This week's writing report:
I write weekdays from 6am to 7am Pacific. Join me!
Monday:
Woke up in a cramped hotel room with my husband and teenagers ahead of a family memorial service. No writing happening today!
Tuesday:
I finished a flash draft on Friday and had told myself that I would pick a new one over the weekend and jump in today. Guess who didn’t think about it over the weekend? My brain was empty and fear that I’ll never have another idea rose up and filled my ears. But the fun of flash prose is that you can just start with a line and see what happens. I wrote the line “Knuckles grazed the back of her hand.” 235 words later I just might have myself a story idea! My heart is happy and full with this switch to writing and submitting flash prose.
Wednesday:
I had a thought this morning that there are unlimited stories, and instead of feeling overwhelmed or discouraged I felt hopeful and excited. This feeling lasted a fraction of a second and was gone…but it was new. Who am I becoming? Went back to the story from yesterday. Instead of adding words I took some away, which is a bummer, but I spent time freewriting to clarify what I was trying to say. (This story is set against the backdrop of Y2K, so I may have also spent time Googling what were we afraid of with Y2K? Funny what a big deal it seemed at the time.)
Thursday:
I’m sleepy this morning and my eyes are heavy, plus the kitten is biting my bare feet incessantly and I’m having a hot flash and I’m hungry and things are not off to a good start. Spent 15 minutes logging a dream I had because I felt like it mattered somehow. I was, perhaps, a fifth character in Sex and the City? Regardless, I added more to the Y2K story and should be able to finish it.
Friday:
I’m unfocused, checking emails and popping in and out of Substack. It’s Friday energy, for sure, but I try not to beat myself up about it. I added some more to the Y2K story and it’s almost done, but I was doing it on my Freewrite which, for all of it’s benefits for drafting, makes it hard to reorganize sentences and that’s what needs to happen next. Uploaded it to my computer and am leaving it there for revision later. A new story starts Monday! (Will I think about it over the weekend? Who knows? The best intentions…)
I share this regular update because it is all progress. One sentence is progress. Showing up is progress. No one is doing "better" than you. I promise.
💗 Stephanie