How to Prep for #1000wordsofsummer

Hi friends.

We are only twelve days away from this year’s #1000wordsofsummer!

A few reminders:

Here is the FAQ. There is also a companion book you can either buy or take out of the library or borrow from your bestie.

This is a fundraiser, if you can spare a few bucks. (We are at 10% of the goal as of right now, and I am certain we can do better than that.)

But now let’s talk about how to prep for writing 1000 words a day (or your genre’s equivalent) for two weeks straight. There are some physical things you can do, there are some internal things you can do.

But first I need you to say to yourself that you are committing to this, that your voice is relevant, and that you want this for yourself.

OK, did we all do that? Good.

So there are some very basic things you can do:

Make sure you have what you need. The perfect pen, new notebooks, a working laptop charger, light bulbs, snacks. Books you might need for research. Whatever it is that you need to work. All the supplies that make you feel prepared and comfortable and set up for a good day’s work. Give yourself those simple gifts.

Find the right space. Have you determined your workspace yet? Are you working at the kitchen table, your local library, a quiet cafe, a park bench, a borrowed studio, your backyard, in bed? Decide where you want to be, where you need to be, in order to feel stable and steady and ready to make your art. (Hot tip: I have decided to work at a different cafe than usual this time. I’m thinking mixing it up might make my work more interesting or give me a fresh perspective.)

Pick a time. Late at night, early in the morning, before work, after work, during your lunch break. Maybe it’s a happy hour every day with just you and your words. Determine what part of the day works best for you and then show up for it. And if this means making requests of the people in your life to have alone, dedicated writing time, now is the time to ask.

And then there are some more nuanced things we can do to prep:

Strategize how to best serve your project. Create a list of possible scenes or chapters to write, so that if you hit a wall one day, you have something at the ready to jump into. This can be about writing into the future of your book but also it can be going back into whatever you’ve already written and looking for holes that need to be filled. A simple exercise: are there minor characters in your novel you’d like to get to know a little better? You could just spend a few days writing about them. Sparks might fly.

Brainstorm entry points. But maybe you’re just starting from scratch? It might feel daunting, but can you see it as absolute freedom to create whatever you want? Make a list of topics you are interested in about the world or yourself, or kinds of characters or people you might find interesting to write about, and maybe do a little advance re-reading of books you’ve loved in the past for a little inspiration. You never know what might help you get started.

Find a friend. Identify a writing buddy if you think you might have one in your life. (Or maybe find one in the slack!) I have asked a few people I know who write to meet me in person at cafes in New Orleans over these next few weeks. I write well enough alone regularly but I always need someone to lean on during the length of this project.

And remember: None of what you write has to be perfect! I’m just trying to help you think about creating easier paths toward generating new work. This is all meant to trigger some thinking in advance. Showing up feeling ready to do the work is the real goal here. Entering the project with confidence and enthusiasm can be really helpful.

In conclusion: It’s your daydream, baby—do what you want with it. But do yourself a favor, and get ready.

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.