News & Blog
So honored! Dear Ones — THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS has been nominated for a…
So honored!
Dear Ones —
THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS has been nominated for a terrific prize in the UK called The Wellcome Prize — for achievement in writing on a medical subject.
This is such a delight, to have been short-listed. SOAT is the only novel on the list, alongside work by such eminent scientific authors as Andrew Solomom and Oliver Sachs.
Alma would be so pleased, to be recognized in the world of science!
Gratefully,
LG
Eat, Pray, Love author’s tale of botanist up for medical writing prize
www.standard.co.uk
The best-selling author of Eat, Pray, Love — made into a film starring Julia Roberts — has been shortlisted for the £30,000 Wellcome prize for books on a medical theme.
LANDED! Hey guys! A mere blink of a flight, and I’ve landed safely in Austalia…
LANDED!
Hey guys!
A mere blink of a flight, and I've landed safely in Austalia.
I will see you over the next few weeks in:
Adelaide
Melbourne
Brisbane
Sydney
and Wellington, NZ
Sorry I couldn't do more stops (stop yelling at me, Perth!) but jeez, I've tried my very best!
All the details here, mates:
Heart,
LG
MY MOTHER’S MOTTO… I’ve shared the expression “Done is better than good” on t…
MY MOTHER'S MOTTO…
I've shared the expression "Done is better than good" on this page before, when talking about how how perfectionism can murder creativity. I always credit my mother with teaching me this important lesson — that it's better to have something completed than something immaculate.
I'm so grateful to a friend of this page named Shannon for making this quote up into such a wonderful, shareable illustration!
In my family, we applied this motto to everything in our lives. As my mom always joked, "I get the dishes done faster than anyone in this house…just don't look at them too closely when I'm finished!"
The notion of "Done is better than good" has guided me in my writing life for years — most of all, when I was struggling to write my first novel (which has tear stains on every page, because I was so insecure back then about my work.) There were many times when I wanted to quit, because the writing was simply not as good as I wanted it to be. But I remember one particular day, fighting back against my frustration with a fierce resolve, saying to myself: "I will finish this book, no matter what it takes. Because I would rather publish a mediocre novel than go to my grave with 50 pages of an unfinished manuscript hidden in the back of my desk drawer. Everyone I know has 50 pages of an unfinished book in their life, and I will not be that person. And if critics don't like what I wrote, they can write their own damn books."
So I finished. Good enough.
Even with THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS (which I loved writing and felt I had finally earned the chops to write) there are still flaws in that novel. I know exactly what those flaws are, but I decided not to struggle and waste time fixing them all, because it would slow down my life too much, and perhaps even interfere with the flow of the story, which has its own energy. Think of it like a carpenter looking at a house he has just built, and noticing that the foundation is two inches crooked on one side. Could he tear down the whole house and start again, make it perfect? Sure. But he could also decide, "It's good enough. The roof is sound. The slight tilt is part of the structure's particular charm. Let's move on and build the next house."
I don't want to spend my life fussing over making any one thing absolutely perfect (whatever perfection means, anyhow.) I want to make as many things as I can, taking on as many projects as I can possibly tackle. Each one exciting. Each one good enough. Each one DONE, to make room for the next, and the next, and the next…
Love,
LG
…and Alma Whittaker and THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS visit their first Brooklyn…
…and Alma Whittaker and THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS visit their first Brooklyn laundromat! Thanks for this, Jessica!
Photos of Elizabeth Gilbert
Oh, how I wish I had a sexier or more postcard worthy backdrop, but I knew I had to be real with you. Brooklyn laundromat real. Your magnificent book has been the best company these past few weeks, especially during ordinary errands in the middle of this unforgiving winter.
WOW…Alma Whittaker and THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS are visiting their very fir…
WOW…Alma Whittaker and THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS are visiting their very first glacier. Amazing!
Photos of Elizabeth Gilbert
Alma Whittaker… El Calafate, Santa Cruz, Argentina. Glaciar Perito Moreno. — with Laura Covaro at <a href="https://ift.tt/1hK5KJT; data-ft="{"tn":"P"}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=229522440429924&extragetparams=%7B%22directed_target_id%22%3Anull%7D">Glaciar Perito Moreno</a>.