Can Anyone Be a Writer?
🎤 An open mic post with four prompts for writers to share
On what it takes to be a writer and how to be realistic with yourself, serializing, setting writing goals (and sharing yours in today’s prompt), and teaching in Paris
Hi and welcome into Flight School:
A very hearty welcome to the new subscribers.
I have received two huge compliments recently. One is an invite to teach at The Paris Writers Workshop June 2-7, 2024 (want to come? Click here) and the second is from Bernard on my last teaching post, Analysis of Three Winter Tales where I combed through the submissions of three subscribers. He wrote:
To answer Bernard’s question about why I am not swamped with submissions…well…I think a lot of people coming to Flight School, and the other amazing newsletters here on Substack, skim read and often don’t realize the gold offered for pennies.
Yes, I’m lucky to have been named one of the top four creative writing teachers here (that’s nuts to me) and one of the top eight creative writing sites (equally nuts), but people are undoubtedly overwhelmed by the volume of offerings here at Substack in general. I get it! I am subscribed to more than fifty newsletters right now and often feel as if the water is creeping up to my chin as I paddle to keep current with everyone. I keep swimming though because Substack is a powerful, new method of publishing and the rising waters will subside to manageable levels…soon.
I hope, if you have found your way here, you’ll do the same.
Tricks to sustainability on Substack
The way I manage my time (and not lose my mind) on Substack is to bundle all my subscriptions into a dedicated file and then, twice a week, comb through my favorites to include
, and so many more.I read the work of my fellows, make comments, and then forget about them until my next dedicated Substack reading day.
🎤 If you have a method you’d like to share, please do so in the comments.
Tricks to sustainability as a writer
Which brings me to the organizational system I apply to get my own creative writing done despite the time demands that come with teaching six live classes a week, meeting writers in one-on-one consults, writing these posts (as well as teaching here at Flight School), and having a life!
The trick is that I plan my writing just like I plan everything else, to include shopping, cleaning, calling my kids, and paying bills. Life is busy and it requires a solid organizational system. Because I’m serious about my writing, because it’s as much a part of me as the nose on my face, I treat it with respect and professionalism.
Right now, I am prepping a serialized version of my latest memoir, The Summer of ‘72 which is about the power and limits of love, and specifically, a one year marriage to a sociopath that enabled me to finally access a long repressed memory of abuse that had taken place in 1972…and to work toward needed healing.
This is thrilling, but also hugely time consuming because I need to rewrite several chapters to give it more…umph…in a serialized format. To get the job done, I make writing appointments. Right now, I have a week off so I booked five days to write three hours a day with the goal of completing five chapters. Today, I’m taking a break to write this post, but tomorrow and Saturday, I will get back to work. I am three chapters in and will hit my goal. PS: A chapter to me is about 1500 words.
Once the Studio resumes its winter schedule, I will have less time to write but can find three hours at least three days a week, so that will be my plan. I’ve also set a long deadline, meaning I will have all my prep chapters ready by mid-March, or the Studio spring break. Originally, I wanted to launch Summer on my second year anniversary here on Substack but that’s nuts. So, reasonable deadlines are essential, too.
🎤 Do you have an organizational system you’d like to share with your fellows? Share in the comments (and I might start a thread to keep that conversation going).
Can anyone be a writer?
Yes. And no. And yes. This is an impossible question, isn’t it? I mean, who am I to say if you or anyone else should be a writer? I’m hardly the gate keeper of story and literature, nor should I be, but as I started work on Summer this week (and fell into that absolute bliss that I always feel when I get into the flow), I thought: This is not for everyone. No. Not everyone can be a writer. I suppose the reason I thought this is because writing is a calling not a hobby or a silly, fun past time and a calling holds a certain gravitas.
If you are thinking about taking on writing but are still unsure if you have anything to offer others, or even yourself, or if you worry it’s too hard to learn to write well, my best advice is from Rainer Maria Rilke. The quote begins: “In…
About thirty years ago, I emphatically underlined this passage and feel exactly the same today. While I haven’t been able to commit to a partner for a lifetime, or to a diet, or to an exercise regime, I am fully committed to this path.
🎤 Are you? Share!
Goals
If the answer is yes and you are fully committed to writing and becoming a better craftsperson (which is part of becoming a writer), what are your writing goals?
Writing down your writing plans is the first step to realizing your goal. Mine came just the other day post mediation:
Prep and launch The Summer of ‘72 by mid-March.
Complete The Home Tree (my historic novel in it’s eighth year of revision) by Sept. 15, 2024.
Start Between River and Sea (a spiritual memoir on hearing and responding to the divine call) in December 2024 and finish at the end of the summer of 2026.
Boom.
What about you? 🎤 Give it some thought and put your goals into the comments. Make sure these are sustainable plans, too. Be realistic. It could be as little as “write 500 new words three times a week, toward finishing one essay or one short story,” or as much as “finish my novel by 12/1/24.”
Thanks for being with me and see you soon, Jennifer
Thank you! AND can you please elaborate on how you actually do this Substack Sustainability tip: "bundle all my subscriptions into a dedicated file," so you can peruse all at once?
I don't feel I must write, but I do feel I must communicate, and writing is my communication method (I don't like audio or video). Photography is communication, but it loses its power if not accompanied by a story. I don't consider myself a skilled writer, and I don't have the imagination or desire to write fiction. But I love to absorb and write about my world, and encourage others to do the same. I write anywhere. I write on paper, on my computer, and with thread on my quilts.