Inspiration & Perspiration:
Danielle Trussoni’s Newsletter
October 2021 Newsletter
“Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.”
— Thomas Edison
Hello from the writing cave!
When I was growing up (I was born in Wisconsin), December meant snow and ice, fires burning in the fireplace, lots of baking, snowmen and slush and ice skating. But In San Miguel de Allende, where I’ve been living since August, December is sunny and pristine, with crystalline blue skies and cool evenings. The afternoons are so warm that I am able to leave the writing cave and put on a sundress and sandals, sit in a pool of sunlight and let the day’s writing settle.
This is a decidedly UN-December like activity for me and doesn’t feel natural, which may explain why the end of 2021 snuck up on me this year. I walked to the Rosewood Hotel and found the Christmas tree had gone up.
If you follow me on social media, you’ll know that in November I spent a week away from home working on my upcoming novel. A friend of a friend allowed me to stay in his beautiful home here in San Miguel, where I was buried in my manuscript all day every day. The house was beautiful, and I was able to really sink into the novel, which I’m happy to say is going out to my agent in the next week or so!
This is the little office where I worked…
And the rooftop, where I had my coffee in the morning.
I recently asked my community on Instagram if they had any questions about the revision process.
@Babscat1 asked how much I revise during the first draft. It is such a good question because my writing process involves a few stages: a first draft that I try to write through quickly, without revision, and then many revisions after this draft to shape the concept, characters, and narrative rhythm of the novel. The novel I’m writing now has gone through many revisions already, and it will go through another one (at least) after an editor gets ahold of it. The trick is to make it better and not destroy the original idea in the revision process.
In other news, The New York Times is calling on readers to vote for what they think is the best book of the last 125 years. The consensus within my Twitter community was that this is an impossible question to answer. But if you had to choose, what would be your answer? I tend to agree that this is utterly impossible, but also a silly question. I like certain books for some qualities, and other books for other qualities. There isn’t just one, which is why reading is such a powerful (and lifelong) experience.
CrimeReads published an article about novels that “twist our idea of home into something truly terrifying.” As someone who has experience writing about spooky old homes, I’ve thought a lot about the idea of gothic domestic horror.
As we head into the final month of 2021, it’s a good time for writers (and everyone trying to be more aware of how we spend our time) to check in on our habits. I like this article, which outlines five healthy writing habits that produce better quality writing without the stress.
Another interesting read: How Watching British Reality TV Helped Me Finish My Novel. If you’re a writer, what unusual methods or sources of inspiration have pushed you to finish your projects?
Finally, I have some exciting news to share about Crypto-Z, the audio drama podcast my partner Hadrien and I created as a spinoff of The Ancestor. Crypto-Z is going full “crypto”! What does that mean? In this recent episode, Hadrien Royo explains the Web 3.0 revolution and how Crypto-Z can become the first fictional world entirely owned by its community and “governed” by the Crypto-Z Agency.
There’s still time for you to sign up to join me for my Writing Workshop in March 2022. There are only 2 spots remaining. We will spend five days working on chapters and stories from longer works such as memoirs and novels, then celebrate at the end of the week with a cocktail reception. If you’re interested, please respond to this email and let me know. I’ll save you a spot.
Thank you as always for following along with me here and on social media. If you have any questions about reading, writing, or publishing that you’d like to see answered in the newsletter, please respond to this email.
Yours,
Danielle