"In the middle of winter, I discovered there was in me an invincible summer."
- Albert Camus
From Possibility to Practice: Your 20,000-Word Journey Begins
The quiet promise of mid-January has arrived, and with it, our collective journey begins. Today, we step into the transformative space of Flight School's six-week challenge where your story will discover its wings and your voice will find its true altitude.
Our launch day meeting starts at 8:30 a.m. PST. Get into the meeting by sighing up now:
This week is about establishing rhythm and ritual. Whether crafting fiction, memoir, or creative non-fiction, your goal is to find the daily practice that will carry you through all six weeks. Some of you will write in early morning silence, others in stolen lunch hours or late-night vigils. Whatever your pattern, make it yours.
What to Expect This Week
I'll be here daily, sharing my progress on Between River & Sea, the story of the spiritual journey with the hope of launching this spring as a serialization-in-progress here on Flight School (if it has wings). I’ll also be offering guidance as you begin your own journey.
Watch for:
Daily check-in threads where you can share your word count and connect with fellow writers
Craft discussions focusing on establishing strong foundations for your work
A few simple but powerful writing prompts to keep your creativity flowing when you need inspiration
A Note About Numbers
Remember, while we're aiming for 20,000 words over six weeks, this first week isn't about hitting perfect daily counts. It's about building momentum. Start where you are, write what comes, and trust that the words will accumulate as your confidence grows.
Join the Conversation
Share in the comments:
Introduce yourself and the working title or concept of your project
Tell us all about your chosen writing time and space
Share a goal you're setting for yourself this week
🖋️ Writing together makes the journey both lighter and deeper. Let's begin.
🐦⬛🐦⬛🐦⬛ Week 1, Day 7: We did it! Week one. I'm standing at 11,000 words (but I cheated and started a week before the challenge, so there's that). How about you? What's your victory...and watch out because tomorrow comes the new page for week 2.
It's been a good week of steady, non-journaling kind of writing for me. I estimate about 3,500 words! I'm kind of amazed, lol. At this pace I'll make the 20,000 words in 6 weeks. I'm starting to see a glimmer of progress : ) A big armful of gratitude to you, Jennifer, for providing this space and inspiration, and to everyone here, thank you!
I'm at 4500. I also wrote a bit of that starting a few days before day 1. As a new writer this challenge is going to be hard for me so I'm going to post every week to hold myself accountable.
Week one was amazing for me. My writing routine made a come back. It was so great to get into a structured writing time. I've been writing everyday; some new paragraphs/pages and some rewrites. I also started writing a poem a day or an idea for a poem. All of this has given me a sense of agency.
My goal for the coming week is to keep writing and rewriting. Keep my journal work going. Write down ideas as they make an appearance.
🐦⬛🐦⬛🐦⬛ Week 1, Day 6: Good morning, dedicated creators! Welcome back to our quiet revolution of daily practice. While the world chases viral moments and overnight success, we're here doing something far more powerful - building our creative foundations word by word, day by day.
You know what's beautiful about this challenge? It's not about hitting bestseller lists or trending on social media. It's about showing up to the page, even when inspiration feels distant. Whether you crafted two perfect sentences or flowed through two thousand words, you're developing the inner strength that sustains a writing life.
Here's the truth about great writing: it's built in these small, consistent moments. Every paragraph you shape, every scene you envision, every character you bring to life is adding to your creative resilience. This is how stories that matter are born.
So, my fellow word-warriors, tell me about your day of creation. What did you discover? What surprised you? What small victory are you celebrating? Remember, in this community, every word counts and every effort matters.
I have been circling around these questions...... What is enough? When is it enough?......
