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Pivot! Pivot!

Dear fellow society of the strange,

If you have been following me for a while, you probably know that the summer is a rough time for me, as someone with reverse seasonal depression. Which is why, around September, I suddenly pop out of my coffin and come alive again. For my loved ones, there’s a bit of whiplash as the first day it’s cool outside, my mood totally changes. As I age, I’m learning to embrace the pivot.

I’ve been watching an inordinate amount of competitive cooking shows. One of my favorites is Next Level Chef with Gordon Ramsay. On that show, there is a tight timeline for every cook they have to do. When something isn’t working, the chefs call it pivoting. A pivot is a point where you realize what you were doing wasn’t working, and you switch it up. You remove the garnish, abandon the first idea, and sometimes leave a whole steak on the grill. But what often results is a better dish.

This summer’s pivot point for me was shifting some of my workshops, getting a few things accepted that have forced me to rethink my marketing plans for the next year, and finding a new art to enjoy as a relaxation from all of those above things that needed to change. (The relaxation art is pink eraser art! You can find out about it on my Insta.)

I cannot understate how useful a skill flexibility is for the creative person. For me, this summer-to-fall moment is always a pivot, and it’s often reflected in my creativity as I transition from feeling like everything is hard to being more inspired in my work.

I hope you find the pivot point this fall.

Write what you love, love what you write.

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I'm a working narrative artist, and you can catch some of my upcoming in-person workshops happening at my art studio, MERGE, in 2026: