I practice project management by time slot.
Every day, my Google calendar displays a block of time, usually between 5 and 8 a.m., labeled writing or sporting a cryptic abbreviation like FOBMWS, the acronym for my novel-in-progress.
Here’s what the current week looks like:
I credit these scheduled blocks for enabling me to complete four novels and dozens of short stories over the last decade.
Sure, there have been weeks—and sometimes months, if I’m working on a big paid editing project—when I fail to attend to my own creative work during those precious hours. But the rectangles in the calendar remain, a presence, a nudge, a voice calling.
“Come back to the work.”
Often, it feels like the work itself is calling.
I’ve always been fascinated by how an idea, which springs into being through electrical impulses within an individual human brain, becomes a thing in the world. From novels and buildings to corporations and works of art, every extant physical or digital creation begins this way. Setting aside for a moment the deserved awe inspired by the source of the creative impulse, what does it take to get from aha! to Look what I have wrought!?
For me, it’s four simple things:
Committing to the work—and recommitting, and recommitting—as many times as it takes.
Imagining the concrete tasks required—and listing them.
Scheduling time for both the commitment and the concrete tasks.
Garnering support from witnesses and allies.
I hear all you poets and dreamers moaning. You hesitate. Who wants to sully their glorious vision with the dirt of doing?
Yet such reluctance stops writers from ever putting pen to page or taking their work from draft to finished manuscript to work-in-the-world. Or, to use the birthing metaphor that serves as a foundation for the Birth Your Truest Story community: parents-to-be often resist the hard work and messiness of birthing a baby!
But digging in and getting dirty is the only way to transform vision into reality.
At this moment, I’m up to my elbows in mud as I move through the process of taking my novel from an idea in my head to something that lives in the world.
In my last email, I wrote about the challenge of a revision process that suddenly stalled. Intuitive introspection, accountability, and refusing to turn away from my commitment got me unstuck. I hired a developmental editor and agreed on a deadline of September 1 to deliver my manuscript. I drew up a detailed plan to get there (just 91 days from now—yikes!). I scheduled specific blocks of time to work.
Become a witness, ally, and/or fellow journeyer!
Now I’d like to invite members of the BYTS community to become witnesses and allies on this transformative journey.
You don’t have to do anything. Simply by receiving this email, you become a part of my commitment. Just being there is enough, but I always welcome words of encouragement!
However, if you want to embark on a journey of your own, I have a special invitation for you: a nine-week write-along (or revise-along) happening within the BYTS community space.
This is how the Write-Along will work.
Starting the week of June 5, I'll immerse myself in our Conceive and Deliver Your Story workshop series, one class at a time. The teacher becomes the student!
Each Monday I'll participate in an on-demand class. Note that this part of the write-along journey is the only part with a fee. Each hour-long class, which you can take at your convenience, costs $24.99 and includes plenty of writing prompts and time to write.
Additionally, each Friday at 8am PT/11am ET, I'll host a live Zoom meeting where we can check in, discuss progress, and support one another. These sessions are free and open to everyone in the community, whether you’re taking the classes, writing/revising along, or pursuing your own writing path. Think of it as an informal writers' hangout, with time to share the week's experiences, explore roadblocks, and inspire one another to keep going.
You may be wondering why I’m starting with the first class—Ignite Your Creative Spark—when I've already been through several drafts of my book. The beauty of this series is its flexibility, which allows writers at any stage of a project to find guidance and inspiration. Because commitment to your dream doesn’t end once you begin working on it. Returning to the source of your inspiration keeps it alive.
I look forward to working along with you this summer and reaching September 1 with a manuscript ready to hand off!
Yours in creative commitment,
Audrey
P.S. Every time I mention my novel, Jennifer urges me to tell you more about it. I promise to do that in a future email, especially if it’s something you’d be interested in. Let me know by commenting here!
Audrey, "Return to your inspiration" is my new mantra as I edit my novel manuscript. I also have been looking at the rituals I use
that I didn't consciously recognize until you wrote about them. Thank you. I'm listening. Peggy Klick