Julie Duffy's Blog, page 96
May 2, 2019
Happy Thursday!
Just popping in to say I hope your writing is going well on Day 2 of StoryADay May!
I’m seeing some great writing triumphs kicking off the month. People are writing through sickness and tornadoes and everyday life, and I’m so proud of you all!
Onward and upward!
The post Happy Thursday! appeared first on StoryADay.
2019 Day 2 – Set A Timer
How did you get on yesterday? Did you write a story?
Remember, set your own rules, and stick to them. If you miss a day, don’t try to catch up. Just keep moving forward!
Check back every day for more prompts, and don’t forget to come back and leave a comment to celebrate your writing successes, every day!
The Prompt
Set A TIMER FOR 40 MINUTES
Don’t spend too much time on your opening.
Brainstorm for five minutes, spend the next five on an opening and then give yourself 20-25 to dig your characters into a hole and let them start to climb out of it.
Try to start wrapping it up when you have about five minutes left on your timer. Even if you have to write some brief notes [“this is where they make their great escape”], put an ending on the story.
This will make it so much easier when you come back to revise it later.
Go!
The post 2019 Day 2 – Set A Timer appeared first on StoryADay.
May 1, 2019
2019 Day 1 – Short Story Formula
You’re here! We’re here! And StoryADay May is definitely here!
Check back every day for more prompts, and don’t forget to come back and leave a comment to celebrate your writing successes, every day!
The Prompt
Write a short story using the StoryADay Short Story Formula
A __________(adjective) __________(noun) __________(strong verb)__________(subject), so they __________(verb), and because of that __________(verb), and because of that __________(verb) until __________(something changes) and__________(what has changed?). Closing question/statement/image: __________.
The StoryADay Superstars are seeing enhanced versions of these prompts all month, plus a year of monthly meetings and support.
You can still sign up for Superstars until midnight tonight!
Sign Up for Superstars
The post 2019 Day 1 – Short Story Formula appeared first on StoryADay.
April 30, 2019
SWAGr for May 2019
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
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Examples of Goals Set By SWAGr-ers in previous months
Write a story a day in May – everyone!Revise at least 10 short stories – IraideWrite two short stories. – JamiAttend one writers’ conference – JulieWrite fable for WordFactory competition – SonyaRe-read the backstory pieces I wrote in May and see if I can use them within my novel – MoniqueResearch the market – JamiFocus on my serial – Maureen
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!)
April 28, 2019
The Road To Being A Writer
Before StoryADay, all the roads on my writing journey were under construction. It was worse than sitting in rush hour and the detours diverted to dead ends.
Since StoryADay, some of the lanes on my writing journey have opened up, and while my writing habits are far from cruising, I’ve begun to pick up speed. I feel great that I pushed myself to address a creative void that seemed unable to fix itself.
Successes On The Road
I published one story during a 2016 contest, Beyond Comprehension, but I consider my most significant writing success is making my family laugh at stories I’ve shared.
On Being A Sporadic Superstar
Even as a sporadic participant I was floored at how much I gained.
I find my creativity was sparked and often on long drives I get snatches of stories. Having voiced telling me their adventures once again is a glorious feeling.
Beyond invigorating my writing habit, being part of the group has helped me in ways I didn’t expect and helped push me out of my comfort zone. Group chats, podcasts, and Slack are forms of tech that I avoided before but now can navigate slightly better. It was rather fortuitous since I needed to use Zoom and make a podcast for school this year!
I’m not expecting that I’ll have 31 amazing stories that can be polished and published at the end of May, but my goal is to carve out time to write something other than coursework every day.
April 27, 2019
Freeing The Creative Side
Where were you in your writing journey before your first StoryADay?
I have been exploring different ways of finish writing pieces. Beginning something is not that difficult for me, bringing it to a conclusion is.
And StoryADay May – ever since 2010 – has been helping me see that I can indeed finish what I begin!
Seeing the pool of story drafts at the end of the month is such a boost to one’s writing self. I’m truly grateful that you began this community. It is an honor to have seen you work diligently at making it what it is today. Thank you!
Where are you now?
I have finished story drafts of various sizes in various genres! It feels amazing. I couldn’t have this without signing up for StADa every year.
What do you consider your biggest writing success?
Currently, writing successes are personal milestones of leaping over technique-related obstacles.
I am slowly learning not to dread the blank page, and not to let my logical side crush my creative one by acting like a haughty school teacher.
The StADa format really helps with that because the only goal is to reach the finish and iron out story-kinks later.
Tell Us About The StoryADay Community
Oh it is so good to feel part of a warm, generous and contributive community where everyone’s focus is on helping each other with their writing processes.
Being part of it also increases accountability and in my case, it breaks me out of shyness – which is an important part of learning to share your work with people.
Thanks, Neha! It’s been wonderful having you here since the beginning!
April 26, 2019
Truly Life-Changing
Before I found StoryADay I had been back to writing for three years after a long break.
I Had Ideas But Nothing On Paper
I was not confident in what I was writing and I was not consistent. I would start stories and never finish them. I had book ideas coming up left and right but nothing outlined on paper.
I came across StoryADay when I was randomly googling about short stories. I thought it was interesting to find a group that would be writing a story every day for a month.
I have always been up for a challenge so I joined.
Sharing My Writing Again
Since doing StoryADay I am more confident and constant than I have ever been in my writing before. I am finally sharing my writing again with others and I’m putting myself out there for critics.
The writing I produce now is finished and more polished than it had been previously. Within the next few months, I will start sending out queries to get my stories into the world.
Confidence in My Creative Process
My biggest success in writing has been completing multiple short stories and finding confidence again in my creative process. I completed my first draft of a novel I had been working on for two years thanks to the encouragement of our NaNoWriMo group this last year.
