting new spiritual direction clients again, so let me know if you’d like to set up an introductory call to see if we’re a good fit. You can see my current offerings here.

I led another Our Faith in Writing Four-Hour Retreat this morning. It went so well. I love these retreats. I don’t have many participants yet, but I believe (I hope!) they’ll come. It’s just such a good format. We pray, read, respond, and write. Everyone who has participated in the four-hour retreat has enjoyed it. I’m going to see if a couple of people will provide testimonials to generate more interest.

Our Faith in Writing Podcast

All of the former Art and Faith Unplugged podcast episodes are officially Our Faith in Writing episodes now. I’m working on scheduling some new guests to add to the phenomenal lineup of conversations that are already live.

More Updates

I sent another Five Good Things email newsletter last week. I included one very short story, one easy carbonara recipe, one reminder from Toni Morrison, one sparkly Metro Pouch, and one video tour of Our Faith in Writing.

I scheduled two co-writing sessions for this past week but participation has been low, so I think I’m going to nix it. The co-writing sessions are helpful and a good source of writerly encouragement, but there isn’t much demand so I think it’s time to kill it.

I’m recording a video series called Behind the Scenes with The Great Belonging. I’m creating a video for each chapter and providing background information, extra details, and more. Some videos include notes and advice on writing and publishing. Fifteen videos are live now. More videos coming soon.

I want to include some Q&A videos in the Behind the Scenes with The Great Belonging series. If you have any questions about loneliness, belonging, writing, etc, please send them to me at charlotte@charlottedonlon.com.

I’m partnering with Ashley M. Jones and Magic City Poetry Festival on a couple of things and am super excited about what’s in store. We still need to confirm some of our plans, but I’m thrilled to be thinking about some fun stuff for the 2022 festival.

Next Week

In the coming days I hope to:

Re-establish a regular writing rhythm since the new website migration is almost complete.
Have two(2) Sabbaths.
Dive into the lessons and assignments for an online writing class I’m taking.
Clean a few hundred emails out of my inbox. (Always)

We’ll see how that goes.

I hope you had a nice week and have a great weekend. Don’t forget to rest.

Charlotte Donlon helps readers and clients notice how they belong to themselves, others, God, and the world. Charlotte is a writer, a spiritual director for writers, and the founder and host of the Our Faith in Writing podcast and website. She’s also the host of the Hope for the Lonely and A Writer’s Diary podcasts. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Curator, The Christian Century, Christianity Today, Catapult, The Millions, Mockingbird, and elsewhere. Her first book is The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other. You can subscribe to her newsletter and connect with her onTwitter and Instagram.