I spent the weekend jumping into various virtual write-ins. Lots of folks between the Rough Draft Challenge, and various other challenges going on in November are working on words. And if you want to join me drafting, you can click that contact button and I'll get the invites and links to you.
But I've been sharing thoughts about writing every November, so let's get to it.
1. It's easier for me to write with company. What that company looks like has changed over the years. I used to do in person write ins, because dragging all my stuff somewhere meant I was going to go home with words. These days I do virtual write ins, and even sometimes just sprint with the discord bot. It's useful to me. It helps me get my butt to the writing chair instead of sitting on the couch. Some people will tell you needing company or some sort of external thing to write makes you not a real writer. Those people should not be trusted.
2. A writer friend of mine said she tries not to listen to too many people about writing because she does not need extra voices in her brain telling her how to write. I am always so curious about people's process, but I also wrote for several years before I started seeking out other writer people, so I had a good sense of my voice. Plus I find that sometimes hearing some process that is decidedly not for me, helps me hone in what processes might be for me. Neither of us are right or wrong in our choices, there are so many ways to draft. If you're making words, then it's working.
3. One thing you might have noticed, was I started my draft so that Rough Draft Challenge and Global Write In call happened after I had been writing for about two weeks. That was intentional. For me, about two weeks in - depending on pace, things slow down. So I planned to have the things that would encourage me to keep up my pace happen right as I knew my pace might lag.
4. There are limits to how much you can trick your brain. If you plan too many high value days, your brain and sometimes your body will protest. There's a lot of writers who had to learn a lot about their own personal ergonomics. And sometimes the best solution is to write a little less each day.
5. I do not think of myself as a morning person. But I do wake up just before my alarm pretty regularly. And usually my cat shows up around then too, since no one has pet her for six to eight hours at that point. (Oh, the sadness.) But I do then grab my phone and write a few words for the story. Sometimes it's like ten. Sometimes I end up not using it because I forgot where they were or what they were doing when I left them the day before. But those words help me think about my characters. So that whether it's a day when the writing happens after breakfast or after work, I've been thinking about them already and jumping in is a little easier.
6. I used to think all the words I ended up cutting from my first draft were a waste. I have come to realize they are all attempts to get the story moving and that sometimes the turns I discover were wrong turns are just as important in getting me to where the story needed to go. Writing doesn't come with a GPS. Having to make a U turn or to exit the highway isn't a failure, it's part of the journey. For those of you who plot, same with those extra plot points it turned out the characters refused to use.
7. Writing is hard work and we haven't even touched the what happens next part. But if the writing bug is calling to you, you can do it. As much as we complain we like it, I swear.