We live in the realm of Earth. All that exists here on earth would not exist without earth. All symbolic imagery and metaphoric language for describing what God might be begins with its roots in earth, grounded in and formed by, our experience of being human in an earthly realm. There is no escaping this fact. When it comes through revelations of the spirit, still, the translation comes through our mind, through our thoughts and is going to be flavored with our visual and verbal filters gained from living life. At times, our ‘knowing’ of God, comes through what others may tell us is the ‘correct’ way to think about God. The words we have to describe something so indescribable grow out of our lived life on earth. We are formed from the dust of earth, from clay, we are earth……. God - the rock, the mountain, the roaring lion, angry mother bear and protective mother hen…….. a consuming fire, light, cloud, refreshing water and life itself…….
The closer I am to earth……to trees, soil, sunflowers, birds, rivers, sand, oceans, rain, grass, berries, frogs, dear, chipmunks, rocks, mountains, wind, thunder…… and all of her smells, sounds, textures and temperatures, beauty and fierceness, her exquisite painting of the sky at sunset and day break……her rainbows and thunder clouds……. all of it……when I am close to the nature of earth I feel a presence that can only be described in analogous ways. No comparative words can ever actually BE this Presence of Mystery that is beyond all description. Yet, in the describing, the reaching for “what is that?”, the yearning to know, I ache to create something that may hold within it a piece, something that points to the Mystery that will enable us to feel a hint of Divinity. Within this questing that has no absolute destination, but instead, a path that rolls out before me as I take each step forward, I am animated, resuscitated, enlivened…….to sing, to dance, to paint, to write, to converse, to build fires to gather around in community, to extend my hand and my heart to others, to look up at the stars in wonder, to drop to my knees in remorse and prayer……. Without this questing, questioning, reaching, pondering upon……my life would be done, complete, finished, over………
In a metaphor given by Henri De Lubac in, “Discovery of God”, he says, “persons who seek to know God by compiling the names of God……are compared to swimmers who can only keep afloat by moving, by cleaving a new wave at each stroke. They are forever brushing aside the representations that are continually reforming, knowing full well that these support them, but that if they were to rest for a single moment, they would sink.” *
*(I learned of this metaphor in Elizabeth A Johnson’s book, “She Who Is”)
Wow! Well done. Amazing quote. Amazing work. Thank you for this share, Tracy. Truly. “persons who seek to know God by compiling the names of God……are compared to swimmers who can only keep afloat by moving, by cleaving a new wave at each stroke. They are forever brushing aside the representations that are continually reforming, knowing full well that these support them, but that if they were to rest for a single moment, they would sink.”
🐦⬛🐦⬛🐦⬛ Week 1, Day 5: How great to have a community to fly back to each day! You are here and I know you are here, though each off in your own worlds, surrounded by your own concerns, you are here...and I feel you in the comments, sense your words flying onto the page. Yesterday was a good-ish one. Old habits of sloth sneaking in and slowing me down. I didn't finish writing until 1 in the afternoon. That's different. I'm usually done by 8:30...after being up at 5:00 so...but I got 1500 words in and felt happy with that. Walk, then wash the car, then the rest of the day....what about you?
Today I barely sat down (already evening here), but yesterday Sara and I had our check-in via messages, and my ten-year-old son and I were both immersed in our writing for a couple of hours – he came home from school on Friday burning to write a fantasy adventure story he started in class. I love it.
Otherwise, my technique of adding writing to my calendar is working really well. I am very good at following directions, so I just need to give myself the right ones. I am really pleased to be in this rhythm!
Hi Anjali: I love this, you and your son co-creating. How perfect. And well done keeping to your goal of making appointments with yourself. Also brilliant. I want to know all about this fantasy adventure story...what his premise?
There’s a boy who discovers he’s named in a prophecy and meets others like him; he’s powerful but in danger. There are pirates and prisons and chapters alternate between two groups of characters who will eventually meet. Can you tell I’m proud?
LOVELOVELOVE this story (of course you're a proud Mama. Who wouldn't be?). What a great little guy. 🏆 Show him how to write in scene, and watch him fly! He probably already does...yes. Children are very close to the moments of being...it's grown ups who adapt into their minds.
Week 1, Day 4: Wrote and revised this morning. Checked in with Anjali though we missed each other's calls, we left messages.
