How to soar in your writing life…and as a result, the WHOLE of your life.
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What do you need to do to help you soar in your writing life? Join me for a Lesson in Creative Thermodynamics!
See the illustration and leave a comment on the Lesson In Creative Thermodynamics
It takes a lot more energy to get off the ground than it does to stay in the air…
My dad joined the Air Training Corps as a teenager because they promised to let him fly a glider.
(Patriotism? Sure! But also: flying!)
As a kid I thought this sounded very cool. As a grown up (and a mother) my first thought is:
“You want to do what in a plane that has no engine?!”
But there’s a secret to staying in the air in a ‘sailplane’.
The secret is to know that some areas of the ground radiate extra energy in the form of heat. This forces the air upwards.
A skilled pilot in a good glider can find and ‘borrow’ that energy, riding those thermals, to soar for a little longer.
I promise It’s not just me spouting hot air (rim shot!)
As creative people, like glider pilots, we’re always fighting gravity–usually in the form of everyday obligations that demand our time and sap our energy. This is when we can learn something from glider pilots:
Borrow energy to give you a lift.
How do glider pilots find these invisible sources of lift?
It turns out there are clues you can stay alert for.
Wetlands are necessary for continuing life on this planet; but glider pilots need to plan around them, if they want to stay aloft.
In this metaphor the wetlands are all the parts of our lives that may be essential and beautiful, but don’t support our creativity. (You KNOW the ones I’m talking about.) They’re important. But if you spend all your energy there, you’ll come crashing down.
And it takes a lot more energy to get off the ground than it does to stay in the air.
All you need is one good, strong lift to keep your writing life aloft for a while.
And the more often you chain together those uplifting moments, the longer you get to soar.
You might borrow energy from
Live your life.
Do the things you need to do.
But stay alert for opportunities to ride an upward thermal every now and then.
Keep writing,
Julie
What are YOUR creative thermals? What lifts you up and gives you energy? Share in the comments!
Write a story inspired by plants
Write a story inspired by a plant.
I love plants, whether they are in pots on my desk, in my community garden plot, or–best of all–growing where they choose outdoors.
Do you have a favourite plant? One that you find particularly fascinating? Or repulsive?
It could be a tree or shrub, a vegetable or a plant known for its flowers, or a so-called ‘weed’.
What does it make you think of? Do you have memories, positive or negative, associated with it? Do you associate it with a favourite food or a terrible rash or a wonderful fragrance?
Think about the texture of the leaves, petals, or bark. How would you describe the smell? What does it taste like?
Use some of these ideas as the basis for your story.
The story could be a fleeting encounter with someone wearing a floral scent you find repulsive. Or a story about a child planting pretty flowers with their grandmother. It could be about the struggles of growing hops in a Martian settlement.
Or maybe your story won’t be about the plant itself at all.
Monique Cuillerier writes (mostly) science fiction. She lives in Ottawa (Canada) and spends her non-writing time running, knitting, getting angry on Twitter (@MoniqueAC), and (unsurprisingly) gardening. Her work can be found at notwhereilive.ca
Join the discussion: what will you do with today’s prompt OR how did it go? Need support? Post here!
Your character writes a letter to their future self, in today’s StoryADay writing prompt
Sometimes when we are writing characters we forget how much they change, not just in the course of our stories, but in the course of their (fictional) lives.
Today, go back to last week’s story (What If by Leslie Stack) and imagine your character at the moment before everything started to go wrong, before the thing they regret and wished they could fix.
Have that younger version of your character write a letter to their future self, 10 years hence. (Your character might do this because they are given an exercise in a writing class, a leadership seminar, or it could be inspired by hitting a life milestone, a birthday or graduation, or even by reading an article like this.
What do they hope for their future self? What can you include (knowing what you know, from that earlier story) that will be bittersweet or amusing or ironic? What do they expect their life to be in 10 years?
And just to keep things interesting, like Wilfred in that link above, keep the letter to 280 words.
Julie Duffy is the founder & director of StoryADay. She writes stories and used to be famed among her far-flung friends, for writing epic letters. If you’d like to receive electronic letters from her, on the topic of writing, make sure you’re signed up at StoryADay!
Join the discussion: what will you do with today’s prompt OR how did it go? Need support? Post here!
Write a ‘hermit crab’ story, a story written in the form of someone’s browser history
Tell a story using someone’s browser history. It could be nothing more than a list of sites visited, or perhaps there are a few narrative interludes, but the main goal should be to tell the bulk of the story with the trail of virtual breadcrumbs.
Gabrielle Johansen is a fantasy writer from the south, who has gone down many a rabbit hole herself.
Join the discussion: what will you do with today’s prompt OR how did it go? Need support? Post here!
I was talking to a writer friend recently and mentioned the Superstars group, in passing.
They said, “I’m taking this business course right now, but when I have time to get back to writing in a couple of years, I’m definitely joining that.”
Did your hair just stand on end, too?
When I have time to get back to writing in a couple of years…
What will that writer have lost in those two years?
Add your own items here______________
When I talked about Superstars yesterday I talked about the ‘stuff’ (the monthly special events, the archive of craft workshops, the hangouts).
But Superstars is not about the stuff.
Superstars is about having a place where you can show up for yourself, as a writer.
It’s about having encouragement to keep your writing going while you do all the other things in your busy life.
Its’ about turning up for a writing sprint once a day, once a week, or once a month (even if it’s not in the live Zoom, but in our Slack workspace – a check-in to say “I’m here. I’m writing!”), so that you don’t go months (years?) without writing.
So that you don’t keep reading that one more craft book, or taking that one more class, and never actually write anything.
You cannot ‘fall behind’ in Superstars. You can only gain ground.
I’m scared for my writer friend.
I hope that business course is exiting and profitable.
I hope the novelty feeds their creative soul.
But I know the writer inside isn’t going away.
I’m scared that, in a couple of years, my writer friend will be disappointed that they let their writing go…so disappointed that they’re scared to come back to it.
(I may be writing this email as much for myself as for my writer friend and you, by the way!)
Writers who don’t make time for their own writing, struggle to be happy. Because they know they are meant to be writing.
People who say ‘then just do it’ don’t help, because writing is hard and nobody really supports you through it.
Except for the Superstars.
Whether they participate a little or a lot, each of them knows they have a place where they will always be welcomed and encouraged as a writer, sometimes by welcoming and supporting others….and this is a source of power in our lives.
I want you to feel that power.
So I apologize if I made this opportunity sound like yet another obligation to fit into your calendar.
If I did, I hid from you the extraordinary treasures you could be discovering by having a secret island in the midst of life’s turbulent seas, where you can find respite and fuel for the journey.
That’s what the Superstars group is for me and so many others.
Find out more about Superstars
Keep writing,
Julie
PS. When someone else you love wants something — really wants it — you’ll go out of your way to find the resources to make it happen for them. What would change in your life if you were allowed to make that bold move, for yourself?
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 Jan 3, 2025
