How To Feel Good

…instead of feeling guilty about ‘not-writing’.

A couple of things happened this week that I wanted to share with you, my dear writer friends.

Saying ‘No’ For The Right Reasons

Firstly, we’re gearing up for Critique Week here at StoryADay, which means some writers were saying ‘yes!’ to the opportunity to share their work and get feedback. 

And some writers said ‘no’.

They said ‘no’ for all kinds of reasons from: ‘Life is too busy’, to ‘I haven’t written anything for a while’, to ‘I can’t face it’. 

But some writers in the StoryADay community let me know they were saying ‘no’ for the best of reasons: because they were busy working on projects that don’t need feedback yet. 

(Hooray! More stories!)

There are so many opportunities out there to take classes, join groups, and generally get distracted by busy-work, that I’m celebrating those writers who said ‘not just now. I’m busy, writing!’

Piecing Together A Writing Life

In my eternal quest to help writers Actually Do The Thing (™), I scheduled a few extra ‘write with me’ sessions on Zoom for folks taking part in my Polish & Submit Sprint, leading up to Critique Week.

What happened next? 

All those little 25-minute ‘sprints’ added up to 543 words here, 200 words there, a climax written, and stories that had been languishing on a hard drive, actually being finished.

Me? I chipped away at a scene that has bothering me for an embarrassingly long time…and had a breakthrough that allowed me to finish and submit a piece I’m pleased with.

I, and every one of those other writers felt AWESOME, because we showed up for our writing, and made incremental, sometimes startling, progress.

Lesson learned: show up often, focus on finishing things, have the courage to lean on your community…and writing—and sometimes writing breakthroughs–will happen.

What will you do, this week, to give yourself the gift of time to focus on your writing?

Polish & Submit Sprint

Showing your writing to people is nerve-wracking. It’s easy to put it off and find yourself saying:

  • I don’t know where to find good feedback
  • I don’t have anything ready
  • Maybe next time

If that has been you, now’s your moment.

I have 9 open spaces in the upcoming Critique Week, where you can submit a story of up to 7000 words and get constructive feedback from me and three other writers.

And to help you get a piece ready to show people, I’m running a brand-new challenge: a two-week Polish & Submit sprint, during which I’ll guide you through the process of revising your piece, AND invite you to co-working sessions so you have time on your calendar to actually do the work.

Registration is open now.

We start on Friday.

POLISH & SUBMIT SPRINT: what it includes

Over two weeks, we’ll take one story from “I can’t” to “I’m ready”:

  • Kickoff meeting (pick your story & make a plan you can stick to)
  • Sprint Kit (checklists, templates, and a plan so you’re never wondering “what do I do next?”)
  • 2x weekly coworking sessions (show up, write/revise together, leave with progress, with timezone-friendly options)
  • Mid-point clinic & hotseats (4–6 writers get direct help while everyone learns)
  • Final “Hit the Button” Party (submission day = celebration day)
  • Full participation in the Feb 2026 StoryADay Critique Week

Who this is for

This is for you if…

  • you’ve got a draft that’s almost a story and you keep circling it like a suspicious cat
  • you can write, but finishing and polishing is the step that makes you feel stabby
  • you want accountability that feels kind, but not fluffy
  • you want to feel that delicious, rare sensation of actually completing something

Who this is not for

If you truly don’t have even a couple of pockets of time over the next two weeks, skip it with my blessing. I may do this again.

(And if you do have pockets of time but you keep giving them to everyone else… I see you. I’ve been you. And this is why we’re doing the Sprint.)

You don’t need more inspiration.
You need a little structure, a little momentum… and a group of witnesses who will help you keep showing up.

Registration is open now

Keep writing,

Julie

Your 4-Week Writing Rescue Plan

(aka: what to do after StoryADay May)

The StoryADay Challenge is hard because it’s a LOT of writing, and because you had to sacrifice activities—and perhaps sleep—to make time for it.

But StoryADay is great because you know exactly what is expected of you every day: 

  • show up, 
  • do the best you can with the assignment, 
  • move on with your life satisfied that you’ve shown up for your creativity today.

When the challenge month is over, I always hear from people that they experience a little letdown. They’re not writing as much. They lack motivation. They don’t know quite what to do first.

Of course, there is no ‘right’ way to be a writer, but I’ve put together a kind of follow-on curriculum for you, to help you structure the next few weeks, before all the momentum from StoryADay May drains away.

Post-Challenge Momentum Plan

Week 1: Capture what you wrote

  • Use this worksheet to capture the names of your stories, what inspired them, where you wrote or stored them
  • Overall, what worked in your stories? What was most fun?
  • Pick 2 stories to rework and refine.
  • Journal prompt: what did I learn about myself and my writing practice, during the challenge? What can I take forward? What can I let go?

Week 2: Position the Big Rocks

  • Pick one of the stories to begin editing, based on your enthusiasm levels, the complexity of the edits you think it needs, and how much time you have available.
  • Begin revising with the plot: do the events follow logically from the choices your characters make? If not, a, did you make a choice to write something experimental or b, what plot events could change or move to make them more logical?
  • If you get stuck or discouraged, switch to the other story.
  • Revision help: Listen to the 7 Revision Myths You Should Ignore podcast episode, and bookmark the checklist on that page!

