Hollow books and thousands of words

Eager summer plans

Welcome to issue #11 of Soft Hobbies, a series of creative check-ins for imperfect perfectionists around the world. New posts typically go out every Wednesday, and you can respond to this post by liking it, leaving a comment, or hitting Reply to this email. I’m Auzin, a Seattle-based writer in the fiction, poetry, and tech writing spheres. To see what else I do across the internet, go here.

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Hi softies,

Are you doing 1000 Words of Summer this year? It runs from June 1st - June 14th. I did it last year and it was an incredible experience, where I wrote the largest volume of words I’d ever produced in my adult life. 1000 words a day, every day for two weeks — that’s at least 14,000 words! It was hard to pull off last year, when I had fewer obligations, and if I manage to hit 1000 words each day this year, with a more demanding job and a fuller social calendar, it’ll be a miracle. I’ll definitely need a strict plan so I can stay on-schedule. If you’re interested in trying this challenge, check out the guidelines and advice from the creator, Jami Attenberg, here.

Here’s what I got up to this week!

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3 things I’m reading:

1. Almost 100 pages into IQ84 Part 1 now — this the first of three novels published in 2008 but set in a fictional parallel timeline of 1984. I’m expecting some connections to the more famous (and much shorter) 1984 by George Orwell, but so far it’s just picking up steam and laying the groundwork for the plot. Definitely enjoying this so far.

2. Still reading through the DS9 Companion guide, on the second season now. It’s often frustrating to read the old-school perspectives of the men who created my favorite TV show :( Sometimes I’ll read a particularly sexist comment from one of the showrunners out loud to Ethan and we’ll shake our heads, exclaiming in frustration and bewilderment. But, I do love learning about what goes into large-scale television production! Like detailed info about the sets, the costumes, the music, the props, all of that is fascinating to me.

3. I read this personal essay from a writer who left her corporate job to become a crossing guard in order to get full-time benefits for low-commitment hours. I lowkey am considering this now…not in the near future, but I definitely won’t discount it as an option. Being any kind of artist with a day job is truly like having 2-3 jobs.

3 things I’m writing:

1. I wrote a super-secret extra post for you all! It’ll come out on my Substack on June 1st, right after my 30th birthday. It’s a dip into beauty content, so definitely won’t be for everyone, but brings me one step closer to consolidating all my interests on this newsletter :)

2. Started planning my late June/early July trip to Southern California. I’m a fastidious travel planner, so my trips always include a detailed Google Doc with transportation times, restaurant ideas, and daily schedules down to the hour. Super excited to build the plan out in the next few weeks, and to see some friends I haven’t seen since last year.

3. Handwrote several thank-you cards for shoppers on my Etsy store, and one birthday card for a friend. I like writing by hand in brief spurts, but longform writing is always easier and fast for me on the computer.

3 soft hobbies:

1. I made a secret book box! Also known as a book treasure chest, hollow book, book safe, secret book nook…lots of names for what is basically an old hardback book with a deep hole cut into it. I love these and will be making many more this summer — I scored a huge collection of vintage World Books from our local Buy Nothing group, and they’re very pretty but relatively outdated. Perfect for this project! See below for a video of what I’m talking about. This one is messy and uneven, but my next will be better <3

In-process photos of creating the hollow book box.

2. I’m back into sewing weird little stuffies with buttons for eyes. Will post a pic when there’s something to show. I honestly like painting wayyy more than sewing, so I only pick up a sewing project if there’s some scrap fabric I want to do something with.

3. Yall, taking care of plants is so hard for me. The problem is I don’t care about them enough, and that is a character flaw I will own up to. But one of my friends with a prodigious green thumb kindly gifted me a green onion plant and a mint plant this weekend, so I have no choice but to look after them with care and diligence. Fresh, organic, local garnishes for free? That’s magic!!

Green onion on the left and mint on the right.

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Your turn! What are you reading? Writing? What’s a hobby that you’ve shelved at this time in your life, and why?

Let me know, and thanks for your time.

Softly yours,

Auzin