Episode 276: When You Don't Know Why You're Doing This

Sometimes you find yourself asking&#8212;over a draft, or a failed draft, or a sagging outline or just during a really long drive&#8212;why exactly you do this thing we do. This week, we turn to some favorites to help answer that question.<br/><br/>In our new summer series, The Working Bookshelf, KJ and guest host Jennie Nash pull their favorite writing books off the shelf and debate: which is better and why&#8212;until invariably, they get distracted and just start talking about the topic at hand. Funny, fresh and full of frank advice, when KJ and Jennie get going they&#8217;re hard to stop.<br/><br/>This week, it&#8217;s <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/1183/9781591846444">Start with Why</a> versus <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/1183/9781328764522">How to Write an Autobiographical Novel</a>. <br/><br/>In a new twist, you can also watch these episodes on YouTube. Find Episode 8 <a href="https://youtu.be/S8hmGmRvABc">HERE</a>.<br/><br/>And, for your looking-forward pleasure, here&#8217;s the whole series, dropping once weekly all through the summer of 2021.<br/><br/>1. <a href="https://amwriting.substack.com/p/episode-269-finding-inspiration-on">Inspiration</a>2. <a href="https://amwriting.substack.com/p/episode-270-plotting-your-heart-and">Plotting</a>3. <a href="https://amwriting.substack.com/p/episode-271-productivity-write-more">Productivity</a>4. <a href="https://amwriting.substack.com/p/episode-272-sometimes-writers-need">Up Your Game</a>5. <a href="https://amwriting.substack.com/p/episode-273-writing-books-for-when">When You're Stuck</a>6. <a href="https://amwriting.substack.com/p/episode-274-getting-published">Getting Published</a>7. <a href="https://amwriting.substack.com/p/episode-275-writing-while-white-or">Writing While White</a>8. When You Don't Know Why You're Doing This9. Writer Comfort Reads 10. Editing <br/><br/>This special season of the #AmWriting podcast is sponsored by Author Accelerator. Author Accelerator hand-matches writers with book coaches who have been rigorously trained to provide mot