Today’s task is to make a plan to make it stick.
You’re inspired (and inspiring!), but will you still be working towards unleashing your awesomeness into the world, two weeks from now?
In a moment, I’ll offer you one way you could build your practice and skills (in the StoryADay I, WRITER Course), but before that, let’s talk about one more principle that will strengthen your practice.
I first heard this question from high-performance athletic coach Kevin Willis, but it made so much sense to me that I knew it would apply to a writing practice, too.
(Big surprise, huh? Athletes and writers are both humans, trying to change their behavior and achieve extraordinary things.)
When you sit down to play with your words, ask yourself if, today, you are trying to
If you’re focused on ‘be good’, you’re comparing yourself to others.
There’s a time for this– when you’re sending work out into the world– but it’s not where every day should start.
You can’t compare your first drafts to William Faulkner’’s published works!
If you’re focused on ‘getting better’, you are comparing yourself to your own best, to your yesterday, your skills and output last year…
This is a much more helpful place to be, as you approach your desk.
If you’re feeling stuck, unable to make progress, as yourself “Am I trying to be good, or get better?’
As you take your manifesto into your world, making today’s excitement last is going to require
And you can absolutely build that, by yourself.
Or…you can take advantage of the structure, lesson plan, and community I’ve put together in the upcoming StoryADay I, WRITER Course.
(Did you like that segue? I know you see what I did there)
Seriously, though, you do not have to do this by yourself.
In fact, if you’re anything like me, with the best will in the world, you CAN’T do this by yourself.
And maybe, like me, you’re getting sick of repeatedly doing that experiment.
It’s time to try something new.
The StoryADay I, WRITER Course is your chance to spend 6 weeks, going through lessons (like the work you’ve done in this challenge) and workshops that let you build your writing skills in around 90 minutes a week.
You’ll get 2 writing assignments each week (do one, or both) so that you can practice what you’re learning AND build your writing practice week after week, until it feels natural to be making time for your writing and for getting better.
And it’s all broken out into different areas of study (Imagine, Write, Refine, Improve, Triumph, Engage and Repeat) so you never feel overwhelmed.
Everything is shared in video, written and audio form and broken down into convenient bite-sized chunks (kind of like this challenge!) so you can work on each week’s content whether you have a block of 90 minutes or a few minutes on your lunch break.
You can read all about it here.
It’s one thing to sign up for a course, quite another to actually DO the course.
So I’ll email you every week to introduce the topics for the week and remind you to log in and check out the new materials.
PLUS I’m gifting you the StoryADay Challenge PLUS, 31 days of writing prompts and inspirational videos that I created for my StoryADay Superstars group. It’s the best of the prompts and advice that I can give, and it leads you through 31 days of short story writing.
Originally priced at $297, I’m opening it up to you as part of this round of I, WRITER.
Imagine making your writing stick, this time.
Imagine seeing the pride in the face of your friend who always believed in your talent, when you tell them “I’m writing”.
Imagine hearing friends and relatives casually talk about ‘my Nana/buddy, the writer’.
That’s a gift, not just to you, but to them.
It needs more creative people.
And you? You need – you deserve – to be able to lift your head from the daily grind and be the person you know you’re meant to be…even for a few minutes a day.
The I, WRITER Course gives you a structure and an excuse, to do that over the next 6 weeks.
I’ve seen people come out the other end of this course with writing firmly anchored in their life. And with this certain knowledge that if they show up, the writing comes.
When they do, they keep getting better and they keep getting happier.
And they keep living up to their own expectations of themselves and the expectations of the people who love them.
I don’t want you to wait. I want you to start acting on the amazing manifestos that I’ve seen in this challenge.
I think it’s time that we step up and be courageous and put all of this good out into the world.
I hope you’ll join me in the course.
And keep writing,
P. S. What’s your plan for putting your manifesto into practice. If you don’t have one, borrow mine and join I, WRITER
The only qualification to be a ‘Superstar” is a desire to write and support your fellow writers.
A supportive group of committed writers, who meet virtually, support each other’s efforts, and inspire each other.
Registration for 2024 open now-June 8, 2024
The only qualification to be a ‘Superstar” is a desire to write and support your fellow writers.
A supportive group of committed writers, who meet virtually, support each other’s efforts, and inspire each other.
Registration for 2024 open now-June 8, 2024
A 6-part journey through the short story.
Starts July 28, 2023