LIFT-OFF Writing Camp Day 3
Building a practice around your project
Gooooooooood morning, afternoon, or evening, wherever you happen to be! And welcome to Day 3 of LIFT-OFF Writing Camp!
What Day 3 is all about
This is a big day, people. You’ve shown up for Day 1. You’ve shown up for Day 2. You’ve come up with a Cunning Plan. But after today, you can start telling people that you’ve done not one, not two, but a few days of writing on your project.
That’s huge!! That means you’re starting to build a writing practice around this new project. And on this third day of LIFT-OFF Writing Camp, we’re going to focus on sustaining that writing practice in the early stages of your project.
Finding your writing practice
One year ago, on Day 3 of the very first Writing Camp, I wrote about different writers’ writing practices. I love reading about that stuff. And over the course of my writing career, I’ve had the pleasure of trying out a lot of different approaches to my writing.
I’ve tried getting up an hour before everyone else. (This only worked when my son didn’t hear me and come join me.)
I’ve tried staying up an hour or two after everyone else. (This worked pretty well, but really threw my sleep off.)
In the couple of years after my son was born, I adopted a ‘guerrilla approach’ to my writing, attacking a given project during those unpredictable moments when I had time to myself.
This past summer, I took the very luxurious approach of leaving for a writing retreat in Greece (about which I wrote a bit of short humour that’ll be published in The Belladonna sometime in the next few weeks!).
As you might imagine, some of these approaches are more sustainable than others. Sadly, nobody has yet offered to fly me to Greece on a regular basis (but please do get in touch if you’d like to be the benevolent patron who makes that happen!). And whatever the size of the project you’re currently working on, the key to getting that project done is establishing a sustainable writing practice.
This is especially important when you’re in the early phases of a new writing project.
At the beginning, you’re both enthusiastic (and maybe a little overwhelmed). That enthusiasm might help you blast off the starting line, but then you’ve got the rest of the race in front of you! Setting feasible daily goals can help you make that early enthusiasm last. It keeps you from getting discouraged when Life Happens, or when the going gets tough. And that, my friends, is why it is the foundation of a sustainable writing practice.
So before we get on with today’s writing, I invite you to reflect a bit on what tends to work best for you.
Do you tend to write better or more easily at a particular time of day?
Is there a particular kind of prompt or goal that works for you?
What kinds of conditions make it easier for you to write?
I’d love to hear your responses, so please feel free to share them in the Writing Camp chat!
Day 3 Writing Prompts
Take a moment to look through the writing prompts below and select which one suits you today. If you finish using one writing prompt and want to try another, go right ahead! If, on the other hand, you feel like you’re done after responding to one prompt, that’s just fine.
Remember: it’s all about sustainability.
Option 1: Follow your Cunning Plan
Look at the Cunning Plan you made yesterday, and at the goal you set for yourself today. That’s your assignment for today!
If you finish that assignment and feel like doing a bit more today, then try freewriting for 5 minutes on any aspect of your completed assignment. Remember: Do not stop. Do not look back. Do not worry at all about using perfect punctuation or sentence structure. Just write as though nobody’s watching (because they aren’t).
If after that you still feel like doing a little bit more, try following the example of P. D. James: pick whatever part of your project you’re most interested in tackling today, set a timer for 15 minutes, and see what you can write in that time.
Option 2: Freewriting
Reflect on what you wrote or did yesterday pertaining to your project or on whatever part of your project you’re most interested in tackling today. Freewrite on any aspect of that for 5 minutes. Remember: Do not stop. Do not look back. Do not worry at all about using perfect punctuation or sentence structure. Just write as though nobody’s watching (because they aren’t).
If that’s all the time or energy you’ve got for today, that’s fine! Take a moment to look through what you wrote and circle/highlight/underline anything that strikes you as particularly important to your project. You can use this to help keep track of your thinking as you move forward with your project, or as your writing prompt for Day 4 (I’m a HUGE believer in leaving myself ‘breadcrumbs’ at the end of the writing day that I can use as my starting point for the next writing day).
If you feel like you could keep going, you can either (a) set a timer for 20 minutes and see what you can write in that time; or (b) set yourself a goal of writing 200 more words before you stop for the day.
Option 3: You do you
If you’re at Writing Camp for the camaraderie and accountability rather than the prompts, that’s great! Do your own thing, and let us know about it in the chat!
Ok, folks: time to get writing!
Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow for Day 4 of LIFT-OFF Writing Camp!
To celebrate my birthday month, I’m offering my usual 2-for-1 deal: 2 people can enjoy 1 year of a paid Page by Page subscription for the price of 1 subscription!
If you’re a free subscriber who’d like access to everything in the PBP archive (plus all paid subscriber posts) for a year, or if you’re someone who’s been waiting for an even more affordable way to support my work, this is your chance!
To take advantage of this deal:
Find a buddy who’ll reimburse you for half the normal subscription cost for 1 year.
Sign up for a paid annual subscription.
Send me your buddy’s email (to mary [[at]] marycflannery.com) so you both get a paid annual subscription at 50% off for 1 year!
If you’re already a paid subscriber and want to take advantage of this deal and share the PBP magic with a friend: no problem. Just follow Steps 1 and 3 above!
If you’re really feeling generous, and you’d like access to everything on PBP and regular feedback on your own writing whenever you need it, you can become a Founding Member ($150).
As ever, thanks for reading!
VB,
M