trying
art project no.4: Not Writer’s Block, Just Nose Blocked
I knew this day would come. I just didn’t think it would be so soon.
At the New Year, I took on this project to publish a new essay every Friday in 2026. It has been easy — until now!
I am simply sick with a cold.
I am actually ok with being sick right now. It has to happen sometimes. Right now being sick interrupts nothing but the flow of everyday life. Thankfully I was not sick in Japan, as I feared I might be.
I am doing this project to document the writing process, in all its up and downs.
I write to write, not to have written.
It can be scary to break the routine, or the ‘streak’, in our overly-gamified society. Usually, I write a first draft by hand on a Sunday or Monday, but because of the Full Moon it got moved to Tuesday, and because I was sick, it got pushed to Wednesday.
Trust the process —
This must be the message that needs to come through this week (although I had other topics in mind!). I must trust that I can type and edit it in one day and that it will be enough. (I don’t ‘work on it’ every day after the first draft, but it stews merrily in the slow cooker. This week’s essay is a flash in the pan.).
It is daunting to delay a day in honour of rest. Even after taking that day, it is daunting to show up the next, with I don’t feel ‘in full form.’ But beneath it all, I recalibrate and I grow stronger.
This is an Essay Project.
By the way — I’ve been calling this a ‘writing project’ or a ‘blog project’, but what it actually is an Essay Project. Essay comes from the French verb meaning “to try”. That’s all this is. Each week, I try. I keep going. This rhythm is what matters to me. I tend this fire, the hearth of my creativity. In doing so, I hope you feel a little more free to tend your own fires, of what matters most to you.
Be well,
Xandra
❤️
P.S. As a US voter abroad, I’ve just registered to vote in the primaries. It took about 5 minutes, and I can submit my ballot online: usvotefoundation.org has the info. Next up, I’m researching the ballot on Ballotpedia.
P.P.S. Happy Full Moon in Leo :)
My Current Offerings:
We’re slowly reading The Hobbit together on my new, additional Substack: Middle Earth Magic 🪄 Come read with us!
Moon planner: Lunar Logbook. Tell the story of your life as you plan it. Discount code for you: THANKYOU20