2023 Day 8 Check in

A vlog about how my StoryADay May is going…

Today’s prompt is here

Week 1 is a wrap!

Today I was pretty happy with the very short story I wrote. When I got to the end I discovered something interesting, which I share in this video.

Also: now’s a great time to assess what went well last week and what you’ll keep/do differently during this coming week of the challenge (I talk about this, too, in this video)

Keep writing,

Julie

2023 Day 7 Check in

A vlog about how my StoryADay May is going…

Today’s prompt is here

Week 1 is a wrap!

Today I wrote badly and learned some things. I also got to hangout with the StoryADay Superstars and talk about writing, and it was moving, and inspired.

Hey you: if you’re reading this and writing at all: you’re pretty unusual and you’re pretty amazing.

Keep writing,

Julie

2023 Day 3 Check in

A vlog about how my StoryADay May is going…

Today’s prompt is here

I found today’s prompt challenging, perhaps because I was feeling the pressure to write about something weighty and important, which made me feel intimidated and stuck. But then I remembered my collection of Story Sparks, and I found inspiration in a personal experience that I gave to a different character.

I decided to write the story in third person and present tense to make it more experiential for the reader. This was different from what I had been writing the past couple of days, which were more narrative in form.

Through this experience, I was reminded of the importance of just getting started with writing. Even though parts of the prompt made me resist at first, I found that I had unknowingly incorporated them into my story.

Trusting yourself as a storyteller and putting words on the page, even if they feel choppy or imperfect, can lead to magic in your writing.

So, don’t fret about finding the perfect topic or having everything planned out. Just start writing and let the interesting stuff happen. Nobody needs to see it, and you might just end up with a big, stupid grin on your face like I did.

Keep writing, and stay tuned for tomorrow’s prompt on keeping things short!

2023 Day 2 Check in

A vlog about how my StoryADay May is going…

Day two of the challenge and I’m feeling great.

But, I made the classic mistake of not planning ahead, so I spent the first half hour doing admin instead of writing. I’m going to fix that tomorrow by planning my morning better.

The prompt today was from Mary Robinette Kowal:

“What’s in your character’s pocket?”

I used characters from my work in progress and wrote a self-contained story that I can later use as a scene in my novel. Other participants are using the challenge to push forward their work in progress in various ways.

What will YOU do?

Don’t Let Shame Kill Your Creativity

In this video post I talk about how shame shuts down the exact processes we need for creativity and what you can do about it.

Spoiler alert: I talk about reducing your expectations, celebrating every single tiny thing you do that contributes to your writing life, and collecting Story Sparks.

Find out more about Story Sparks here