the craft. to 1,000 Words or not to 1,000 Words?
You may or may not be familiar with the #1000wordsofsummer movement led by bestselling author Jami Attenberg, but it is fast approaching as writers embark on the challenge of writing 1,000 words a day for the first two weeks in June. I’d only recently picked up the book because I am feen of books on craft, but I wasn’t as familiar with the actual challenge.
As you know, I’ve been floundering a bit about what work of fiction I’m interested in writing next, and of course, this type of persistent, head down challenge would seem like just the right thing to get me out of my head and words onto the page, yet, I was hesitant. Let me just be honest, NaNo was an abysmal failure for me. That was National Novel Writing Month in November.
I had the same thought at that time. Let me just bang out this draft that’s been sitting around half finished for a year or so now. Once I got started though, I realized how lost I was in the story. I didn’t really know the characters yet. While there were a bunch of things I wanted to happen, I didn’t know how we actually got there in the story. So, I spent most of the time I was supposed to be adding to my word count, simply planning more of my story and working through some great exercises from Jennie Nash’s Blueprint for a Book.
Don’t get me wrong, that was a great use of time and focus, but it still created this sense of failure because I didn’t hit the goal word count. This is likely why I’m not really a word count kind of girl. I’m more so, a “did I write today?” kind of writer. However, there is something to be said about the collective energy of getting it done together. I’m also a community girl and so if multiple people are saying “we’re writing 1,000 words a day together,” I want to be in on that.
So, with that being said, regardless of my fear, I’m jumping in. Even with the fact that I’m actually traveling the first week in June which always makes it hard to write but I’m committed. I have resolved that I will have to be a part of that 5am or 6am writing club to make the first week work, but I need the jumpstart.
With that being said, I spent the weekend prepping the project I want to take a stab at for this challenge. As I talked about last week, I’m on this journey to essentially make people uncomfortable with whatever I write next. Ha! I’d started writing some random pages in one of my notebooks after a trip I took. I love writing right after I travel to capture the feeling of the place while it’s nice and fresh. I think I can tie the story into this concept of Black women being the “most disrespected,” in society (I don’t necessarily ascribe to this notion but …) as well as this theme of breaking the traditional molds of relationships and expectations. Clearly a work in progress here, so I’m working on the themes, however, I like it and reading what I’ve already written makes me blush a little so that’s always a good sign.
So what does that preparation look like for me?
Like I mentioned, I tend to start writing. I don’t start with an outline. Each manuscript that has made its way into something readable has started with me handwriting some chapters first. Seeing how they feel, what comes to mind, some good description and setting. I don’t know why this is, it just is. Something feels more palpable when starting my stories by hand. And I love having slim notebooks for each book idea. Put them in my archive when I’m gone! Now eventually, I will do some outlining and planning when I get to that murky middle, but I don’t start there.
Then I like to write a bit about each character. I write their name at the top of a page and just see what comes out about them. Who are they? What do they want? What is some of their background? This will get a lot more flushed out at some other time, with maybe even more detailed character profiles. Initially, I like to let my imagination run free.
I also will write a short synopsis of the story. Again, not fully fleshed out, just a stream of consciousness. What is going to happen in this story? Now, we know that so much more will be revealed as we go, but it’s a loose summary to give the story some type of direction to start.
Specifically for 1000 Words of Summer, in the back of the notebook, I also made myself a simple habit tracker from June 1st through 14th. I know there are all kinds of fancy softwares and things, but again, starting stories for me is personal and intimate in these notebooks. I only want to check it off with a pen each day that I’ve reached my word count. For the Notion peeps, Christina Orlando created a template that can be duplicated to help track your progress if you’re more into the technical side of things.
If you’re looking for some accountability, our dear PTW community member, author and journalist L’Oreal Thompson Payton will host weekly co-working sessions on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. You can sign up HERE.
There’s also an accompanying book if you’re interested. Don’t forget, you can also check it out from the library if you know you’re on a book budget this month like I should be.
While it’s great to come together, challenge ourselves, and work to get it done, remember not to put too much pressure on yourself either. Speaking to me as well here. This won’t be a completed draft in two weeks. But it may be exactly what you need to motivate yourself to finish. Finishing is one of the greatest feelings in the world, believe me. Books are a long haul for sure, and you need these times when you can put your head down and work. That’s what this should be.
Godspeed, friends! Let’s check back in when it’s complete.
Jamie Cameron is looking for pitches, argumentative essays that examine literature and the places it intersects with wider culture. Essays that sit somewhere between the rigor of Too Little/Too Hard and originality of The Fence. jamie.cameron@thelondonmagazine.org
The Feminist Press is seeking a full-time Senior Editor to work closely with the Executive Director and Publisher and other editorial staff to shape the list of this 54-year-old independent nonprofit intersectional feminist book publisher. ($60-75k, NYC).
Rest of World is looking for a new Features Editor to oversee our longform stories. The features editor will work with in-house and freelance reporters from around the world to find, assign, and edit Rest of World’s most ambitious work. ($100-150k, May 31st deadline to apply)
WNYC/Gothamist is looking for an Arts & Culture Reporter. The Reporter, Culture & Arts, plays a critical role in the WNYC/Gothamist newsroom, ensuring that the most relevant, timely news makes it to our airwaves and website. ($84-86k)
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Additional Resources:
Philadelphia Stories pitch event is back on June 30th. 11am-3pm ET. At this virtual event, writers can meet one-on-one for 15 minutes with an agent. Writers need only bring 5 pages of their work, a query letter, and their “elevator pitch,” and they’ll meet in a private Zoom room with the agent of their choosing. Register now for the chance to pitch your work!