What Is Really Calling to You?

Plus Sexy Corn

Hi friends,

I’m not gonna lie, it’s been a challenging month. Since the start of September, I’ve been sick or recovering from one thing or another, and physical illness sometimes triggers my anxiety, so I’ve been managing that too. But. I believe there’s beauty to be found in everything, and the beauty here is that I’ve been forced to slow down and spend more time looking inward. I pared my social media consumption way back, limited my social plans, and prioritized sleep over writing. Three things I’m not known for being good at but that have been good for me.

During this time, I’ve also been working on applications for grants, workshops, and residencies. Most of them want an artist’s statement and a summary of work in progress, so I’ve been drafting and redrafting, trying to hone these until I capture the essence of what I’m trying to do over here. I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling like an imposter or a dummy when I try to describe my creative practice.

Which one is the imposter?

With all my recent time to think, however, one of the things I’ve remembered is that after I finally got my query letter right for my first (as yet unpublished) novel, I was pretty bummed I hadn’t written it before I finished the book. Finally, I understood clearly what I’d been going for, and it would have been such a wonderful roadmap or goal post to write toward. I promised myself that for my next novel I would write my one-paragraph summary much earlier on in the process—not for any agents but for myself.

So, now that I have these deadlines looming and need to sound like I know what I’m talking about, I’ve decided to stop worrying about sounding smart for the judges and really think about what I’m trying to do with this new book. I started by setting a timer for ten minutes and free-writing about what my WIP means to me and why I wanted to write it in the first place. I had a fever at the time, so it’s not the most useful document, but I plan to do it again.

Then, rather than trying to guess what the judges want to hear, I’m going to rewrite my artist’s statement and my summary to reflect what comes up in my free-writing.

This week, if you feel it would be helpful, I’d like to challenge you to do a similar exercise. Take a break from whatever you’re writing to get clear on why you’re writing it and what it is you really want to say. Not what you think your readers or publishers or award judges want to hear, but what you really feel inside.

Does it change how you see your project? If so, how?

Finally, a little sidebar. Halloween used to be my favorite holiday because I love to dress up. But for over a decade (since I’ve had a kid) I’ve been too busy, too tired, too focused on other things to play dress-up. This year, all my forced time to reflect showed me that I want, no need, to prioritize play for a bit. So I’ve started to gather supplies for the costume I’ve been dreaming of and putting off for years—Sexy. Corn.

That’s right. Sexy corn. Please stay tuned, because if I do finish the costume (I will finish it!), I’ll be sure to post pics here. Are you dressing up? If so, who or what are you going to be?

Meanwhile, I wish you happy writing.

Until next time,

Jen