Writing Practice 1.8
January 8, 2024. Plus a voice memo from me.
Welcome to Writing Practice. The idea is simple: I send out a daily prompt to paid newsletter subscribers, often with links to related published pieces to help fuel creativity. Then you write.
Write as much or as little as you like. I would recommend not over-thinking this, and just using it as an opportunity to jot down some words. I would also recommend just writing through – don’t try to make it perfect (that’s for later).
Some of these prompts may resonate, and you’ll find yourself writing paragraph after paragraph. Others will fall flat, and you’ll roll your eyes, or come up empty and feel frustrated. This, too, is part of having a regular writing practice. On those days of frustration or blockage, try to write something down anyway – even just one sentence, even just one word. And then take heart in the reality that, if we are lucky, there is always tomorrow.
Welcome to week two of writing practice! How was your week one? Fruitful? Frustrating? Who cares, it’s over! A new week is ahead, so let’s jump in.
In week one, we examined the self: Who we are as writers, and how our backgrounds shape our creative work. Now, in week two, I want us to consider the balance of pleasure and power in our work. Where can we find a pleasurable flow with our words? Where can we use words that are satisfying and beautiful? Where can we incorporate emotion, imagery, and sensation? And how can we also keep our writing structured and disciplined, so we aren’t floating off into la-la land and losing our reader along the way? That may mean outlining, or at least taking a few minutes to think about where you want your piece to go before you start. It may mean leaning into a more authoritative voice, or writing about a topic you feel passionate about. And it means writing as a discipline: Writing even when you don’t necessarily feel like it, and just getting words on the page.
I’ve laid out these concepts in greater detail in a voice memo:
Your first prompt for the new week is below.
WRITING PRACTICE DAY EIGHT
When was the last time your body felt like it was in flow — when you felt graceful, almost liquid, moving in a way that felt entirely natural? Put us there with you as you. Where were you? What did it feel like? What did it shake loose in you? Or, if you cannot remember a time when you felt in flow, put yourself in someone else’s flowing body: What must it feel like to move so pleasurably?
Here is a great piece to read.
xx Jill