First part of Surviving a California Fire. It's been suggested I send it as an opinion piece to The Guardian or Washington Post or Huffington Post. What do you guys think.
"October 22,1991: I’m standing at the top of Swainland Road in the Oakland Hills looking down at where my home stood yesterday morning. All around, I see a war zone. Everything is dead. What is left of the trees still burns though I only see smoke puffing out from within the trunks. Chimneys stand like sentinels guarding nothing. Stone and brick staircases climb up to nowhere. The earth is charred, black, brown, russet.
It’s been less than twenty-four hours since I was told to evacuate. I stare down the long winding block of Swainland Road from where I stand on Broadway Terrace 1000 yards away. I’ve been robotic doing what I was told. Packing the car, though I couldn’t think clearly what to take with me. Driving to safety along with the rest of the neighborhood. A long meandering snake that had to keep adjusting as the fire jumped from hill to roadside to median.
My home is gone. I sit down on the pavement and sob. There is no one else around. I snuck behind police lines desperate to return and find my second cat, Squeak, who didn’t make it out with me. I couldn’t find him. My home, my first home that I’d bought with my own money, that I’d lovingly decorated with anything I could find that made it mine, was gone. Burned to the ground.
Standing up, I walk down Swainland passing one lone house that still stands. It seems in perfect condition, blue with grey trim, a child’s bicycle at the front door. Only later, do I learn that it had a new up-to-date roof, three months old. At my property, I walk up the sixty stairs (this is the Oakland Hills) to where my front door should have been. The railing had been wooden. Nails lie side by side on the left of the stone steps all the way to the top as if someone had arranged them in perfect symmetry. Near where my bedroom had been, tree trunks burn. Red-orange coals are visible when I look inside what's left of the trunk. I can see for miles. San Francisco and the Bay to my right. Only two years earlier, the 1989 Earthquake had destroyed part of the Bay Bridge. Downtown Oakland and Lake Merritt in front of me. There is nothing to block my view.
I find the dishwasher and nudge the door open. Broken plates and some pots in good condition lie within. Ashes look like sculptures. I see a long line of books that I know were once my journals. In perfect shape except they are ash. I reach out my right index finger and lightly touch one. The whole structure collapses. Thirty years of recording my joys, my sorrows, my breakups, my love affairs. Poof. Gone like smoke and ash. Literally. Funny elongated pieces of silver show up on the ground. It takes me a few seconds to realize this is the remains of the silverware my mother had sent last month.
I walk around in ever widening circles calling Squeak’s name though I know that the likelihood of surviving the 2000o heat is nil. I see small blue tiles scattered all over that had been stored in the basement. I pick up distorted glass perfume bottles that look beautiful in their bizarre shapes.
I’ve had enough. I want to leave. I hear a ‘meow’. Squeak emerges from seemingly nowhere covered in the tan liquid that been dumped out of helicopters yesterday in an attempt to slow the Fire’s progress. I scoop him up and, standing atop my lonely hill, I hug him crying my heart out."
So beautifully written, I felt like I was walking with you.....and the journals, "in perfect shape except they are ash.......the whole structure collapses"! Wow! a gut punch for me as I thought of how I would feel to loose all my journals in that way! Powerful imagery! Thank you for writing this and sharing! I send you love from my heart......... Oh, and to end with Squeak emerging, Yes! : )
Love it. Hit send. (Of course, I would have other thoughts but for an editorial?? Do it!) PS: Great surround with Squeak. Excellent landing in the positive despite the devastation.
Thanks so much Jennifer, both for reading and commenting. This is the first 500 words of a 1500 word piece. I gave it to my writing group last night who gave minimal comments. I'm going to send it in to Huffington Post today/Monday. Cross your fingers.
🐦⬛🐦⬛🐦⬛ Week 1, Day 4: Lovely responses to the question-Why do you write! TY. And here we are on the fourth day. Saturday. A day of catching up and doing this and that around the cabin. AND writing which I'll get to the moment I hit POST on this. I want to thank you all for being here, for your courage to keep showing up to yourself and your creations. And to this community! How's your day? How's it going?
