Julie Duffy – Page 49

SWAGr for November

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.)

Did you live up to your commitment from last month? Don’t remember what you promised to do? Check out the comments from last month.

And don’t forget to celebrate with/encourage your fellow SWAGr-ers on their progress!

Download your SWAGr Tracking Sheet now, to keep track of your commitments this month

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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!)

7 Myths About Revising your Writing

If you want to improve your writing you know you have to revise your writing. But, in my work with writers I encounter a lot of resistance when it comes to revision.

Some of this resistance comes from myths around the best way to revise and edit your own writing.

I’m here to bust seven of those myths.

For more, listen to the companion podcast episode

1. Revision is all about seeing where you’ve failed

It’s not.

As I talked about last week, seeing where you’re succeeding can be just as important, if not more than seeing what’s not working. You don’t want to cut out your best lines!.

It can be helpful to get other people to look at your work, both for a fresh pair of eyes on a project we may be too close to, and because we do tend to be a little hard on ourselves.

Experienced writers tend to have a well-developed sense of what’s working in their writing as well as what’s not…but it’s not flawless and we all need a little feedback from time to time.

And when you DO find something that needs to be reworked (let’s not call it a ‘failure’) work on celebrating.

Seeing what’s not working gives you an opportunity to fix it.
Going back to older stories and noticing what’s not working, is a measure of how far your skills have advanced.

So celebrate!

2. You must walk away from your work for two weeks, before you revise

7 Revision Myths for Writer – Busted!

Seven peices of ‘advice’ you NEVER need to hear again, on the topic of revision. Come with me on a myth-busting adventure.

Plus a writing prompt called The Post-Modern Pop Song

::Links::

This episode: storyaday.org/episode228

3-Day Challenge: storyday.org/3dc

The Writing Prompt: https://stada.me/prompt-pop

Ready to write today, not “some day”?

Getting Great Feedback – A Process

After a challenge like StoryADay (or a lifetime of writing) you may be asking, “How can I revise my writing so I can get published, without becoming distracted, discouraged or overwhelmed?”

I have a system for figuring out that very thing, that will help you identify and work on the stories that will keep you making consistent progress towards your writing goals.

Part 1 of this process is to assess the material you have, to see what you should work on, first. That’s what this article is about. Part 2 is about identifying what’s working and what needs to be improved in your writing. Part 3 is about strategies and techniques for making those improvements as you revise your writing.

Listen to the accompanying podcast episode

Part 2 – Identify What’s Working

It can be hard to see what’s working and what’s not in your own writing when you’ve stared at it for so long…and that’s when you need to get it in front of fresh eyeballs.

Do you freeze at the thought of revision or feedback, because you think it’s all about seeing how badly you screwed up your story?

Don’t panic!

It’s as important to identify what’s working in your story as what isn’t, to ensure you don’t revise away what made it special.

Fearless Feedback

Sharing your writing with other can be fabulous, but also a scary and, occasionally, can dent a writer’s confidence. This episode shows you how to give and recieve critique in a way that will make you and your writing stronger.

This week’s writing prompt: write a story in three sections about two characters who love each other. (at 32 minute mark)

::LINKS::

StoryADay’s Critique Week: https://storyaday.org/critique

Ready to write today, not “some day”?

Revise Your Writing – A Process

After a challenge like StoryADay (or a lifetime of writing) you may be asking, “How can I revise my writing so I can get published, without becoming distracted, discouraged or overwhelmed?”

For more, listen to episode 226 of the StoryADay podcast

I have a system for figuring out that very thing, that will help you identify and work on the stories that will keep you making consistent progress towards your writing goals.

Part 1 – Assess

The first thing to do is read through all the stories you think you might want to work on. As you do so, pay attention to your gut and ask yourself a few questions about each story: