The Running of the WIPs begins September 9; at that point, all posts will go out only to paid subscribers. If you’d like to join up and write a book this year, there’s no time like the present!
Hey, Runners!
Wow! It’s 12 days until we start running, so now’s a good time to start warming up. I’ll post the general schedule in this post so you can get a sense of what’s coming and when, but I do feel duty-bound to inform you that the best thing you can do for your creativity right now…
…is nothing.
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!
Creativity requires rest
I have to say that although I’ve known this for a long time, I always forget/ignore it. As soon as I sit down and start staring out windows, the little gremlin in my head (I call her Blanche) starts giving me a hard time about all the things I need to do.
But the fact is, what I need to do sometimes… is nothing. It’s not that I’m actually doing nothing—it feels like nothing, looks like nothing—but in the background of these quiet hours, the creative engine in my brain is running and working and preparing to wait until I’m at the grocery store or driving somewhere or about to go to sleep when it just hits me with a million ideas I need to write down right now or lose them forever.
Today’s Comments Assignment:
Do you find it hard to rest? If so, share any tricks you have to allow rest in the comments!
Here’s your to-do checklist pre-rotWIPs
Empty your schedule as much as humanly possible. Anything that isn’t essential, bump it.
Keep something to write in handy at all times. A notes app on your phone is fine, or the voice recording app, or a pen and pencil; whatever is easiest for you to suddenly stop and jot down thoughts.
Try to stay away from things that get you all riled up… like maybe the news. You’re about to go into Discovery, which is best done when you can sort of retreat into yourself a bit.
Here’s the general schedule:
INTRO & MINDSET WORK: Monday, September 9—Sunday, September 22
DISCOVERY: Monday, September 23—Sunday, November 3
DRAFTING: Monday, November 4—Sunday, January 5
PROVING + CRAFT SKILLS: Monday, January 6—Sunday, February 2
FIRST REVISION: Monday, February 3—Sunday, March 23
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PART? + OPENING SCENE CRITIQUES: Monday, March 24-Sunday, May 4
NEXT STEPS—PUBLISHING & BEYOND: Monday, May 5—Friday, June 13
Discord links will be going out to paid subscribers next week. Woot!
Up until November, we were busy caregiving for an elderly, demanding (and somewhat abusive) parent. Rest? What was that? Learning to rest and genuinely relax is something I’ve been having to reteach myself this year. I’ve discovered one of my favorite things is to pick up some knitting where I don’t need to look at the pattern, put on an audiobook and knit. The combo of the movment of the needles and the words in my years (cozy mysteries preferred) lets me shut out the word and engage me enough that my mind doesn’t wander off to all the things I “should” be doing. At the same time, it is soothing and mindless enough that my mind and body can rest. Yes, I have fallen asleep with needles in hand and book still playing. Comfort viewing works as well, and with September on the horizon, it’s almost time to do my annual viewing of Practical Magic.
Reading helps, if it’s a book which engages me. If I get truly restless and don’t feel like going for a walk, I might sit down at the computer and do some writing. Not whatever my current project is, but something for fun, usually fanfic of some kind. Since this stuff will never be seen by *anyone* but me, it’s a great place to doodle.
I meant to add - one of my dearest friends calls her writing gremlin Dolly. Dolly gets lots of blame for angst and chaos, and regular gremlin treats for amazing ideas (even chaotic angsty ones).