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Tuesday is always the worst day.
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the beautiful worst

11.17.20 vol. 6 - issue 7

This month, I found myself working at the kitchen table. It was a slow progression: one assignment at a time would be carried from my writing desk in the attic to the kitchen table and tended to while I waited for the kettle to boil more water for tea. It's a small domestic migration that happens every year--wherever I've been living--and I always seem to forget about it until I look up and realize its been weeks since I've sat at my desk, my office clean and empty, and that my husband and I started taking our meals standing at the counter or sitting on the couch. With all the ups-and-downs of this year, I found some comfort in the predictability of this old routine. I hope you've been finding stillness and comfort in the change of the season, too. I keep looking up from my kitchen table and reflecting on this last year and these last four years. This month also marks my 10 year anniversary of deciding to go all-in and building a career as a writer, so I've also been thinking a lot about the last decade--and where I hope to go next. This issue of The Beautiful Worst is shared in the spirit of reflection. Enjoy! xo.Katie

Upcoming Events: Writers Lunchbreak + Virtual Movie Night

Last year, long before the start of the pandemic, I was tired of social media and abiding the algorithm, so I started a Discord server. I wanted a place online to have conversations with people beyond the comments we were leaving on each other's posts, and host a space--the way I used to with Social Artists and Writers--for folks to connect with each other.

The server has become one of my favorite places to hang out. We host a book club and have casual conversations about what we've been reading, we recommend movies and TV shows to each other, and we chat about art and life. This Fall, I've also experimented with hosting events in this online space, and thought I'd share a few upcoming events with you:



Writers Lunchbreak

Come get some writing done and connect with other writers during your lunch break. Prompts and exercises are provided. Writers of all genres and experience levels are welcome. Every Wednesday at 12pm Central Time.


Virtual Movie Night: Little Monsters

Each month, our AV Club selects a new movie that we sync and play at the same time on our TV's at home, and live chat about on the server. Our next movie is Little Monsters starring Lupita Nyong'o this Saturday, November 21 at 9pm Central Time.

 
Join The Conversation

A Beautiful Worst Throwback: The X-Files Photos

The Beautiful Worst vol 4 issue 1 featured photographers and The X-Files enthusiasts Ryan Arthurs and Lindsay Metivier in conversation about their photo collaboration, "The X-Files Photos." They recently released their latest investigative photo series, "Fortune: an investigation into a series of murders of psychics and fortune tellers." Learn more on their website or follow them on Instagram.

Selected Writing on Reflections

Blog: Writing Lessons

In which the writer celebrates a milestone and shares ten years of writing lessons. 
Preview: The Man Upstairs

In which the writer as a 13-year-old girl takes to her journal to stop the specter of aging and memory loss.  
 
Blog: Reflection

In which the writer responds to her reflection and heritage in the early days of Trump's presidency.

 

Links of Interest

I'm always a fan of Maria Popova's offerings at Brain Pickings. Here's a piece she did on creativity and journaling: Celebrated Writers on the Creative Benefits of Keeping a Diary 
 
Writer Helen Redfern has a wonderful YouTube channel where she shares a look at her writing process, as well as her journaling habits and the notebooks she keeps as she tends to her creative practice.
 
While not specifically about journaling, per se, Sally Nixon's illustrations always remind me of details from different phases of life, particularly my childhood or teenage years, that I had forgotten about in the bustle of adulthood. Her colorful and nuanced illustrations always bring me joy and a moment of reflection.


 

Your Turn!

Last month I asked readers, What are your tips on coping through difficult times? 


"When the world seems crazy and I feel out of control, I try to remind myself that life can also be quite simple when we let it. I like to take cues from my environment whenever possible, call it reading signs and portents if you will, as I remind myself that I am a part of something that defies description." 

-Jason, Holbrook, MA



"Perseverance. Integrity. Spirit."

-Nathan, Boston, MA


This month's question: When you look back on 2020, what are the lessons you hope to carry with you into the new year?

Reply to this email with your advice to readers and I'll share it in the next issue of The Beautiful Worst!
Stay Safe + Be well!
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