Welcome to issue #7 of Soft Hobbies, a series of creative check-ins for imperfect perfectionists around the world. New posts typically go out every Wednesday. I’m Auzin, a Seattle-based writer in the fiction, poetry, and technical writing spheres. To see what else I do across the internet, go here.
Hi softies,
I’m a bit low-energy this week, but I think my general habit-building is going well. I’ve already been writing this newsletter for seven weeks consistently — that’s the most consistent writing habit I’ve ever built. So, success on that front for sure. I’ve also been doing yoga every day for a little over a year now. Not every single day: some days are shorter because I don’t have time, or I practice in the afternoon with Ethan instead of in the morning by myself, or I need to skip it for a week because I get sick. But in general, I don’t feel "right” without practicing yoga for at least 10 minutes each day. Another win.
Other habits I’m working on: building the right weekly meal plan for myself, getting 10k steps each day (very hard for me but it is achievable with dance class and a 40min walk), light weightlifting every other day, and not relapsing into the habits that forced me into physical therapy for six weeks.
It sounds intense, and it is, but I can’t emphasize enough how much of a beginner I am at all of this. Nothing about my routine is perfect or finalized, and yours doesn’t have to be either.
Here’s what I got up to this week!
3 things I’m reading:
I finished Martyr! and am very happy I read it. Kaveh’s words are obviously beautiful and I like the way he writes character interiority. I like the plot twist a lot. However, I didn’t really enjoy the third-person narrative descriptions of unnamed characters that the main characters observe because it tended to come across as condescending or misanthropic, and it’s not clear whether those feelings are coming from the narrator or the protagonist. There is a way to write observations about strangers that feel both incisive and evoke sonder and empathy, which I think are missing here. Overall I’m thrilled this novel is doing so well, but I prefer his poetry.
I started and stopped some bullshit Star Trek novel after 8 pages because it was boring and I didn’t like the way they wrote Kirk. I have to stop buying these just because they’re cheap and the covers draw me in. Lmao.
I’m about to re-read No-No Boy by John Okada, which I read in 2020 and remember feeling gutted by. I’m in the mood for something tough and real, so excited to start this one.
3 things I’m writing:
This morning, I got a writing idea during yoga for the first time! I jotted it down on my phone, which interrupted my flow but I didn’t have another way to capture it at the time. Maybe I’ll start keeping a small notepad by my mat.
I’m brainstorming some ideas for a collab with an artist friend of mine. Very excited about the possibilities there!
Gotta count the newsletter this week because I’ve been too busy with preparing for the new job to carve out time for writing. I’ve been sending a lot of emails.
3 soft hobbies:
I did watercolor painting for about an hour while listening to this youtuber — her videos are fantastic for artists in any medium, including writers. I took her advice to create a “character” to overcome art blocks and get excited about art each time you sit down to create. I started drawing some cute little fairies, part stick-figure and part Keith Haring. I’m excited to see what they get up to in the future. It strikes me now while typing this, that I can do the same thing with my writing…
Dance class is going well! I go 2-4 times per week now. I made a friend in the class that I’ve had the toughest time with emotionally, so that’s nice :) it helps to feel like I have a community that wants me to do well.
Baldur’s Gate 3 still has me in a chokehold. I’ve entered the last section of the game, which is typically the longest section but I’m probably going to skip a lot of the side quests because I want to get to all the evil stuff that I didn’t do on my first playthrough.
Your turn! What are you reading? Writing? Making? When do your best ideas come to you? Let me know, and thanks for your time.
Softly yours,
Auzin