Check-In > May

Monthly musings, memories & moments

Welcome to another monthly check-in friends!

May swept in with a flurry of poppy petals and despite some particularly warm days here in the UK it somehow whooshed by just as fast. Between writing, sketchbook play, and a not-so-small addiction to Duolingo, it’s been a month of creativity, challenges, and some unexpected revelations (not least discovering my writing hand is mildly rebelling against me – more on that below!) Let’s dive into what’s been happening...

"We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect."
- Anaïs Nin

May Musings

May was a full month on Substack! I shared two chapters of the first book in my Rescue Quest series in Welcome to Rescue Quest and Chapter Two. Over on the podcast, two brilliant debut authors joined me for Behind the Debut with M.A. Batten and Sarah Ali - both conversations are full of inspiration and honesty about the writer’s journey.

I also shared some heartfelt advice for new (and not-so-new) authors from my experience in Self-Publishing (Without Crying… Much) and gave a full walkthrough of how I rebuilt my entire author website using Notion in I Built My Author Website For Free. I also launched a new letter series for aspiring writers—Dear First-Time Author—which has been such a joy to create. Thank you everyone who has left a comment saying how helpful it has been.

If you missed any of these do pop over and, if you have time, leave a comment - I love to hear from you. (N.B. you can also just hit reply to any of the emails I send you from Substack.)

Finally, I’ve realised in writing this month’s newsletter, that I now have over 150 subscribers here at Chapters & Checklists. Just wow! I’m so grateful to each and every one of you for joining me on this crazy adventure 🙏

Personal Moments

May brought a mix of the joyful and the unexpected. I hit a 114-day streak on Duolingo Italian (I’m determined not to break it before my trip), planted up patio pots and hanging baskets which are starting to flower with bright pops of colour, and booked this year’s Christmas pantomime—because it’s never too early for the “Oh no you didn’t!” season.

On a less cheerful note, I discovered the beginnings of arthritis in the index finger of my writing hand (of course!), but it won’t be stopping me any time soon. If you have any tips or remedies, I’d love to hear them.

Happily Stanley Tucci's delicious adventures through Italy on Disney Plus kept me smiling along with my latest batch of ‘vintage’ film favourites that I’ve been rewatching including The Lost Boys and Meet Joe Black.

Creative Moments

This month I reflected on what I learned from the April 30-day still life challenge over at

The Time Foragers' Club

in Still Life, Still Learning. It was a gentle, insightful experience that taught me as much about patience and perfectionism as it did about painting.

I also picked up my brushes to capture the burst of Californian poppies blooming in our front garden - a bright little reminder that inspiration is often closer than you think - plus another still life and some stormy seas from a workshop I attended with Adebanji Alade to celebrate the Royal Academy of Arts exhibition of Victor Hugo sketches.

And one more pinch-me moment: the lovely team over at Derwent Watercolours asked if they could share one of my photos on their stream – such a delightful surprise and a little creative boost when I needed it!

Writing moments

I’ve drafted up to chapter eight of the final book in my Rescue Quest series now and the action has been coming thick and fast! My characters are (more or less) behaving and the story is flowing along the detailed plan I made before starting to write.

But keeping it real friends, I’ve discovered that writing to such a rigid outline doesn’t quite suit me – not because it doesn’t leave wiggle room, but because my brain starts to think the story’s already done. The plan becomes the story… and my motivation to sit down and write the actual pages takes a bit of a dive.

So, I’ve tricked myself a little: I’ve set an impossible (and slightly bonkers) deadline to finish the first draft before my Italy holiday in just a few weeks. I’m hoping that little bit of self-inflicted pressure will get me back to bum-on-seat daily, where the joy of actually writing usually kicks in. I’ll let you know how I get on.

Reading moments

I finished advance copies of two coming-soon reads by author pals; Atonement by V.E. Huntley – book two in The Bloodstone Legacy dark romance vampire series, and Someone Like Me by Sara Elisabeth – a MMF poly romance with LGBTQ and mental health reps and the second book in her Pacific Northwest Boys series. Both of these were brilliant and you can see my reviews on Goodreads here and here.

On the non-fiction side, I adored The Art of Living by Thich Nhat Hanh. I’ve been listening to The Way Out Is In podcast from Plum Village (the Buddhist community he founded in France), and the combination of the book and the podcast has given me plenty to reflect on.

Next up: The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf (a classic feminist text I’ve been meaning to get to for ages), and Death Valley by J.F. Penn, a thriller set in the desert which I backed on Kickstarter. Supporting the launch of books there makes me feel like I’m giving a fellow author a little gift for all the hard work I know it takes to get a book finished.

Some of the Substack articles I’ve enjoyed this month:

This list of reads really lit me up this month – isn’t it fabulous we can find so much glorious writing here? Whether you’re creating, writing, or just enjoy thoughtful, beautifully crafted content, there’s sure to be something for you:

In How To Bring Joy To Your Launch the lovely

Kate Tremills

brings a warm and wise reminder that book launches don’t need to be stressful.

If you’re writing dual point of view in your stories, this post from new discovery for me,

Jodi Meadows

, is one to bookmark. It’s a fantastic resource for with lots of great tips.

I love me some behind-the-scenes sneaking (anyone else?) and Lemons, Laundry and Linework from

Stacie Martinez

is a fabulous peek through the curtains at her new collection-in-the-making including what inspired it.

This month’s subscribers video from

Helen C Stark

was perfect for me! In Travel Sketchbooks Part 1 Helen shares lots of tips on the art of recording your adventures creatively. So inspiring.

Essential reading for all Substackers, The Substack Safety Kit by

Danusia Malina-Derben

shares important tips for how to prepare in case the worst should happen to your newsletter.

I love the rawness of

Growing a novel - Aniela York

and When Not to Write (and the Agony of It) is an oh-so-relatable post for writers everywhere.

Finally, one of my new favourite UK artists,

Emily Powell

, travelled to the Scilly Isles recently and in The Isles of Scilly Diary – Part One and A Day on St Martin’s she shares all her vibrant, visual joy.

May Memories

Gorgeous May flowers in the garden, Californian poppies I had to capture, lots of creative fun including a fab Joshua Tree workshop with Helen Stark and chocolate chip peanut butter cookies for a half term treat.

And that was May.

Thanks for being here, friends.

- Michelle 💙

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