The Time I Tried to Explain What I’m Doing Here

Good Character + Substack

At ten years old— already an avid reader— I set out to devour novels that would improve my character. I can’t pinpoint where I got this idea, but I suspect I was influenced by Jo March and Anne Shirley: both late-1800s girls progressive girls, both using books to “improve” themselves. Jo and Anne cared, very much, about their own inner goodness. One of the first things Anne asks Matthew Cuthbert is whether he’d rather be “divinely beautiful, dazzlingly clever, or angelically good;” she then bemoans the fact that she has no hope of being either beautiful or good. Jo March is constantly comparing herself to her “good” big sister Meg, and finding herself lacking.

Anne of Green Gables 

The irony, of course, is that neither of these heroines is beloved by their readers— including me— for their goodness. It’s their other characteristics that make them special: their sense of fun, strength of mind, imagination, and perseverance in the face of catastrophic mistakes. They’re also kind, empathetic, loving to their families, and value a balance of independence and community. I began to think of “good character” as encompassing all of these traits and more. 

The other irony is how long it’s taken me to put “good character” into words. I’ve been reading about it since I was a pre-teen, thinking about it constantly, and changing my actions to reflect the evolution of what constitutes“good character” in my mind. My opinions on character inform my parenting, teaching, writing, and sense of self. It’s literal bedrock for me. It just took thirty-two years and millions of words written on other subjects to realize it. 

Most of you reading this inaugural post have followed me through many editions of The Joyful Creative— begun in April 2020— and some have been with me since before that, for The Perspective Post and blog posts at Words From The Sowul. I hope you’ll stay with me as I take this next leap! 

The Plan

Every week, you’ll receive the Good Character newsletter via email or on the Substack app. If you’re not already on Substack, I hope you enjoy your first entry into the platform. I truly believe that Substack is the place where nuanced thought is not only possible, but encouraged, and where honest, open conversation can happen between writers and readers. I’ll also be cross-posting the newsletters on my website. 

These newsletters will be free. Down the road, I may turn on the paywalled option to create extra content for those who seek it. I may also start podcasting through Substack. These options weren’t available under any of my previous platforms, and I’m really excited about them! I’ll also be using Substack Notes as my primary social media platform, so please follow me there and engage in conversation if you’re so inclined. You can also comment directly on every post.

The Content

Good Character is an exploration of what it takes to show up in the world as your goodest self. (Yes, I know that “goodest” isn’t a word— my English teacher parents just cried out in agony upon reading it— but it should be.) We’re not talking about your “best self” here; that phrase has been abused by the wellness industry and productivity gurus to the point of meaninglessness, and it’s frankly triggering for perfectionists like me. Instead, we’ll explore and strengthen the traits that help us calibrate our inner compass and consider our impact on our community. We’ll do this against the backdrop of navigating the hardest parts of humanity, like wars, terrorism, disease, and difficult relationships. I’ll tell stories of resilience and compassion, joy and fear, humor and humility. The stories will come from my own life as a teacher, writer, mother and American/Jewish woman, as well as from books and movies. Each newsletter will close with a small action you and I can take that week to exemplify the characteristic and/or teach it to your kids or students.

(And I promise, the newsletter will typically be shorter than this one. I know you don’t have a lot of time, and neither do I, so I’ll get to the point.)

I’d love to hear what my original readers think before I “go public” and start promoting Good Character.

What character traits would you love to read about?

What traits do you wish more people possessed?

How do you hope to feel after reading this newsletter each week?

That’s all for now, friends. You’ll be hearing from me soon— and I hope I hear from you, too! If you know someone who might be interested in reading Good Character, please share using the button below, and they’ll start receiving the first official newsletter as soon as you do.

Here’s to us, in all of our imperfect, striving goodness.

Keep hoping. Keep caring. Keep trying.