“How can I cultivate and step into my writer’s identity more fully, or better design and live a ‘curated’ writing lifestyle? I want to engage in the routines and rituals of my writing lifestyle with aplomb, no matter the storyline or plot twists of daily life, and let them serve to enhance my writer’s identity.”
Here's the TL;DR of my response (+ you can click through to the article to read the details):
The desire to live a writer’s life is real.
Writing is also a job, not only an identity or lifestyle.
Do claim your identity as a writer.
Writing is about taking action.
Close your writer’s life gap in specific ways.
Build routines and structures.
Trust you’ll get through the plot twists.
Check out the full article with more reflection by clicking here ⇣
Plus, here are three cool things this week (in spite of it all):
Holy smokes, batman, I got to see Annalee Newitz and a bunch of new-to-me folks speaking on a "Public Transit Visions in Speculative Fiction" panel the other night. I couldn't make it to San Francisco around parenting and personal obligations and needs, so I watched the live stream but sheesh-wow it was so fun and exciting — at least to me. The combo of geeking out about speculative fiction AND urban design AND transit? I was pretty much over the moon. And given the many dark moments this week and last, it was a delicious experience to have a moment of inspiration and joy.
My 'lil sis came over and we worked on purging and decorating our house. We moved here 2019 and sort of unpacked stuff and shoved it onto shelves and then covid hit and everything sort of stayed where it was? But we don't really need all those things? And there's too much stuff in our house? Anyway, she's been working on similar things at her place so it's a massive help to have fresh eyes and a good accountability partner.
If you're looking for support making writing happen day in and day out — including regular writing sprints — check out my Called to Write Community, now available at a new lower rate: https://calledtowrite.mn.co
If you're looking for developmental editing support, I have space coming up in my editorial calendar for manuscript critiques and script notes in mid-October. https://jennaavery.com/for-writers
* All book links herein are affiliate links for Bookshop, which means I earn a small referral fee if you purchase from them, and which helps me keep my writing ship afloat. Thank you!
In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m responding to a reader about having confidence and stretching farther as a writer:
“I think it’s my confidence. I feel completely sure that I don’t know what I’m doing. I’d like to believe it when I tell myself, ‘It may not be there yet, but it will be,’ about my writing. I’d also like to set goals for myself that feel a little more ambitious than those I set now. I like that I protect my feelings but I may be doing too much of that.”
From what I’ve seen, all writers face crises of confidence periodically, including professional, experienced writers, so it’s good to remember you’re not alone. We may also be questioning ourselves about whether we’re pushing ourselves forward enough.
In the article, I explore some possibilities to help:
1. What you say to yourself matters:
2. How you set goals matters.
3. How you protect your feelings matters.
We arrive at confidence by doing the work, not by having confidence in advance.
Want the full scoop? Get all the details in the full article on Script Mag:
In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m responding to two readers in response to their submissions to a recent reader survey I conducted.
Their comments and questions coalesced around balancing writing with the rest of a busy life:
“I am struggling with balancing writing with life. I know what I need to do but similar to dieting, there is bingeing then over-compliance. It’s hard to make the habit work with so much to do.”
“I’ve not written in a LONG time — it feels like life events overwhelm me — I’m just not motivated.”
Especially if writing is an optional endeavor—at least in the sense that we’re writing on spec and not being paid (yet!) to write—it’s not easy to balance with the rest of life. Even professional working writers can find writing swallowing up or at least significantly impacting their personal lives, from what I’ve seen.
In the article, I discuss the challenges these writers are facing and then explore some possible strategies and solutions to consider when dealing with a busy life, a propensity to binge, avoid, or overly comply, and a lack of motivation to write.
Solutions:
1. Structure.
2. Rock bottom minimum writing targets.
3. Not to exceed guidelines.
4. The passion rule.
5. Three big rocks.
Much like a screenplay benefits from a proper structure, so do you as a writer. Structure is a container for a story. A writing practice is a container for your writing. It makes a place for writing to be a part of your life. If you don’t have this kind of structure, or container, you have to struggle daily with the “when” and “if” of writing, rather than it being a given.
Want the full scoop? Get all the details in the full article on Script Mag:
In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m responding to two readers in response to their submissions to a recent reader survey I conducted. Their comments and questions coalesced around dealing with distractions from writing:
“I’m struggling most with distractions and interruptions.”
“I am having a hard time writing between family distractions and self-doubt.”
In the article, I focus on distractions in terms of tasks, logistics, and awareness, as well as interruptions and physical challenges, and explore what we can do to corral them and keep them from overtaking our writing:
1. Give tasks a place to live.
2. Create a time to complete tasks.
3. Give logistics their due.
4. Recognize the emotional and mental load you’re carrying.
5. Build protections and resilience around interruptions.
6. Take care of your physical well-being.
7. Cut out the truly unimportant sidetracks.
Drill down into what’s truly important to you and make sure you’re eliminating everything not on that list, so you can focus on what you’re called to do: write.
Want the full scoop? Get all the details in the full article on Script Mag:
In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m responding to a writer who’s commented about feeling like they’ve stalled around writing.
“I’ve made so much progress with my draft but… I’ve just stalled again, and I have no idea why. I’m just not FEELING it right now. What gives?”
Whew, yes. SO many writers I’ve spoken to recently are feeling similarly. In the article, I unpack some of the possibilities for underlying causes and then brainstorm how to recover from the stall.
Why Writers Stall
1. All the *everything* right now is zapping you.
2. Personal life stuff is getting to you.
3. You’re reacting to a mountain (or an iceberg) in your story.
4. You’ve lost confidence in yourself as a writer.
5. You feel overwhelmed by the quantity of work ahead.
6. Your writing practice has been disrupted and resistance has crept in.
How to Recover From a Stall
1. Write for a little tiny bit, right now.
2. Write morning pages.
3. Write about writing.
4. Rewrite your fears and doubts.
5. Calm your fight or flight response.
6. Carve out a space for just writing.
7. Check your priorities.
8. Reclaim your sense of self as a writer.
9. Use writing as your refuge, if you can.
10. Show up anyway.
Usually, avoiding or stalling is a symptom of something else going on deeper down. Solving it often requires a combination of personal work and finding ways to sneak (or trick ourselves) back into writing.
Want the full scoop? Get all the details in the full article on Script Mag:
In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m responding to a few readers in one article, in response to their submissions to my recent survey about the classes, workshops, and programs I teach.
Their comments and questions coalesced around the purpose of writing:
“It’s not the writing as much as the writing with a purpose. What’s the end goal? What are the strategies?”
“I am once again struggling with the demon that says writing somehow isn’t enough. That it’s not enough of a purpose to justify my life, particularly as publishing keeps saying ‘no’ to my knocking.”
“What is my writing purpose?”
These are similar questions, but with varying shades of intent. I suspect these are questions all writers ask periodically, though the specifics may vary for each of us. These overlap with the commonality of purpose.
In the article, I explore navigating one’s purpose as a writer and reply to the specific questions and situations of the screenwriter, novelist, and essayist who chimed in via my survey.
Writing with purpose means being who we are in the world and expressing the unique insights and perspectives we bring to the table…. Whether we choose to focus on writing for the sake of the practice, make strategic choices to meet both ourselves and the market, or put our work out in the world ourselves, we write because we are writers.
Want the full scoop? Get all the details in the full article on Script Mag:
