A New Chapter: Where This Love Letter Begins

Writing can be lonely, but we don’t have to be.

Dearest writer,

If you’ve been here for a while, thank you. If you’re new, welcome.

This space has always been a bit of an experiment—something between a journal and a conversation, a place to think out loud about the writing life. For a long time, I wasn’t exactly sure what it was. I just knew I needed a space to be real.

I’ve used this Substack to share some behind-the-scenes moments of being a writer. Sometimes that meant celebrating the high points of finishing a draft. Sometimes it meant sitting with the quiet ache of burnout, or the weight of comparison, or wondering if any of this work really matters. (Spoiler: it does. Even when it feels like it doesn’t.)

As “Scribbling with Crissi,” this space has been a place of authenticity where I’ve spewed out my thoughts on writing and life like a journal entry. It was cathartic at times.

It’s also been confusing—mostly to readers.

Lately, I’ve been craving more clarity. More community. More intention.
So I’m starting fresh—not from scratch, but from here, the middle.

Welcome to Love Letters to Writers.

This is my newly defined corner of the internet where I’ll share honest reflections about writing, creativity, and the in-between spaces—when the words don’t come, when life takes priority, when inspiration sparks out of nowhere, and when you’re just trying to remember why you started writing in the first place.

This isn’t a place for advice columns or marketing checklists (though I might sometimes share what’s worked for me). It’s more of a talk over coffee kind of space—where you can pull up a chair, pour something warm, and sit with someone who gets it.

What you can expect:

• Letters about the writing life—messy, meaningful, and full of detours

• Thoughts on creativity, inspiration, and self-doubt

• Behind-the-scenes of my own work: what’s working, what’s not

• Prompts and questions to spark your own reflection

• An open invitation to connect—because writing can be lonely, but we don’t have to be

To be fair, this place isn’t changing all that drastically. The conversation here will still be authentic, including the messy parts. There will still be scribbles, as usual.

Really, I’m just tuning the focus—speaking more directly to the ones in the thick of it. The ones living inside the magical, infuriating, all-consuming world of writing.

If you’re a writer—any kind of writer—you belong here. Whether you’re published or just beginning, stuck or soaring, exhausted or on fire, this space is for you. And if you’re somewhere in between (like most of us)? Even better.

I’m so glad you’re here. Let’s see what unfolds.

Until the next chapter,
Crissi

I don’t just write love letters, I also write love stories. Find them all here.

Currently:
📖 Reading: Say You’ll Remember Me ~ Abby Jimenez *
🎧 Listening to: East Forest Radio (perfect mix to write, meditate, and sleep to)
✍️ Writing/Editing: The Jilted Lovers Club (the re-writes are making me fall for this book even harder!)
☕ Mood: I could really use more weekend… Who decided 2 days was enough to get your life in order?

* Post note: I was reading a different book this week, and I finally had to put it down because it was so bad. And then I picked up the Abby Jimenez book, and it was SO GOOD. It had me from the first paragraph. The other one, I’d waited for it to get good and at 25%, it was still godawful. No I will not name the bad book (lol, stop asking).

Let me remind you (and me) that you do not need to finish a book you’re not enjoying or having a hard time getting into. There are too many great books out there (like any Abby Jimenez book).