Week 3: Character Development

  • Assignment: Review the Creating Compelling Characters article and see where you can strengthen you characters.
  • Focus on revising dialogue and inner/outer conflict to illustrate your character’s desires.
  • Writing prompt: rewrite one key scene (hint: not the opening) to find your character’s most authentic voice and attitude.

Week 4:  Finalize A Draft

  • Read over all your notes and take a deep breath
  • Schedule a writing sprint or two to work through one of the stories until it is as complete as you can make it, for now.
  • Optional, consider who you could send it to, for feedback
  • Non-optional: Celebrate! Do a dance, give yourself a gold star, pump the air, or take some time off to play with your pets. Seriously. Making it fun is what makes you want to come back!

Bookmark this checklist so you can come back to it! And why not share with a friend?

If you loved having prompts turning up in your inbox, but would like to go at a more leisurely pace, consider subscribing to my
StoryAWeek newsletter:
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How To Get Feedback That Actually Helps Your Writing

(without getting discouraged or giving up)

You’ve been writing for a while now—maybe you’ve just taken part in the StoryADay Challenge and have a bunch of drafts—and it feels pretty good.

…but now what?

This is where you get to do what I call ‘refining’. 

You’re in the slippery, uncomfortable, yet important, middle part of the writing process: 

  • The thrill of discovery-writing is past
  • The satisfaction of the polished draft lies in the future.
  • And you’re in that foggy, no-man’s land of “how do I get there, from here?”

The good news is that ‘refining’, doesn’t mean you have to make anything perfect. Or do it alone.

Refining your work and your process is all about making progress—in your drafts and your practice. Which can be helped by getting feedback.

Let’s talk about how to do that without freezing…or fleeing!

Define: Refine

Refining isn’t about aiming for ‘perfect’: it’s about making progress, with purpose.

It means:

  • Taking a dispassionate look at your work
  • Making decisions about what stays and what can go
  • Setting appropriate expectations and setting up the processes that support them
  • Courageously taking the very next (possibly tiny) step with one piece of your writing.

The Fundamentals of Feedback

Some of our writing projects exist to teach us a single lesson and then remain in draft form forever. (I think of them like origami: beautiful and requiring effort, but ephemeral!)

Other stories—the ones you can’t let go—want to live on. We owe it to them to get some perspective…and that’s a hard thing to do alone.

That’s where critique comes it.

But not any old critique. You need the right sort of feedback, at the right point in your process, and from the right people.

The Wrong Time To Seek Feedback

Before you ask: yes, there are times when it’s perfectly fine for you to keep your writing secret and safe and only for you.

Don’t be pressured into sharing your writing if:

  • It’s incredibly personal and too raw to discuss (clue: if it makes you cry when talking about it. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s hard to hear dispassionate feedback when you’re still attached to the source materials)
  • You’re still in the honeymoon phase with this piece and aren’t ready to hear anything critical about it.
  • You’re still working on it and are worried that other people’s opinions might shape it more than you would care for.

These are all legitimate reasons NOT to seek critique and that’s fine. Keep working until you need something else.

How To Know When You’re Ready for Feedback

There’s a difference between being healthily-protective of your early work, and being over-protective of your tender creative’s heart.

Here are a few signs that you’re ready for feedback–even if the idea still scares you:

  • You feel stuck on a piece of writing. You’ve done everything you can think of and it’s still just not ‘right’ (this might be a feeling you have, or something you’ve heard from editors at publications  you’ve send it to).
  • You keep polishing the same parts over and over again even though you suspect there’s a raging plot hole in the middle.
  • You have no idea if your ideas are coming through or if some important parts are still stuck in your head. You need a reader’s perspective!

At this point, feedback is going to be the thing that propels you into the next level of your writing craft.

How to Get Feedback You Can Use (Without the Flop-Sweat!)

Just because something calls itself a ‘critique group’, doesn’t mean you’ll get what you need from it. Choose carefully and avoid getting discouraged or stalled.

1. Trust the Group

It helps if you can find a group that’s run by someone you already know and trust.

Ask the organizer about the level and experience of the writers in the group. Ideally, you want to find a group where people are a little more experienced/skilled than you, but not so far ahead that they’ll scoff at all your ‘beginner mistakes’. 

And for the love of all that’s literary, do not send your work in to an anonymous online group. Those places are either so complimentary that they waste your time or so brutal that you might never pick up a pen again.

2. Help The Readers Help You

If the group allows it (and I think it should), add a note to your piece letting folks know what you’re looking for, in their feedback. There’s no point in someone doing a heavy-duty copy-edit if you’re still in the first draft, or giving you general feelings if what you’re looking for a is a detailed, final check before you send it out for publication.

