Ask the Author: Elizabeth H. Cottrell
Answered Questions (7)
Elizabeth H. Cottrell
Right now, immediately post book launch in summer of 2022 (Heartspoken: How to Write Notes that Connect, Comfort, and Inspire), I am absorbing feedback from my book and thinking about a sequel targeted for those who need to write notes and letters for their professions or careers. I am also working on expanding an article I wrote about the many life lessons I learned from my father.
Elizabeth H. Cottrell
Quiet time, walks outside, and podcasts are all great sources of inspiration and ideas.
Elizabeth H. Cottrell
Don’t spend too much emotional energy on comparing yourself to others and take constructive criticism as a gift from which you can learn to be a better writer.
Elizabeth H. Cottrell
I love that my primary role as a nonfiction writer is to be a curator — of ideas, of stories, of life hacks. I help readers cut through information overload to discover those pearls that really matter. That is a powerful connection with my readers.
Elizabeth H. Cottrell
I capture ideas and post them in Trello, color-coded by category. When I get writer’s block, I peruse that list for inspiration. But since I write non-fiction, my problem is usually having too many things I want to write about, not enough.
Elizabeth H. Cottrell
Horse by Geraldine Brooks
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
Inspired by Rachel Held Evans
Laundry Love by Patric Richardson
You Have Arrived At Your Destination by Amor Towles
Letters to the Lost by Iona Grey
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
Inspired by Rachel Held Evans
Laundry Love by Patric Richardson
You Have Arrived At Your Destination by Amor Towles
Letters to the Lost by Iona Grey
Elizabeth H. Cottrell
A letter from a stranger was the lightning bolt that changed my appreciation for the potential of personal notes forever; from that day on, I saw them as a force for good in the world, and the idea for my most recent book was planted.
I’ve always written notes, because that’s what we were taught to do when I was growing up in the 1950s. I learned the skill from my mother and both my grandmothers. They all wrote beautiful notes. It was expected. It was good manners.
But the day I received that letter, I suddenly realized it was so much more.
The letter was from a woman devastated by the loss of her son:
“I truly appreciated the encouraging letter you sent my son’s fiancée after my son took his own life. She shared it with me, and it came during one of the most difficult and testing times of my life. I know I have read your note over 25 times; it was a lifeline which kept my spirits up.”
What on earth had I written that could have meant so much to this woman? Her son’s fiancé was a neighbor of mine and only a casual acquaintance. I only remember, upon hearing the news of this man’s tragic death, that I wanted desperately to reach out to her and let her know she was not alone. To this day, I have no idea what I wrote, but I know it came from my heart and carried a genuine desire to comfort her.
On reading the mother’s anguished missive, I remember experiencing a moment of instant clarity: a note crafted with thoughtfulness and compassion can have impact and create a ripple effect. I’ve been a believer in the power of note writing ever since.
I’ve always written notes, because that’s what we were taught to do when I was growing up in the 1950s. I learned the skill from my mother and both my grandmothers. They all wrote beautiful notes. It was expected. It was good manners.
But the day I received that letter, I suddenly realized it was so much more.
The letter was from a woman devastated by the loss of her son:
“I truly appreciated the encouraging letter you sent my son’s fiancée after my son took his own life. She shared it with me, and it came during one of the most difficult and testing times of my life. I know I have read your note over 25 times; it was a lifeline which kept my spirits up.”
What on earth had I written that could have meant so much to this woman? Her son’s fiancé was a neighbor of mine and only a casual acquaintance. I only remember, upon hearing the news of this man’s tragic death, that I wanted desperately to reach out to her and let her know she was not alone. To this day, I have no idea what I wrote, but I know it came from my heart and carried a genuine desire to comfort her.
On reading the mother’s anguished missive, I remember experiencing a moment of instant clarity: a note crafted with thoughtfulness and compassion can have impact and create a ripple effect. I’ve been a believer in the power of note writing ever since.
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