Day 1 of #1000wordsofsummer 2023

Hi friends.

Today you will write 1000 words. Because you take yourself seriously. Your words, your ideas, your time, your space—it all has value to you. Perhaps you want to change people’s lives with your words, inspire or educate them. Maybe you want to entertain them, show them a good time. Whatever your reason, you know your words are worth something. And that’s why you’ve shown up here today—and for the next two weeks—to explore what it means to appreciate yourself in this way. By writing 1000 words a day, every day. Until we are all done.

I value you, too. I’m here writing you because I think you are all worth it, worth my time, to share my ideas with you, to collect the words of others to share with you. You have something important to say. You deserve a creative outlet. I don’t want to get too hippy-dippy about it but there is a collective energy during these two weeks every year. A ripple of power. I can feel you from afar. I’m really glad we are all here together.

So welcome to #1000wordsofsummer. This is our sixth year together, and there are more than 31,000 people subscribed. If this is your first time, there is an explainer. But briefly: every day you will get a letter from me, and we will write 1000 words. Starting tomorrow, you will also get a note each day from a contributing author, sharing their thoughts on writing, productivity and more.

The project is also a fundraiser: 100% of the subscriptions this month go to charitable donations, so if you’re able, I would ask you to consider subscribing.

There is also a slack you can join where you can meet other participants. Cheer each other on! Support each other. I also check in on the #1000wordsofsummer hashtag on twitter. The collective vibe is one of the best parts of this project.

If you need some more encouragement, I find it helpful to think about why we write. And if you’re wondering what you can write during this project, the answer is mostly anything.

Remember—during the next two weeks, if you find yourself losing momentum at all just stop and ask yourself: Are my ideas and words worth it? The answer is always: Yes.

Comments here are open today so we can all shout our rallying cry. Long-time subscribers know I am not able to receive emails but there are other ways to get in touch.

A local note: if you are in New Orleans, there will be a kick-off event tonight at Anna’s, and I’m going to stop by and say hi.

Good luck, my dear friends. Now let’s fucking go.

Jami

You are reading Craft Talk, the home of #1000wordsofsummer and also a weekly newsletter about writing from Jami Attenberg. I’m also on twitter and instagram.