I popped into a writers’ group on Facebook this morning and saw something so awful, so muse-crushing, so career-killing that I had to write to you and beg you not to make the same mistake.
Sound dramatic?
That’s because I feel so strongly that you shouldn’t do what these two writers did. I’ve seen it stop writers in their tracks for years, if not forever.
What was this horrendous thing?
In two separate posts, this morning, I saw writers post their tender first efforts at writing (in their words “the opening of my novel”) in a forum full of strangers and ask for feedback.
Generating words is sometimes what writing is all about. If you’ve been learning about writing for too long without writing something new, I have a challenge for you this week.
Whether we are from within a community or an outsider, it affects how we perceive the group. That’s important for characters in your writing and it’s one of the topics on this week’s podcast, along with mindset (of course!) and what I’m reading this month. Included: a writing prompt all about the ways your characters and your readers interact
::LINKS::
Bob Newhard: https://youtu.be/p1KbtLrBZ0k
Neil Gaiman’s “Orange”: https://amzn.to/2GgNPb8
Podcast questions: https://storyaday.org/podcast
Julie Explains Things, Simply: https://stada.me/jets
00:00 20220211 Podcast
03:43 Reading Room
06:01 Community & Communication
11:13 Julie Explains Things, Simply
13:58 Writing Prompt
This collection is a great example of what modern speculative fiction can be: fascinating, compelling, peopled by sympathetic (and not-so sympathetic) characters; surprising and familiar, inspiring, filled with mystery and a sense of discovery for the reader…and I love it when stories are connected, so I enjoyed piecing together the connections between some of the stories in the collection.
When I ask people what questions they have about writing, they rarely ask about craft techniques. This week I talk about the transition from newspaper writing to fiction, making time to write and more.
It’s that time again: time to make your commitments to your writing for the coming month. Join us!
Welcome to the Serious Writers’ Accountability Group!
Post your goals for this month and let us know how you got on with last month’s goals.
Leave a comment below telling us how you got on last month, and what you plan to do next month, then check back in on the first of each month, to see how everyone’s doing.
(It doesn’t have to be fiction. Feel free to use this group to push you in whatever creative direction you need.)
Examples of Goals Set By SWAGr-ers in previous months
Finish first draft of story and write 3 articles for my school paper. – Courtney
Write on seven days this month – Clare
Extend my reading and to read with a ‘writers eye’- Wendy
write 10,000 words – Mary Lou
So, what will you accomplish this month? Leave your comment below (use the drop-down option to subscribe to the comments and receive lovely, encouraging notifications from fellow StADa SWAGr-ers!)
(Next check-in, 1st of the month. Tell your friends!)
Find out more about the StoryADay
Superstars
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.
![[Reading Room] Cosmogramma by Courttia Newland](https://storyaday.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Reading-Room-Newland-1200x675.png)
