No Word Count, No Gods, No Masters

Published 4 days ago • 2 min read

I am in Arizona for the next couple of months. Leading up to my travels, then driving here, then trying to get settled—it became clear I’m good for nothing without a consistent routine. I’m a creature of habit, and when my routine’s messed up, nothing gets done. Now that I’m settled in, I’ve been able to get back to work.

I have a friend who can write her books while watching SVU marathons. She has two young kids now and still manages to find time to write and watch SVU. Her brain can do many things at once.

I am more of a mood writer. I like the rituals.

I’ve watched the growing movement of speed writing become a thing. The word count shares. The talk of writing a book a month. I’ve never written that way, and honestly, I don’t plan to start just to keep up with the Joneses of the writing world.

There are so many ways to go about this writing thing. There are ways to make it a practice. Ways to make it a business. All your own. You don’t have to do anything like anybody else. So what if you don’t write every day? So what if you don’t want to churn out novels? So what if you can only finish things if you're part of a sprint writing group? You do you. Stop trying other methods if you’ve found what works, makes you happy, and gets you creating.

I’ll go back to my routine now that I’m settled in. Writing new words only at night, lying on my bed, listening to my playlists. You do it your way, I’ll do it mine, and the books we make will bring us joy. There’s no wrong way. There’s just art.

Submit Your Work!

The Nomad Review is looking for your fiction, personal essays, and poetry. The current contest for prize money is on the theme of "fragility" but they read work on any theme. I published one of my favorite pieces there, and I strongly encourage you to send them your work.

SUBMIT YOUR PIECE

Shoutout to Steven J. Morris who I worked with on his latest book.

It’s a sharp, well-built adventure with characters you want to follow. Reminded me of the best parts of playing D&D—story, stakes, momentum. You can get started on his series here (free on Kindle unlimited).

Some kind words he left me in the book:

Props to Oregon for passing a bill to protect school libraries from book banning:

Read the article

If you are a creative teenager or know one, YoungArts will be accepting applications starting in July. Being part of this program as a young person changed my life. Not only did the program inspire me as a young writer, over twenty years later, since I had been a part of this program as a teen, I received a grant from them to fund the editing and formatting of my first novel. I highly recommend this program for all young people. It will change their life.

Apply to YoungArts

Before I sign off—I’ve got openings for editing this summer, including a couple new options I’ve added. If you’re in the thick of a draft or sitting on something that needs shaping, I’m taking on projects.

Happy writing!