Since writers think with words, there is enormous value to the raw and informal writing we do in journals. The ways we present short pieces of writing have evolved during the digital revolution.

As a teenager, I wrote sporadically in a diary with a tiny lock and key and a cartoon character embossed on its white faux leather cover saying "My Year and How I Shot It.

In college, I started a serious journal in a spiral notebook handwritten in a spontaneous voice that I have kept up to this day. It is about dilemmas and decisions. Events to remember. Meaningful moments. First impressions. Private perceptions. Ideas of all kinds. And for many years it was for my eyes only.

Eight years ago, I ventured into the digital sphere to share some of my personal writing. I regarded it as a place poised somewhat precariously between a private journal and published works. It was when I began a blog called Jottings that was posted from my website.

Three years ago, wanting to reach more readers via a newsletter, I moved Jottings to Mailchimp. It's the way I've been sharing it with all of you, and I've loved getting your responses to my monthly missles.

Now for the surprise mentioned in my last newsletter: I'm now moving Jottings to Substack, a rapidly growing platform that promises to be a place for writers and readers to more easily share their writing.

Along with continuing to write about the writing life on Substack, I'll now be writing about visual artists, too. I've been influenced and inspired by art and artists since childhood. After writing two biographies about artists, I married and have worked alongside another one, painter and printmaker Robert Kipniss, for more than three decades. The painting above is his "Landscape Near Millerton" of 2007.

I'm also excited that Substack will enable me to post longer essays, some written in the past and some that will be new, to share with you.

See you at Substack next month!

With warm regards,
Laurie