Include in your note these pieces of information

  • Where your piece is in your process (“It’s very much a first draft and I’m trying to see if it’s intriguing enough to pursue” or “I’m getting ready to send it to publications and want to know if the plot hangs together.”)
  • What kind of feedback you want (“Does the pacing work?” “When did you guess whodunnit?”, “Was the ending satisfying?”). If you’re new to critique it might be difficult to know what to ask, so feel free to say that!
  • What you don’t want to hear, yet. (“Don’t bother correcting the typos, I’ll get to them later”; “I know I haven’t included much description in this draft. I’ll add that once I’m sure the story works.”)

3. Ask Specific Questions

Again, this is hard to do if you don’t have much experience of critique, so here are some sample questions you might use, which are miles better than stuttering, “Um, is it any good?” or “What did you think?”

  • Were there any places where you were confused by what was happening? 
  • Were there any places you started to skim (i.e. got bored)
  • What lines or aspects did you really love (so I can be sure not to edit them out!)?
  • Which character stood out most to you?
  • Did I make any promises that I didn’t deliver on?
  • If you had to write a one-line summary of what was at the heart of this piece, what would you say?

Build A Feedback System

Growing as a writer means engaging with your writing in a deliberate way.

Don’t leave it to chance. 

Set up a repeatable process – a system – for giving and getting critique. Some ways to do that:

  • Join a group that has a regular (but not too frequent) critique option
  • Swap stories on a regular schedule with a trusted writing buddy
  • Try out a critique group on a one-off basis and see if it works for you (remembering that if it doesn’t, that doesn’t say anything about you as a writer. It just wasn’t the right group for you).

If you don’t have a way to get regular feedback yet, don’t worry, I have something that might interest you!

Join a Firm, Fair and Fun Critique Experience (right here at StoryADay)

Three times a year (no more, because we take it seriously!) I host a Critique Week with members of the StoryADay community, and the Superstars group. 

It’s a 10-day guided experience where we:

  • Exchange short stories or excerpts of a longer work-in-progress (up to 7,000 words)
  • Read three pieces each, and receive feedback from at least three other writers
  • Learn how to ask for (and implement) feedback that moves our writing forward.

We have writers who are publishing and writers who are just coming back to their craft after decades away. You don’t need to be at any particular stage in your writing, you just need to be curious and ready to refine. 

Registration for the next edition of Critique Week opens soon. 

We’d love to welcome you in—why not join the waitlist today?

Find Out More About Critique Week

(And if you’re worried you won’t have anything to say about the other writers’ work, don’t be! You simply need to be an enthusiastic reader. After all, that’s what all of us want: someone who cares about writing, to read it and let us know how it hits them.)

Refine Your Writing Life, Not Just Your Draft.

Remember: you don’t have to perfect anything, just keep moving forward.

But if you want to grow as a writer, stay close to the StoryADay community.

Keep going, beyond the challenge, and build a sustainable, joy-filled writing life, with us!

  • Keep writing
  • Keep refining
  • Keep surprising yourself.

You don’t have to do it alone.

Next Steps:

Join us for Critique Week – or make a different plan to get some feedback this month. Your future writing self is waiting to thank you!

Keep writing,

Julie

MORE RESOURCES

Listen to the podcast episode that inspired this article

You Can Do This

“Any rejections to celebrate, this month?”

I was at my first ever in-real-life writers’ group, and the organizer started the meeting by handing a microphone around the room, and asking people to celebrate what they’d achieved in their writing life, since they last met.

Celebrate rejections? What kind of group is this?!, I thought, sure I was in the wrong place.

It was the one of many ways I’ve had my expectations upended, on this writing journey.

Continue reading “You Can Do This”

Does Your Writing Cut The Mustard?

The first restaurant I worked in was an American-style family restaurant – pretty exotic for the southwest coast of Scotland in the 80s, a place festooned with fish’n’chip shops, where ‘chicken tenders’ sounded like a new language.

One of my jobs was to set out bowls of condiments before the customers came in…and not just salt, pepper, vinegar, and the two sauces known to us (red and brown), but things like ‘hamburger relish (it was green! Who had ever heard of such a thing?!) and three types of mustard: one classic yellow, one fancy ‘Dijon’, and one totally alien grainy concoction that I fell in love with.

Tonight, I opened a jar of that grainy mustard and its tangy smell transported me back 38 years, to the service corridor between the kitchen and dining room of my first job, when mustard was an exotic new experience.

It reminded me of a truth in writing: we spend so much time in our own heads that we take for granted the way we think, the way we talk, and the way we write.

Sometimes, when we show our work to someone else they are thrilled by a throwaway phrase or a description that took no effort at all…because it’s normal to you.

Sometimes we need other writers to push us to try the mustard, when we’re accustomed to always reaching for the salt and vinegar. 

And yes, this is my fancy way of letting you know that Critique Week is coming up, and that if you would like to get some fresh eyes on your writing you should consider joining us.

But more than that, it’s my way of encouraging you not to take your own writing for granted. It might be the new flavor someone else is looking for!

Keep writing,

Julie

P. S. I’ll be opening up registration for this round of Critique week, soon. Get on the waitlist here.