Writers Lab: From Why to What's Next

Good Friday afternoon, you Sweethearts of the Storybelly Lab, Lab Coats one and all!

WE NEED CAKE!

hahahaha! I do not remember who put the peeps on this chocolate cake, but I love it for today… it was the first photo that came up when I asked Google Photos for my photos of cakes. I’m sure I made the chocolate cake… probably A put on the peeps, for her April birthday.

You’ve done it. You’ve traversed the entirety of the long hot summer. Along the way, if you’ve been working with the exercises in the Storybelly Summer Project, you have likely uncovered your deep-down writing WHY. It makes so much sense now! Right? No wonder you write about such-and-so — “ahh…. this is my work in the world.”

Today I want you to pick a photo — any photo — that represents your writing work at this end-of-summer moment. Put it where you’ll see it, and let it remind you where you were when you finished your foundational work — writing your Mission Statement, your Vision Statement, and your Core Values for your writing. Let it remind you of what you’re writing now.

Here’s my photo, at this juncture — a reminder for me of the history I’m writing into and through:

I’ve been hot on the heels of getting a Charlottesville draft this summer — not done yet — and my Mission, Vision, and Core Values are all wrapped up in finishing this project, a project I have been calling #thelostcauseproject for years now. What about you?

This is a statue that no longer exists: General Robert E. Lee, Commander of all Confederate Armies including the Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War; Marse Robert, mounted on his steed, Traveler, in Charlottesville, Virginia. The statue that brought the Unite the Right rally to Charlottesville, Virginia three times in 2017 and that led to the chaos and trauma of August 11 & 12.

Here is the Lost Cause of the Confederacy writ large, and a reminder, as I write, of the weight of the American history I wrestle with. This project has been a time of exploration and discovery for me… as every writing project is.

I’m interested in what you have discovered this summer in your own foundational work, your own writing. Will you share?

As we move into fall in the Writers Lab, I hope what you’ve uncovered and explored this summer will guide you as you use your Mission, Vision and Core Values… to write. Questions to answer this week:

What are your goals, coming out of this summer of discovery?

What do you want to write going forward? It could be something you’re working on now, or something new.

How will you write it?

Where do you want that writing to live?

Below you’ll find a recap with links to previous Storybelly Summer Project posts, and an invitation to share with us what you gleaned this summer. Here are questions I’d love to hear you talk about:

What inspired you?

What was a surprise?

What felt Just Right, and what Changed?

Where will you go from here?

And here’s something important that I want to know:

Share with us why you are here, in the Writers Lab, and — now that you’ve done the foundational work of summer — what do you want to see in the Lab in the weeks ahead? What would be most helpful, the most fun, the most important, given what you’re now seeing as your work ahead?

Here are all links to the Storybelly Summer Project work — if you are just coming to it, or need a refresher, feel free to plunge in and start anywhere that suits you:

Our Summer Project, Week 1:
The “Why” of What We Do: Join Us!Your Mission:
Should You Choose to Accept ItYour Mission, Part 2:
Morning, Lab Coats!What’s Your Vision?
Writing Beyond the Mission StatementWhat’s Your Vision, Part 2:
It’s Hot; Your Tired; Let’s Write Anyway20 Projects to Make a Poem
A Jovie Little Guide to Writing Your Fizzy Summer PoemThe Manifesto:
A Declaration for the Writing Life Sets of Three:
A Simple Practice for Writing from the Inside Out, Into Your VoiceCore Values:
The Poetry of Knowing Who You AreCore Values, Part 2:
Your Writing, Your Terms: What do you Refuse to Compromise?

We’ll keep on going with this foundational work, from time to time — I want to think with you about your writing Goals, and put into place some Action Items that make your goals a reality. I’ll lace those tasks into the syllabus for fall, which will guide us as we tackle new work.

But now, right now, it’s officially Labor Day Weekend — no more work! Take some time for yourself if you can.

THE ASSIGNMENT (easy-peasy for the holiday weekend!):

As Lab Coats, please take what you’ve come up with for your summer project and:

Mix well.

Avoid explosions.

Share results with the class.

Think about a photo you’d use for where your writing is right now, where your heart is, where your effort is. You can share your photo in Chat this weekend, or tell us about it in comments.

Let me hear from you about what would be most helpful to you in the Writers Lab going forward,

Now: heave-ho (or slip’n’slide, or glide, or tip-toe, or race; your choice!) into your weekend. Many thanks for the emails and DMs and comments — and manuscripts! — this summer. I have so appreciated your presence and your willingness to work alongside me. I have enjoyed every minute. I feel like we’ve accomplished so much!

Here’s to a fall full of good words and good writing.

Happy end of summer! (So many exclamation points… and you are all worth it.)

xo Debbie