What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? — Robert Schuller
Note from Marlene: You talk, right? And you think, right? Therefore, you can write. I just know it!
Set yourself up for writing with paper, pen or pencil, or computer and keyboard. Choose a prompt. Set a timer for 12 minutes. And Just Write!
I facilitate Jumpstart writing workshops in Petaluma, California and here, online, with you. People new to writing have a hard time saying “I’m a writer.” So did I, until my writing teacher, Pat Schneider, made me say it out loud.
And now I’m encouraging you to say it out loud. Come on. I’ll say it, too.
I am a writer.
Again, louder. I AM A WRITER.
There now. . . and if you weren’t able to say it louder, fake it until you make it.
No need to fake your writing. . . Just fake having confidence in your writing.
And now . . . select a prompt and Just Write!
Today’s prompt: Life is just a . . .
Set your timer for 15 minutes and finish the thought. . .
Write about something that seemed so wrong but turned out right.
Photo by Breana Marie
“Life often has a way of making people feel small and unimportant. But if you find a way to express yourself through writing, to put your ideas and stories on paper, you’ll feel more consequential. No one should pass through time without writing their thoughts and experiences down for others to learn from. Even if only one person, a family member, reads something you wrote long after you’re gone, you live on. So writing gives you power. Writing gives you immortality.” — Antwone Fisher, Screenwriter and author
Note from Marlene:
I write to get out of my head and onto paper. Writing, with a pen or pencil, is an extension of my arm. When I picture my arm, it’s elongated by the pen, which in my mind, is always there. Computer typing — same thing — the keyboard is an extension of me. Writing is as natural and as much a part of me as breathing. I would rather write than do almost anything else. I write because I get to see a side of myself that isn’t always present. My daily concerns revolve around household chores, gardening, helping my husband run his consulting business and whatever else needs to be done. My efficient me bustles about cleaning and scrubbing and waiting until I have a moment or two to write. And those moments are glorious. Because I’m writing for me. Not for any monetary gain. Not for notoriety. I don’t need to be noticed to enjoy writing.
I write because I not only can, I have to.
Why do you write?
Today’s writing prompt is inspired from the September 2014 issue of Writer’s Digest magazine.
“A man opens his mailbox to find an envelope containing a set of instructions.”
Set your time and write for 20 minutes. Set it aside for twenty minutes. Then read. Tweak, make a few changes, but not too many. The energy from that first and fast writing is usually spot-on.
Write a short story of 750 words or fewer based on this prompt and enter Writer’s Digest Contest #60.
Send your story using the online form at writersdigest.com/your-story-competition or send via email to yourstorycontest@fmedia.com (entries must be pasted directly into the body of the email; attachments will not be opened).
~ You see something you can’t live without, but you don’t have enough money to pay for it. What do you do?
~ You see a neighbor, alone, weeping. What do you do?
~ You see an acquaintance shoplift. What do you do?
~ You see two married acquaintances, without their spouses, heads and bodies close together, in a suggestive position. What do you do?
~ You are a young child and smile up at the grown-up whose hand you are holding but you don’t recognize the grown-up. What do you do?
Pick one and write for 20 minutes.
Note from Marlene: You can tweak prompts however you want. For example, with this prompt, the setting could be a deserted walkway near water, in a park, at a crowded Saturday market. You choose the setting and Just Write!
Photo by Sasha Oaks Photo by Jim C. March Photo by Kent Sorensen
My dear friend, Karen Batchelor, was an inspiring and wonderful writing teacher. She passed away too soon, December 2013. I was looking through material to post here and came across this gem by Karen. I hope you enjoy it and hope it inspires you to Just Write.
Lower Your Expectations, by Karen Batchelor
When 2012 arrived, I dismissed the thought of making any new year’s resolutions. After all, those aspirations often died just days or hours after their birth. However, on January 1, a tiny little idea began to germinate. A few minutes later when the concept was fully formed, I started in on my new project.
