Hello Writers
I hope you are enjoying and learning a lot while you work your way through Write the Crap Out of It and Other Short Story Writing Advice. A few writers have posted their exercises. Yay! They have also started exchanging feedback with other writers. I hope you will be joining them soon. I have created a checklist for the exercises that I hope will inspire you to post.
Some questions:
- You do not have to post in order. You can write and post any exercise at any time, although most writers will post in order.
- I recommend posting your last exercise six months after starting this project. Deadlines are good for you.
- To edit your submission: go to your profile/ebook tab/find the exercise and select edit/make changes and submit.
I have looked at your answers for the first exercise and I am very excited about all your plans. I noticed two things:
- Some goals are still very general.
Be as specific as possible: “I want to improve” becomes actionable when you say “I want to learn how to use dialogue” or “I want to learn how to ‘show, not tell'”. If your goals are specific they become measurable.
- There are no deadlines or timelines for your goals.
This is a deadline-driven site, but I have not included deadlines for these exercises. This is part of the learning process. Set your own deadlines. Six months, 27 exercises. Create a schedule for yourself. You can use the notes section on the checklist for your deadlines.
To help:
I love checklists. I have created a checklist for the exercises. I hope this checklist will find a place near your computer and inspire you to finish writing the exercises.
To print, download it here: WTC Checklist
Well done, writers. I can’t wait to see what you post. I’d love to hear what you think about the book and I am happy to answer questions. Please mail me: mia@12shortstories.com.
Happiness
M
Want to join the Write the Crap Out of It group? Buy the book and follow the sign-up instructions or Read more about the group here.
