The Writer You Wish to Be
Want a new beginning? Here's an opportunity to change your writing practice—to keep what works, and let go of what doesn't.
Welcome, writers! Thank you so much for signing up for a Writer Membership with me. I'm so honored to have you here. This is the first members-only post, with more to come. This one is about writing process and the ways we might change ours for the better.
Two announcements before I begin...
A confession...
I wake up most every morning and want to be a different writer.
Let me explain. Come next year, I'll have six published novels. (Plus, like most writers, more written that will never be published.) But when I confess that I wake up and want to be a different writer, I'm not saying I want to write different books. I believe that I'm doing what I encourage my writing students to do: to dig deep and tell the stories only I can tell. I've embraced this, especially with my upcoming book, Wake the Wild Creatures...
Nova Ren Suma
But.
But I also know that the way I wrote my last book—the blocks and obstacles, the excuses and self-flagellation, the years it took to complete and the many many many many many meandering pages and drafts—has made me want to reconsider my methods. I'm in the opening throes of something new, so the timing feels right to ask myself some searching questions. It's also the end of August, and even though I'm no longer a student, when September approaches it always feels like a new beginning to me. Is this the moment to try something new?
That's what I mean when I say I want to be a different writer: I want to make changes to my writing practice this season.
If this resonates with you—whatever you may be writing—maybe you'll want to take a clear-eyed look at yourself while I do the same.
If you were to ask yourself right now...
What could change about how I approach the process of writing?
What should I keep?
What can I let go?
...how might you respond?
It's time for me to be vulnerable and share...