Hey, Runners!
As we’re getting closer and closer to September 9 and the beginning of the run, I want to encourage you all to try to think in terms of what you can and should do, rather than what you can’t and shouldn’t do.
Let’s avoid restrictive thinking.
We run from Sept 9—June 13! Subscribe today to be one of the runners and get your novel, or other long-form fiction project, written this year!
Leaning in to your yes
Look, I’m not ashamed to admit it…
Okay, that’s a lie; I’m a little ashamed to admit it…
…but I dabbled in improv comedy in college. Not much; I had one outing, it went terribly, and I never went back to the group.
The reason it went terribly is because no one told me about yes, and.
In improv, you’re in a scene with one or more other players, and the whole point is that no one knows what’s going to happen. You’re thrown a setting and a situation and then you’re off to the races, and the number one rule is that no matter what your partners in the scene throw out there, you have to run with it.
You must say yes, and then you must add something else to the mix for your partner to run with.
Today’s Comments Assignment:
Have you ever done anything more humiliating than improv? A simple yes or no will suffice; you don’t have to tell the tale.
It’s time for improv
There are times in writing where you have to make cuts and alterations to make a story work.
But first, you must draft the story.
We’re going to be starting on the 9th with Discovery work, and then after that we’ll be going into the Drafting phase of writing your novel; all of this relies on your willingness to say yes, and to the things that come to you, and run with them. You can set your criticism and concern to offline for a few months with regard to your work; it’s time to get your improving magpie energy going, so you can maximize your creativity, and make the process as fun as possible.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait.
Dear lord, yes. No, I don’t share. Not even my husband knows about this one—and the folks I’m still in touch with from high school seem to have forgotten, thank god.
Yes. And in the interest of full disclosure, (so you all understand what you're getting yourselves into, playing improv with me), due to undiagnosed mental illness(es) [I’m now up to 7-yeah me], I once lost my mind; abandoned my children to their respective fathers, (this should tell you something), ran away from home, and changed my name.
In fact, Lani, when I met you in Anchorage, I was in that run.
Diagnosis and the complete proper treatments are a beautiful thing. I'm still in recovery-every waking moment of every single day.
M