Summer writing plans
And how to make them
Goooooooooooood morning, afternoon, or evening, wherever you might happen to be!
One of my wonderful paid subscribers (šš!) mentioned in the Monday morning check-in chat that she was about to sit down and make her Summer Writing Plans. Immediately, my ears perked up. PLANS, you say? I LOVE plans!!!
I really do.
Whether or not youāre an academic, thereās just something about summer that smells like the opportunity to get some capital-āwā Writing done. If January 1 is when we dream about how we might transform ourselves, then June 1 is when writers dream about tackling big projects, making progress, and catching up on lost time.
So for those of you preparing to make your summer writing plans, I thought I might share some details about how I go about making mine:
1. Start with a list.
Because I love plans, I love lists. Lists are the building blocks of plans! So before I can start making my Grandiose Summer Writing Planā¢, I need to know what it is I need/want to accomplish during whatever period counts as āsummerā for me (usually everything between the end of the spring/summer semester and the beginning of the autumn semester, minus any family holiday time). I start by listing the things I need to get done during this time, and then add in the things I want to get done (if possible).
This summer, I donāt really have any strict writing deadlines to meet, but I do know that I have to get certain projects to certain stages by certain vague points in time. So, for example, a scholarly manifesto I want to write with the brilliant Kristen Haas Curtis will probably need to be in some sort of drafted form before the autumn semester starts and teaching recommences. And Iāll want to have my big creative project revised before I go on a writing retreat organised by the marvelous Laura Saetveit Miles in August, so that I can use the retreat to really make that project sing. So there are my deadlines.
2. Sort by urgency.
The next thing I need to do is figure out what needs doing first. What deadlines (if any) do I have for all this writing I want to do? I make a note of those. But I also need to figure out which projects might require more time than others. So if thereās a project with a deadline that will also take a lot of time to complete, I put an asterisk next to it on my list so that I can begin chipping away at it well in advance.
Until this past Wednesday, my most urgent deadline was for a conference paper I was delivering with a colleague, which put it at the very top of my list until it was completed. Iām also aiming to finish Draft 2 of my big creative project before the end of June so Iāll have a little time to tinker with it before Augustāso thatās on the front burner right now. The manifesto is a little less urgent, so Iām mainly taking notes and assembling reading material for that. Then thereās my comedy writing, which Iāve really been missing lately. Itās less immediately urgent, but I do want to get back into it (Iāll write a bit more about that next week!).
3. Figure out what requires Best Brain.
Iām a big believer in making the most of whatever my brain is capable of, while also bearing in mind the fact that it operates better at some times of day (or under some circumstances) than others.
While I was completing my PhD, I learned that I do most of my best writing in the mornings. In fact, itās usually best if I get up, eat breakfast, and donāt even bother to change out of my pajamas before I start writing. So I want to make sure that I give my morning Best Brain to anything that will involve hardcore rewriting/drafting. Right now itās my big creative project. Later on, it will be the first draft of the manifesto.
On the other hand, even when I donāt have Best Brain, I can get stuff done: research, reading, and editing other peopleās work usually fall into this category because itās less about generating words and more about processing words. So I usually do most of this work in the afternoons, not because itās less important, but because it fits what my brain is capable of then (itās the same reason I often schedule client meetings in the afternoons).
Weirdly, a lot of my comedy writing is best done at the very end of the day. Probably because my inhibitions are lower and IDGAF. Go, brain gremlins, go!
4. Make a week-by-week plan for each month.
As Iāve said many times before, I really find a monthly writing plan that breaks things down week by week and day by day essential for keeping all my projects on track (and ensuring I donāt forget appointments with colleagues and clients). So once Iāve worked through the steps above, I come back to my trusty writing plan template, which I color code by project category (anything in purple relates to client work; anything in red relates to teaching; anything in hot pink is creative). If you think a template like this might be useful for you, feel free to give it a whirlāand let me know how it goes!
Hereās to a summer of wonderful writing!
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VB,
M
This is fantastic advice! I love your āBest Brainā approachāI often feel more clear-headed in the morning and use that time to do open-ended generative, pajama-clad thinking (like thought-mapping) for one or more projects. I like early afternoon (once Iāve been outside) for sit-down writing work.