My goal: Write a minimum of five minutes a day.
I can hear some of you chuckling. What kind of a goal is that?
In fact for some time, neither grandiose nor modest intentions have worked. Although I could create a lot of excuses, I really didn’t create any pages of great or even mediocre literature. I just couldn’t make this determination stick. When puzzling over this phenomenon, I recalled a story told by a friend and former colleague. She confided that she made a bargain with herself. If she got up early and went to the gym, she wouldn’t have to do anything once she got there. She didn’t have to jog on the treadmill, lift weights, swim laps, stretch or bend into a yoga position. The goal was simply to arrive. Once there, the idea of working out wasn’t so daunting.
Then I remembered my walking routine. About twenty-five years ago, I trained myself into the habit of taking a brisk walk every day—minimum thirty minutes. I only stopped walking when I had cancer surgery, but after some recovery time, I worked my way back into this habit (up to forty minutes daily) starting with just five minutes. After a week or two, I increased the time to ten minutes. Fifteen. And so forth.
While contemplating all of this, I realized that my intentions had been good and honest—I really did want to write every day—but I had been looking for a big, elusive, intimidating block of time. For some reason, the writing task felt so overwhelming that I often postponed that trip upstairs to the computer, or even avoided it. I needed something more attainable, something to help me form a new habit. Maybe I needed to lower my expectations.
Thus my new goal was born. And it’s working.
Why? I can only guess, but this is what I think. The task is to get into the habit of writing regularly. In order to form a new habit, I have heard, is to perform it twenty times regularly. If I am overwhelmed by the task, I will probably be discouraged and give up.
So instead of vowing to write 1,000 words a day (Jack London) or five hours a day (advice from any number of respected authors), what about five minutes a day? Anybody can write five minutes a day—my three-year-old grandson probably could. Lowering the bar relieves some kind of fear of failure. And of course, similar to my friend’s experience at the gym, once I’m there, sitting at the computer, I usually write a lot more than five minutes.
It’s early February and I have kept my commitment to write a meager five minutes a day. Usually that five-minute promise grows to ten, fifteen, thirty minutes or more. But even when I put in just that tiny five minutes, I write something, and I feel just fine because I’m writing every day, forming a good habit and getting practice.
Progress report? I have started and finished a short-short story, written this article, started another essay, revised a short story to submit and outlined a novel. The total output is only about ten pages.
You’re laughing again. Ten pages? What’s that? It’s ten pages more than I produced in all of October, November and December combined. The dread is gone and I make that trip upstairs to the computer every morning instead of waiting until the day is nearly gone. And occasionally now, I make that trip upstairs more than once a day.
For me, it has come to this: By lowering expectations, I have raised my level of success. Even though this concept might not work for everybody, it probably won’t hurt to try.
Note from Marlene: Thanks, Karen. Your idea is working for me! I have managed to write a blog post almost every day, for eleven months and I hope to keep on writing. Five minutes at a time!
Karen Batchelor spent 35 years teaching English and ESL. She has published several poems, essays, short stories, and professional articles. She has co-authored eight textbooks and a novel, Murder at Ocean View College. Karen has edited several anthologies for Redwood Writers, where her short stories continue to delight readers.
Karen, an esteemed Past President of Redwood Writers branch of California, was the recipient of the 2009 winner of the Jack London Award for service to the California Writers Club.
Click here to read one of Karen’s short stories.
Write about an article of clothing, shoes, or jewelry. . . something you are wearing right now.
Photo by Breana Marie
“Thanks for thinking of us as a home for your work! Unsolicited submissions are the fossil fuel that keeps the Barrelhouse moped puttering along on the side of the literary highway.” — Barrelhouse
BarrelHouse accepts submissions through a Submittable.com account only. No previously published work; simultaneous submissions are OK. Submit one piece of fiction or nonfiction at a time, or up to five poems in a single document. Essays must be pop-culture related.
