The December Inspo Dump ❄️
What will you create this month?
Neighbors,
We had our first winter storm this weekend, and there’s something magical about watching a fresh set of snowflakes softly collapse into gravity’s pull, a tranquil pillow embracing the earth beneath our feet. It feels like a new beginning.
December can be an odd month. For some in the entertainment or media worlds, things wind down after Thanksgiving—and don’t start back up until mid-January. For others, things never really stop; it’s not like LeBron can just take off his game on Christmas Day, after all.1
I tend to push as deep into the calendar as possible before pulling up the reins, building momentum into the new year while also penciling in some rest. Fate threw some road bumps this year, though, as I came down with a pretty ugly virus last Monday.
A week of stasis had me searching for inspiration, which you’ll find in the five quotes and theories presented below, acquired from five of my favorite creative minds. As I gear up for one final sprint to close out 2025, I hope you’ll join me, and us, in creating that one thing you’ve been leaving on your plate all year—big or small.
Cheers to new beginnings.
— NGL
P.S. I’m hopping on 20-minute calls with readers over the next month to get to know you better—and listen to your feedback as we wrap up 2025. Grab time on my calendar here.
P.P.S. Last blog, Moy reviewed a pair of interviews with a pair of rather green brothers. You can read it here.
1.
“Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends.
In the end, it’s about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. It’s about getting up, getting well, and getting over.
Getting happy, okay? Getting happy.”
— Author Stephen King in his memoir, ‘On Writing’ (Bookshop.org)
2.
“I write a lot about people who have never talked to a journalist. What’s important, I think, is having a sincere interest in hearing their story.”
— Journalist Susan Orlean on the ‘Press Box’ podcast (Spotify)
3.
“I think success in American life right now is increasingly tied to one’s capacity to be a high-quality shortform video performer.
Even Gen Z’s theory of economic success—outside of the realm of politics—is becoming associated with, essentially, being good at TV.
And that strikes me as mildly dystopian, and also just important.”
— Writer Derek Thompson on the ‘Mixed Signals’ podcast (YouTube)2
4.
“I think that sometimes, we love, and we continue to have faith in the things we love, because the things that you love the most strongly are the things that will embarrass you the most deeply if you ever fall out of love with them.”
— Illustrator Jonny Sun in his book ‘Goodbye, Again’ (Bookshop.org)
5.
“I HAVE THE WORST PILLOW IN TOWN!”
— Actor Tim Robinson in his new show, ‘The Chair Company’ (HBO)3
Thanks for reading! Shoot us a reply, comment, or DM if anything resonated with you in particular—we respond to them all.
Who cares if he’s forty-one? Load management be damned!
File this one in the “thought-provoking conversation that I believe is worth exploring further” category. It’s not exactly the most inspirational quote from Thompson in a vacuum!
Probably my new favorite show out right now. Move over, Pluribus.