What’s up? Oh, nothing? ME TOO.

The Long Pause is a newsletter about being creative, being stuck, and what to do about it. 

Hi, I’m Erinn, and I’m a writer in a Long (LONG) Pause. So long in fact, that I’ve questioned whether I’m a writer anymore….more often than I’d like to admit.

Depending on how you count, my Long Pause might be a raging toddler or a raging teenager—so I‘ve had just about every kind of conversation you can have about creative blocks.

When it comes to a Long Pause, most of our conversations are about getting through it—like it’s a wasteland one must traverse as quickly as possible without contracting dysentery or getting bitten by a snake. And it’s understood that if you do make it through, you should never, ever look back.

But no one talks about how maybe, the thing you need most is to, um… pause. And maybe, this is normal? Because creativity isn't science; it's more like magic, or love. It just IS, and you can’t always explain how it works. 

So, here’s the deal. At The Long Pause, we’re going to say the quiet part loud. It’s going to be the entire point. I think if we can talk about our Long Pauses, we can learn from them together. At the very least, we can stop feeling so alone as we find our way through the wilderness.

Here’s what you can expect

⏸️ interviews with creatives about their Long Pause

⏪ posts that dig into research and writing on creativity

⏩ community celebrations of new work after a Long Pause

▶️ conversations and practices that center the full experience of being a creative person…even when you're not making the work you want to be making.

If that sounds good to you, I’d love it if you subscribed to the newsletter and website. That way you’ll never miss a conversation.

Subscription options + what you get when you subscribe

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Additional lottery entries with verified purchases from my Bookshop page!1

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About Erinn

I’m a writer, but I’m also a lot of other things: I’m a yoga instructor, an artist, a bonus parent, a librarian, and an enthusiastic amateur gardener who enjoys winning the Best Garden on the Block award every year 🏆2

You can find me here on Substack and on Instagram and Threads. You can also check out my Bookshop page where I curate lists of great books on the ebbs and flows of creative practice, featured titles from our community, and collections of art, writing, yoga, spirituality, kids’ books, and more (I’m a librarian, remember?).

The books I wrote before my Long Pause also live there, and I would love it if you checked them out!