“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”how a post-partum exercise class made me a more dedicated writer
Happy Friday, Writers.
I’m back, as promised, with a little Something for the Weekend.
First, a story, then some prompts:
His chubby little hands reached out for mine and I raced up the grassy slope to scoop up my little boy and whirl him around. He’d never been in any danger. He just wanted his mum. So I ran.
This was the image I kept in my head, throughout the series of exercise classes I attended after I had my second kid. I wasn’t there to ‘get my figure back’
I was there because I wanted to be the kind of mum who could run to my kids if they needed me — or wanted me, or simply if I wanted to.
Every time I was tempted to stop leaping around like a fool in font of the mirrors, and catch my breath, I’d conjure up that vision and ask myself if I would keep going, if I was running to save one of my kids.
Knowing WHY I was doing a hard thing made it easier to live through the slog of the ‘how’.
As a writer it can be hard to sustain the long-term effort required to achieve the writing life you want.
Getting clear on why you are doing it, makes all the difference.
You’re not doing it ‘to become a best-seller’ (the writing equivalent of, ‘to get my figure back’ – something other people seem to care about more than we do…).
You’re doing it because you want to. Because it makes you happier. And that’s a good enough reason to put in the effort.
If you can, spend some time this weekend thinking about why you want to write that project you’re working on/avoiding.
Once you have the ‘why’, you’ll find it much easier to do the reps you need to do, to reach that goal.
Need some inspiration to jumpstart your writing? Here are a few more Story Sparks I shared in January:
(Each dose of inspiration is around 1 minute long and captioned)
To follow along with all the prompts, click here.
I’ll be back in your inbox next week. If you have questions or fears, or are stuck on anything to do with your writing, let me know. in the comments I’ll do my best to address your question in an upcoming missive.
Keep writing,
Julie
P. S. Those little kids I was training to chase? They’re just about to turn 20 and 22. Now I’m exercising for myself, because that long-ago class taught me that I was stronger than I knew…a feeling I want to hang onto! Likewise, it’s OK to pursue your writing to make someone else proud of you. But, stick with it, and you’ll soon find you’re writing to make you proud of yourself!
This week we take a look at the publishing industry, your goals, and how you can become endlessly inspired and creative…
Learning about the realities of the publishing industry can free you to create your own definition of success (that may or may not include traditional publishers). Step 1 towards success is to imagine your vision. Step 2 is to turn up for your writing, something the new StoryAWeek newsletter can help with!
For industry perspective: Jane Friedman’s The Hot Sheet: https://hotsheetpub.com/
Leave a comment about this episode: https://storyaday/episode259
Here’s all my best advice on writing flash fiction…
This month has been all about Flash Fiction. It’s a fabulous way to:
Here’s everything you might have missed at the blog this month: Continue reading “Making February Flash – A Round Up”
Happy January!
This month’s theme has been ‘Practice’ (as in setting up and maintaining a healthy writing practice).
Here’s what you might have missed:
The January 2017 episodes covered:
StoryADay News March 2016
Welcome, all! (Including the 59 people who joined the list last month!)
It’s already March, which means we have something like eight weeks until StoryADay May! I’m shaking up a few things this year, so stayed tuned for next month’s newsletter that’ll tell you what’s new, and how to be first into ‘behind the velvet rope’ community when it opens up again in late April.
In the meantime, let’s spend three of those weeks together, warming up for StoryADay.
I’m running a LIVE version of the StoryADay Warm Up Course again this year, with (new this year) a private Facebook group.
(And yes, if you’ve ever taken the course before or bought the Home Study version, you can join in this time around, for free!)
It all kicks off on April 2, 2016, so watch your inboxes for more news about that.
Find Out About The upgraded version, the I, WRITER Course here
Sometimes the hardest thing about writing is getting started…and a lot of that is to do with allowing ourselves to get over our fears and doubts. In these three articles I talked about ways to stop sabotaging your writing dreams and instead, give yourself permission to write.
These articles all have audio embedded, so if you have things to do but can’t bear to stop ‘reading’ click on the “play” button. If you’d like more of these (or if you’d like hem in podcast form — downloaded automatically onto your device of choice) let me know by replying to this email.
In which I use the Pixar movie Wall-E to encourage you to succeed on your own terms…
In which I bust all your writing excuses (and give you a little pep talk, too…
In which I award you a printable certificate that guarantees you Permission to Write 😉 …
Having dealt with building good writing Habits in January, and given sourceless Permission To Write in February, this month at the blog, I turn my attention to Productivity.
You want to write, you believe you should be writing, maybe you are writing.
Now you need to ramp up that word count, or that story count, and get in some serious writing practice.
Watch the blog for weekly articles on the business of creative productivity.
If you want to write short stories you should be reading short stories. I’ve reviewed a selection of short stories this month, including stories by Richard Matheson and Adam Foulds.
Have you posted your goals for March in our Serious Writers’ Accountability Group yet? Check out this post, and add your pledge in the comments.
Remember, you don’t have to pledge to do anything particularly impressive. It can be “read three short stories this month” if that’s what works for you.
Just remember to come back next month and tell us how you got on.
Accountability, geddit?
Would you like to get some practice editing, uploading and managing a podcast workflow?
I’ve been recording audio of the blog posts all year, and would love to put out a regular podcast, but the time required to edit and splice and upload and notate is defeating me.
If you’re interested in online business, audio production, or podcasting and would like to learn more about Libsyn, iTunes, metadata and social media marketing, we need to talk.
You will:
Interested? Email me (julie at storyaday dot org) and let me know!
Phew! OK, that was a lot of news. Inspired? Check out these writing prompts before you go. And now,
Keep writing!
Julie
If you want to read more like this, let me send future articles straight to your inbox:
