Julie Duffy's Blog, page 72
August 1, 2020
175 – Triumph! Success & Your Writing Life
Success in writing is about so much more than the external trappings (publication, adulation, recognition).
Every day that you sit down to write, it’s important to feel successful. This week’s episode talks about some ways to do that.
Writing Prompt: Write a Twitter-length story every day this week, to exercise your storytelling muscles, then tag me @storyadaymay
Links:
How To Write Twitter Fiction: https://storyaday.org/2016-16-twitter/
Ready to write today, not “some day”?
The post 175 – Triumph! Success & Your Writing Life appeared first on StoryADay.
July 31, 2020
SWAGr for August 2020
Welcome to the Serious Writers’ Accountability Group!
Post your goals for this month and let us know how you got on with last month’s goals.
Leave a comment below telling us how you got on last month, and what you plan to do next month, then check back in on the first of each month, to see how everyone’s doing.
(It doesn’t have to be fiction. Feel free to use this group to push you in whatever creative direction you need.)
Did you live up to your commitment from last month? Don’t remember what you promised to do? Check out the comments from last month.
And don’t forget to celebrate with/encourage your fellow SWAGr-ers on their progress!
Download your SWAGr Tracking Sheet now, to keep track of your commitments this month
****
Examples of Goals Set By SWAGr-ers in previous months
Finish first draft of story and write 3 articles for my school paper. – CourtneyWrite on seven days this month – ClareExtend my reading and to read with a ‘writers eye’- Wendywrite 10,000 words – Mary Lou
So, what will you accomplish this month? Leave your comment below (use the drop-down option to subscribe to the comments and receive lovely, encouraging notifications from fellow StADa SWAGr-ers!)
(Next check-in, 1st of the month. Tell your friends!)
The post SWAGr for August 2020 appeared first on StoryADay.
July 18, 2020
174 – Fears and Focus
Problems with writing are often not problems with writing: they’re a battle with focus and with our own insecurities.
In this episode I talk about some of the ways to focus (especially if you find yourself working from home all day for the first time) and some ways to shake up your writing routine to outrun your insecurities.
How do YOU create focus and motivation for your writing, especially now? Leave a comment:
https://storyaday.org/episode174
Ready to write today, not “some day”?
The post 174 – Fears and Focus appeared first on StoryADay.
July 15, 2020
[Writing Prompt] 40 Minute Story
Set a timer for 40 minutes and to write a story in that time.
Tips
The first 10 minutes
Spend 10 minutes thinking about your story at the beginning, thinking about who your character is thinking about a desire, a problem, something you want to write about.
Go into your Story Sparks a list of ideas, of things that interest you, things that irritate you, things that drive you crazy.
Think about stories you love. Come up with a story from, from your pool of ideas. Just spend 10 minutes jotting down ideas. Thinking about characters, thinking about where the story might go, maybe run through the Short Story Framework exercise,
In that first 10 minutes as well, maybe set a timer for seven minutes and spend the last three minutes of that fleshing out your opening.
It doesn’t have to be perfect. It won’t be perfect, but you know where’s the story going to start.
The Middle
Then spend 20 minutes in the middle complicating your character’s life. Don’t waste time telling us backstory. You can have it in your head, but start the story where something’s about to happen to this character.
Spend 20 minutes complicating life for them introducing their best friend or their boyfriend or the problem. Allow them to come to an understanding, or change a thing, or start to tackle the problem that they’re going to have to solve in his story.
5-Minute Review
At the end of that 20 minutes, you’ve got about 10 minutes left.
So, at that point, I’m going to recommend that you review the story, and then make some notes about what you might change, make some notes of what you think the opening might be.
The Last 5 Minutes
Spend the last five minutes or so, putting an ending on the story. Even if you haven’t resolved the main story, put an ending on the story because in your head, you know where the story is going by this point.
So put an ending on the story and then, you know, put it away. Don’t worry about it. That’s your 40 minute story, wrap it up, put it away. See what happens.
Happy writing!
If you share you story somewhere (and here’s why you might not want to) post a link here so we can come and read it.
Leave a comment and let us know what you wrote about and how it went
The post [Writing Prompt] 40 Minute Story appeared first on StoryADay.
July 11, 2020
173 – What’s Your Very Next Step?
There is so much information about writing out there…it can be hard to figure out what you should be working on. In this episode I walk you through one way to figure out (and focus on) your very next step.
Leave a comment: https://storyaday.org/episode173
Writing Prompt: Write A Seasonal Story https://storyaday.org/prompt-seasonal-story/
Ready to write today, not “some day”?
The post 173 – What’s Your Very Next Step? appeared first on StoryADay.
June 30, 2020
SWAGr for July 2020
Welcome to the Serious Writers’ Accountability Group!
Post your goals for this month and let us know how you got on with last month’s goals.
Leave a comment below telling us how you got on last month, and what you plan to do next month, then check back in on the first of each month, to see how everyone’s doing.
(It doesn’t have to be fiction. Feel free to use this group to push you in whatever creative direction you need.)
Did you live up to your commitment from last month? Don’t remember what you promised to do? Check out the comments from last month.
And don’t forget to celebrate with/encourage your fellow SWAGr-ers on their progress!
Download your SWAGr Tracking Sheet now, to keep track of your commitments this month
****
Examples of Goals Set By SWAGr-ers in previous months
Finish first draft of story and write 3 articles for my school paper. – CourtneyWrite on seven days this month – ClareExtend my reading and to read with a ‘writers eye’- Wendywrite 10,000 words – Mary Lou
So, what will you accomplish this month? Leave your comment below (use the drop-down option to subscribe to the comments and receive lovely, encouraging notifications from fellow StADa SWAGr-ers!)
(Next check-in, 1st of the month. Tell your friends!)
The post SWAGr for July 2020 appeared first on StoryADay.
Why It’s OK That You Didn’t Submit That Story
This past weekend we celebrated StoryFest, here at StoryaDay.org.
StoryFest is our annual ‘recital’, our celebration of the work we did in May.
Some of our writers shared stories, others liked, commented and posted on social media about them. Others…didn’t.
And that’s OK. Because not everyone was ready.
Perhaps you weren’t ready to engage in the community. Perhaps you didn’t feel ready to call yourself a writer. Perhaps you were past the point where you were willing to post a story for free, because editors are clamoring to pay you.
(and yes, we have people in each of those stages here in the StoryADay community)
Do You Know What Stage You’re In on Your Writing Journey?
Whenever I’m with a group of writers and we’re talking about what we’ve written recently, it’s inevitable that someone, in the midst of complimenting someone else, will discount their own progress.
“I wish I could write as fast as you.”
“I just can’t write dialogue like you.”
“I’d kill to be able to write descriptions like yours.”
The good news is that no one has to die, for you to get better at writing (except perhaps some characters…).
Comparing ourselves to other writers is natural because it’s the way most of us learned to write: by reading and emulating what other people were doing.
The Comparison Trap
But it’s also dangerous because:
you are unique. Your voice is unique. Your experiences are unique. You can learn from other writers but you can never be any writer but yourself…and that’s a wonderful thing.You can’t do everything at once.
Be In The Stage You’re In
If you’re just beginning to write your first stories you are not going to have an intuitive feel for when you’ve hit the midpoint, or a certainty about how to end it well.
These are skills everyone has to learn (hint: that word intuitive when it comes to writing just means someone has spent a lot of time reading and/or writing the types of stories they’re telling!).
If you’re submitting your first story to a publication, of course it’s going to take you longer to figure out how to put together a cover letter (or whether you should) and what ‘manuscript format’ means. All things being equal, someone submitting their 100th story is going to be able to do it faster than you, and with less angst.
If I’m signing a contract for my fourth book, I have completely different worries and insecurities from someone who is writing their second short story ever.
What you are able do, and the things you need to learn, all depend on the stage you’re in.
It’s important to figure out where you are in your writing journey. Are you just starting out?
Are you writing regularly? Have you settled into a routine with your writing and you’re focusing on improving specific skills? Are you starting to feel impatient to get your work ‘out there’? Are you being published regularly and dealing with a whole new round of imposter syndrome, feeling like a beginner in this new world of writing?
I want to encourage you to look at this two ways:
It’s exciting! There’s always something to learn.It’s important to look backwards and forwards.
Acknowledge how far you’ve come, and look ahead to where you want to be. Seeing where you are, on your path, tells you what you need to focus on.
If you’re just starting out, your goals are going to be about getting your routine and habits and mindset in place.
If you’re going pro, you probably need to work on systems so that your contracted obligations don’t eat into your writing time. And you have to stay motivated.
And in every stage, we have to fight the demons of insecurity.
That’s why it’s so important to double down and lean into the writing community.
Get Involved in the StoryADay Community
I have two ways for you to get involved.
Leave a comment saying how you’d describe your stage of writing.Come back on the first of the month and post your goals in the SWAGr (Serious Writers’ Accountability Group) post, and leave some encouraging feedback on other people’s goals
Are you getting reminders about the SWAGr posts? No? Sign up here:
The post Why It’s OK That You Didn’t Submit That Story appeared first on StoryADay.
June 28, 2020
What Does A Vampire Eat During A Plague by Jerry Harwood
About the Story
Johan, a traveling salesman, returns to his medieval village during the black plague outbreak. As he enters, he meets a stark, hungry man on the village’s outskirts. The storyline follows the verses of “Ring Around O’Roses.”
About the Author
Jerry Harwood was born in Ooltewah, TN. His mother was an elementary school teacher and he spent his afternoons reading books in her classroom or the nearby library. He currently is a writer, which makes sense based on the fact you are reading this here. He has experimented with other occupations: camp director, program director at a counseling center, college professor and middle school teacher. Jerry has backpacked Europe, taught in a Ukrainian University, worked in Rwanda after the genocide, is a first responder, sort-of remodeled a VW Thing, and has a love for Cherry Coke Zero that is only surpassed by his love for his wife, six children, and grandson.
The post What Does A Vampire Eat During A Plague by Jerry Harwood appeared first on StoryADay.
The Glowing Embers by Urvi Roy
About the Story
I fixated upon a stout and pudgy elderly man in front of me. His demeanor looked awfully rigid and his eyes flitted unwittingly. It must have been his first-time.
About the Author
Urvi Roy is an avid writer of realistic fiction and opinionated pieces on societal events. When she’s not scribbling out the words to a creative piece of flash fiction, short story, or poem, she can be found devouring the works of Kiera Cass or the mysteries of Sherlock Holmes, dancing to classical Indian or contemporary pieces, practicing lines for a theater performance, or trying to sew with a new piece of fabric. She was wholeheartedly inspired to write this piece of flash fiction by her preoccupation with cliff-hanger ending, mysterious, and suspenseful episodes that leave viewers or readers, like herself, thoroughly insatiable!
The post The Glowing Embers by Urvi Roy appeared first on StoryADay.
Fast-Life Blues by Jason Steve Ruan
About the Story
An old homeless man shares his experience with a young man.
About the Author
Reading interest is eclectic. StoryADay was a delightful challenge to get words down on the page daily.
The post Fast-Life Blues by Jason Steve Ruan appeared first on StoryADay.
