Minimalism and Goals

Newsletter #39

How Less Becomes More

A few months ago I shared a bit about my experience with Kon Mari-ing my home almost a decade ago. Since then I’ve followed YouTube videos of the Minimalists Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, Joshua Becker, and Dawn the Minimal Mom.

Over the years I’ve also read several different books on the subject such as:

• The Joy of Less, a Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life by Francine Jay

• Minimalista: Your Step-by-Step Guide to a Better Home, Wardrobe, and Life by Shira Gill

• Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport - The Minimalist Home by Joshua Becker

• Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff by Dana K. White

• The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo

So is getting rid of all these items truly magical as Marie Kondo’s book suggests?

Here’s what I know. Whenever I clean my house, I feel peace. That peace clears my mind. When my mind is clear, I can focus. No clutter is around to nag at me to tidy it.

Last week after I tidied my house clutter, put away all the piles, and wiped clean the dust, I:

• revised manuscript 1

• started brainstorming about a character from manuscript 2

• read multiple mentor texts for manuscript 3.

• revised manuscript 1 again, enough to send to my agent

Today, I received notes from my agent on manuscript 4 and right away will be able to dive into my work, which feels very fun because I get to amp up the humor—and who doesn’t need some laughter this week??

In case you couldn’t tell, this is A LOT of work on my stories, which is not my norm.

With less stuff to manage at home, I’m pretty pleased with the way I can spend time reading for pleasure, creating stories, dreaming up travel plans, playing with watercolors, and even petting my dog for over half an hour straight! (For those of you who know me well…who IS this person?!). I suppose decluttering truly is life changing after all.

2017 Christy Ottaviano Books, Henry Holt and Company

Book Report: MAYA LIN: ARTIST-ARCHITECT OF LIGHT AND LINES, DESIGNER OF THE VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL

Written by Jeanne Walker Harvey

Illustrated by Dow Phumiruk

When I first read this picture book biography about the designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., it made me fall in love with the genre. I wanted to find all the inspiring stories about people we never learned about as children. I’m thankful that the author Jeanne chose to write about Maya’s incredible story as a child of immigrant parents from China who nurtured her creativity. We follow Maya’s journey through school and travel, finding inspiration all around her, whether outdoors in a forest or in foreign cities. It is really incredible that her design was chosen from thousands, and unfortunately she needed to endure some backlash because of her age as a young college student. As I read, it was so easy to envision Maya’s ideas because of the beautiful way the illustrator Dow showed what inspired Maya in different settings. In particular, I love the perspective Dow uses in her art to show an expansive forest, striking arches in a building, and even the shock of the judges upon meeting Maya. The story concludes with a nod toward Maya’s other projects and future creations, leaving readers with the hope of more distinct designs to come.

Themes: courage, hopes and dreams, honor, biography

Discussion Ideas:

1. Why were the judges shocked when they met Maya Lin? Why did people try to object to her being the contest winner, and what do you think about that?

2. How did Maya’s parents raise her in a way that supports her hopes and reams? What might have happened if they chose to steer her path in another direction?

Mentor Text For:

• complex sentence structure

• transitional time phrases

• strong verbs

• capitalization of proper nouns

Buy the book and support independent book stores by shopping on Bookshop!

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

On so many spreads of this book, Dow illustrated scenes with unique perspectives that allow readers to feel the wonder that Maya sees around her, whether in the forest, at a library, or visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Weekly Progress Report

This is a section for “stuff I did” that relates to my writing career. I believe in celebrating all wins, big and small alike.

• revised a manuscript twice after getting feedback from 2 different people

• read agent’s notes on a manuscript and started brainstorming better character development

• read 4 picture book mentor texts

• critiqued a story

• attended a storytime at On Waverly in Chinatown in San Francisco with 3 picture book authors (You can read my reviews of This is Not My Home and How This Book Got Red.)

It was great to hear Eugenia Yoh, Charlotte Cheng, and Margaret Chiu Greanias read from their amazing picture books and see the children enjoy all the crafts for their books—a mini book on what home means to you, an accordion dragon puppet, and a red panda hat.

Sending you courage and grace in all you choose to do,

Susan