Hi, all!
Happy Wednesday! I’ve been getting some questions from participants of our Write Brave Challenge about what to do now that the challenge has ended. So many of us are experiencing withdrawals! The thing I love about writing challenges is that they offer a structure, which then becomes automatic, which turns into a habit. For example, I had a specific word count to attain daily for The Write Brave Challenge. I knew I had to figure out a time each day to accomplish that. Writing daily became routine. But sometimes, when you set a specific intention and you get to the end, it sort of feels like: What now?
My Monday Quote was: Good things come to those who keep writing. So that’s what you do at the end of a challenge—you keep writing. Although many of you may have had specific outcomes (finishing a novel, or revisions, etc.), the real hero of the story is you learning how to build a habit for yourself, despite a busy life.
As I was thinking on this further, I realized I also had some other thoughts on what to do post Write Brave Challenge. Here they are:
Rest: You’ve just finished a month of intense writing. To avoid burnout, it’s a good idea to take a break. Just like you need to plug your phone in, you need to recharge. Plus, when I teach about revision, I always recommend taking time away from the project to let it breathe and allow yourself to return to it with fresh eyes.
Reward: Celebrate your wins, writers! We face so many challenges as writers, so you deserve to treat yourself when you have a victory.
Reset: You might need to figure out exactly how to proceed. This might mean coming up with a revision plan, or continuing a project, figuring out how you want to go about getting the project out in the world, etc. In my case, I didn’t quite finish my novella, so I’m continuing my daily word counts. I’ll move my rest period to after I go through my writing, revision, and publishing steps. This will look a little different for each of us.
There you go. Racquel’s Three R’s! Keep writing, okay?
What else we've been up to at WA this week:
- Our next free in-person write-in at Winter Park Library will be on November 10th, from 1-3 PM EST
- Save the date: Free virtual write-in on November 13th 6-8 PM EST
- Packing shop orders (THANK YOU for ordering from us!)
- Continued expansion of the WA shop!
- Planning our 2025!
Thank you for always supporting us, lit community! Happy writing!
