In a world (inside a world)

Ready Player One?

I don’t consider myself a gamer, or at least I haven’t been a gamer since fifth grade when my efforts to avoid influenza and fix a broken cart wheel and decide whether or not to shoot one of my ailing oxen on the fictional Oregon Trail occupied my life.

These days, I find video games too immersive, overstimulating, hyper violent. The colors and flashes and jumps and spins and buttons make my head turn. I’m an old fashioned lady at heart, and I’d rather get my rocks off in a book.

All this being said, I like reading about gamers very much. The first book that saw me admiring how gamers see the world was “Wolf in White Van” by John Darnielle¹. I love all of Darnielle’s books—he creates worlds within a world, most of them infused with the melancholy that accompanies the passage from young adulthood to adulthood. But WHITE VAN is my favorite. It’s actually one of my top ten books of all time. Talking about it will spoil it, so let me just tell you: read it. It’s sad, it’s beautiful, it’s heartwrenching, it’s hopeful. It’s like no book I’ve ever read.

Immerse yourself in worlds within big worlds

This week, I’m doing a fun thing which is watching the Spielberg movie “Ready Player One” (based on the bestselling book by the same name by Ernest Cline) and I’m finally reading the much hyped “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin at the same time. I love the different experiences that I’m getting from these three works of art: WOLF describes an analog game where players have to write the game’s creator—using the post office!—to access their next move; TOMORROW takes the reader through the creation of an influential video game; and PLAYER ONE sees the main characters leaving the virtual world of gaming that has obsessed them to play the hard game of real life.

If you haven’t read any of these titles, follow me on this journey! These three works are fun to experience simultaneously, and also have meaningful messages to impart about the value of platonic friendship.

• On the topic of friendship: We’re running a giveaway for the paperback release of “The Year of the Horses”! In honor of Galentines Day (which is where you celebrate friendship, not romance) the first 25 people to pre-order the paperback and show proof of purchase to my publisher will get a free copy to gift to a dear friend. After we hit 25 pre-orders, upon proof of purchase I’ll write a personal note (I’m talking about a mailed letter, WOLF IN WHITE VAN style) to the buddy of your choice. I’ll tell them what you think is special about them, why you appreciate them, how they bring joy to other people’s lives. If you order through my local indie, Oblong Books in Millerton, you’ll also get those books signed because I live close enough to go write in them in person. All information to participate in the giveaway is here.

To participate, click link the the copy block above

Otherwise, I have a ton of workshops and craft lectures coming up! Join me at one?

• February 16th 8-9:30pm ET (Virtual): I’ll be teaching everything I know about writing a memoir. This is going to be a practical class aiming to help you transform your personal memories into either an essay or a book-length manuscript that people who aren’t you will love. The recording will be available after the class for a limited time. Sign-up here.

• February 25th 2pm ET (In person, Falls Church VA): I’m the featured speaker at the Crooked Steeple Festival—A.M Holmes will also be there, which I am fan-girling about. I’ll be talking about…life, basically! Join me via this link.

• March 14th 12pm ET (Virtual): I’m doing a fundraiser for Horses for Mental Health’s annual campaign with a class on messaging. “Content creation for equestrians: How to attract (and maintain) new users to your mission, even if you’re ‘bad’ at social media.” You can sign up here (choose the “March 14th” session- consider sending people our way who might need this course!)

Upcoming classes, workshops and craft + business lectures

• April 2 1:30pm ET (In person, Woodstock, NY): Holy cannoli is this Woodstock BookFest memoir-a-go-go panel good! I’ll be joined by Ada Calhoun! Aileen Weintraub! Ann Hood! Others. You should definitely come, too. All info here.

• April 4th 6-9pm CST (In person, Chicago, IL): Another fundraiser, this time for the community-writing center Story Studio which was co-founded by Rebecca Makkai. This is going to be a craft lecture meets inspirational lecture meets a lot of fun. It’s Story Studio’s principal fundraiser for the year— discount tickets for groups are available by writing sara@storystudiochicago.org Otherwise individual (tax deductible) tickets are here.

• April 22 10-3pm CST (Virtual): And finally! I’m one of the featured speakers at HerStry Writers’ Conference. Join me, Bianca Marais, Negesti Kaudo and other fantabulous women writers at this virtual conference. Info here.

And then, my friends, I am going on vacation!

---

Coming up in content land: this Friday we’ll have a post on blurb-writing etiquette (including tips on asking for blurbs, writing a blurb, and writing your own blurb. Yes—writing your own blurb. Really). A “Sex with Jonathan Franzen” post will hit around Valentine’s Day, and then we’ll move into an opening pages intensive. Upgrade from free if you’d like to participate!

xoxo (and thanks for being here.)

Courtney

1. I’m an affiliate member of Bookshop.org. If you purchase the books I’m excited about, I will get a small commission that I use to purchase books myself on the Bookshop site.