Light as a feather, stiff as a board

What a slumber party game has to do with your novel

Hey, Runners!

When I was a kid, we used to do this thing at slumber parties. One kid would lie on the ground, and all the others would gather around that kid, and each of us would put two fingers under the kid on the ground.

Then, as a group, we’d repeat, over and over again, “Light as a feather, stiff as a board. Light as a feather, stiff as a board,” and slowly, we would lift the first kid off the ground.

It seemed impossible, but it’s just physics. The more people you have lifting, the less effort each individual needs to put in to get the result.

When you’re a kid, it seems like magic.

And it is, a little bit, because community is magic.

Hell is not other people

Jean-Paul Sartre famously said, “Hell is other people,” and in this age of social media, it’s easy to believe that yes, indeed, hell is other people.

But if you really want to write your story this year in the Running of the WIPs, you’re going to need to get past that feeling and trust that anyone who would sign up for a writing challenge based in ideas like “it’s all going to be okay” and “there’s no fail state here” is going to be of a like mind.

That person responds to encouragement and inspiration.

That person is tired of all the negative bullshit out there about how you just have to get off your ass and write.

That person is looking to be part of a supportive community of writers who are ready to remove as much friction as possible from the process of writing.

That person is looking for you.

Today’s Comments Assignment:

Post your first name; home country, state, or town; and your favorite writing utensil (example: pencil, pen, particular brand of pen/pencil, dry-erase marker, chalk).

Return to the comments over the next few days to personally welcome other commenters.

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Be the change you want to see in your writing

In order for you to get the most out of the Running of the WIPs, you’re going to need to be active in the community, either here in the comments section of the posts if you’re doing the monthly subscription, or in the Discord channel if you’re committing to the whole year.

But you’ve got to be an active participant, and that means getting past your fear of others.

It also means that you need to help make others feel comfortable by commenting on their comments in the way you’d like people to respond to your comments.

Supportive. Friendly. Encouraging.

The Running of the WIPs is an encouraging space; literally, we give each other courage. We encourage each other to be creative, to have fun, to write our stories. That’s the tone here. We are lifting each other up, and being lifted up in return.

And that community is a huge predictor of actual success¹ in writing.

More on that next time.

1. Not financial success. No one can make you a bestseller, not even me. This is about getting your story written in the first place, without which, there definitely won’t be bestseller money.