Being part of a writing community has changed my life”
It has been absolutely amazing to be part of the Superstars group and to have fellow writers at all different levels to talk to.
I haven’t had the opportunity to be part of a writing community until this last year and it has truly changed my life. It has been great to share my writing successes and struggles within this community. Everyone has been very supportive.
The progress I have experienced in this group has been a driving force to keep pushing my craft. Meeting up with blank pages daily can be daunting at times but when you know there are others doing the same thing it makes all the difference. This experience has taught me writing does not have to to be a lonely process people have made it out to be when you have a community of writers to turn to.
The Blank Page Is An Exciting Place
Katherine Back has been a member of the StoryADay community since 2017. Today she reflects on her writing journey since then. Thanks, Katherine!
I didn’t even know I was on a journey
Before StoryADay, I was alone and didn’t even know I was on a journey.
I had four 6-week workshops, a handful of 1200-2000 word drafts, 6 full journals dating back 20 years and a list of one-line story ideas piled up next to a series of nomadic desks that always wound up in a corner of the least used room in the house.
I knew I wanted to write, needed to write, that everything in my life went better when I was writing.
What I didn’t know was that I was the only one from whom I needed permission to take the time EVERY DAY to write.
The blank page is a very exciting place for me
Now, I have established a regular writing practice in which I write something every day. I can start, finish and revise a story. I have an arsenal of resources to which I can turn for instruction, encouragement and motivation.
The blank page is a very exciting place for me.
I feel light and giddy when I am writing or planning to write or talking to other writers.
My biggest success
Saying out loud, “I am a writer”.
A place to be a writer
StoryADay Superstars gave me a place to be a writer and a community of writers who support me in my process regardless of what that looks like on any given day. The members of this family give the gift of accepting critique as lovingly as they offer it.
I feel whole and connected.
Thanks, Katherine! We love having you as part of the family, too!
April 25, 2019
A Solid Writing Practice
Where were you in your writing journey before your first StoryADay?
My first StoryADay (in 2011, I looked it up) came a few years after I started to take my writing seriously. I had not yet had anything published.
Where are you now?
Eight years later, I have had more than a handful of short stories published and I have a novel about ready to send to potential publishers (and am well into another).
My writing practice has greatly matured. I’m very happy about all of that.
(I also still feel very insecure about it and as if I’m not as far along as I “should” be, but that’s life.)
What do you consider your biggest writing success?
Generally, I feel like establishing a solid writing practice is my biggest success. More particularly, I had a story published last year (Leaving, in the anthology Bikes Not Rockets) that I am really proud of, more than others.
What has being part of this community done for your writing life?
This community has always felt supportive and welcoming. It has provided me with external accountability, which I rely on. All in all, it’s just a great place.
You can read more from Monique at notwhereilive.ca
April 22, 2019
Finishing Made All The Difference
An Interview with Superstar, Tammy L. Breitweiser
Where were you in your writing journey before your first StoryADay?
Before StoryADay, I was writing frequently, but missing a critical component – finishing.
Neil Gaiman has been quoted as saying, “You will learn more from a glorious failure than you ever will from something you never finished.” StoryADay solidified this idea for me.
Finishing my stories has made all the difference for my craft.
I found Julie and StoryADay in October of 2016. I had missed the September storyaday challenge but was so excited I challenged myself to a self imposed month of writing a story a day. That process led me to sign up for NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month) and the habit stuck.
This was also when I discovered short stories were my niche. That first NANO I wrote short stories everyday and didn’t look back.
I started to revisit short stories I had loved by forgotten like The Celestial Omnibus, and now I was reading them differently to change how I write short stories and flash.
I participated in the full May StoryADay and wrote a whole folder of stories inspired by Julie’s prompts. I also gained a writing group.
I took the plunge and took advantage of the Superstars group Julie offered. For support, she offered more materials and a special forum for us to talk about writing and the challenge.
Where are you now?
I consider myself a serious writer now. I started calling myself a writer after the first of the year 2017 and posting consistently to my blog.
I am submitting.
I ordered business cards recently which list writer FIRST.
What do you consider your biggest writing success?
I am writing every day. I am submitting. I am published. I finished a draft of a novel.
What has being part of Superstars done for your writing practice?
The Superstars have changed my idea of how valuable a writing community is. We have the benefit of knowing each other better since we have been in the group for almost a year now.
The bonus of videos with further explanation are great for me and get my mind working.
The daily comments are great during the challenge and honestly, the group comments quite often. At least once a week the rest of the year.
There is camaraderie and a bond with people who you are accountable to every day.
The shared routine during the challenge helps to motivate me the days I am resistant to put pen to paper. There is comfort in the idea of other people following the same crazy plan that you are!
I love deep conversations about writing. Critique is nice, but not always the conversation I want to have. Through Storyaday we had three Zoom chats with Superstars and we talked about how we write and why.
These events fuel me. It took some time to be more comfortable with video chats.
I also love when we get together to do sprints together. We critique each other’s work as well. I know if I have a writing question, I have a place to ask it and then are able to trust the answer. We even have an unofficial mascot!
Note from Julie: I love Llama Tuesdays! Thanks for starting that, Tammy!
Establishing the daily writing habit is good for me and my practice. I was always looking for a story spark and that habit has continued past the challenge.
During the challenge, the Storyaday prompts require me to plan more. I am usually a pantser — I write from the seat of my pants. I sit and write and just let whatever flows out materialize on the page. I thought about the prompt thoroughly before diving into the actual writing which made the words flow faster. With my long commute to work, I am able to listen to the prompt direction video and then think about my story beats and write it later in the day. This method works well even if I just construct the first couple of sentences.
Thanks, Tammy!