Hi all! Catherine here. This challenge really speaks to me because 20,000 words is just about how many I need to complete my first draft of my first novel. It's a fiction piece, working title The Support Group, about people who get cancelled in the real world and sent to a purgatory where they have to participate in support groups to figure out what they did wrong and how to atone for it.
I began working on this project in 2022 when I took Bones (which was so amazing / helpful). I wrote so slowly in spare time for years, but I've recently quit my job to support my husband moving into a new career, so now is the time!
I use a timer (and most importantly put my phone on Do Not Disturb) and try to write for one or two 45-minute chunks during the day, with a goal of 600 words per day, five days a week.
I'm so impressed by this group of dedicated writers! Going to use you all as inspiration to hold myself accountable. :)
You are inspiring also. I try to write for two hours in the morning. It never occurred to me to break it down and some days, I’m a success if I only get the first 45 minutes. Thank you ☺️
Welcome welcome welcome. I'm so happy to have you here. Did you do with the debrief, or on your own?? I've got a thousand questions. What are you writing? What is your plan? Oh my goodness...welcome. 🤗
Thank you! I'm so happy to be here. :) I did it with the debrief, it was led mostly by Cloie and Audrey, if I remember correctly. It was immensely helpful, especially creating the final report that I am still using as the map for my project! Plan is to get this draft finished and then into the hands of someone who can provide actual editorial feedback.
Week 1, Day 3: I have written very little, thought a lot. My writing group has a book group that discusses a book every three months. Today, we discussed On Writing Stephen King--which I'd read 6 years ago. But this reading was very different. His writing is clear, his examples so specific, and compare so possiivitively with Jennifer's teaching. I also had a Studio class last night and I have taken in so much in the last two days. Now it's time to write though I will start with revising/partly rewriting my piece on Surving A California Fire.
Love this fire story. 🔥🔥🔥 Get it out there. Hurry!
And I love On Writing. The memoir part bummed me out (such a good writer but...) Anyway, the teaching is so helpful. His book and Blackbird came out in the same season. Our display windows at Simon & Schuster in NY were side by side.
Just off the top of my head--I write because I love my characters, I love the world I'm building (and the things I'm learning along the way), and maybe, I want to love myself too. And at the end of the day, I want to get a story out with all the things I hold close.
Progress:
Not so successful on Day 2 because I ran errands, had work and couldn't write. BUT, realize I can be darn focused when working with a deadline for a client. I just need to train myself better to see me as my own client!
Day 3: Better! I wrote and fleshed out some details on the ensuing naval battle... I'm excited!! I love aerial dogfights haha. In the meantime, I find myself rather tired these past couple of weeks from cutting caffeine and increasing my running mileage from 3 to 5 miles each day at 9,000 ft above sea level. I guess I'm tired and hungry all the time like my characters, which is helpful to understand??
That's such a great feeling, Kat. You love your characters. Guess what...that means you have much self love. Because you cannot create what you do not know at the deepest level (even if subconscious). Booker knows all about that and that's what he writes about...how few authors know, let alone, love. Thank you for the share. Can't wait to read about the aerial dog fights in class. I love you working out in winter. Not easy. And also, I'm with on the caffeine. I've cut both sugar and caffeine. Very calm but missing that jolt, for sure.
I see what you're saying about having self-love when one loves their characters--it's a really wonderful thought that I want to contemplate on some more, but I do know that the act of writing (real, present writing) can feel very grounding.
And amazing job cutting both sugar and caffeine! It's not an easy thing to do but it's definitely rewarding. Gold star for self care!
I see some revelations coming out as I develop my main character. She is starting out with obvious impatience and controlling issues. Releasing control keeps coming up for me in other areas too. Hmmm....
Very nice. As within so without. Always. The job is to spot it and you are. Thrilled for you. Every step we take on the path of self-awareness impacts everyone and everything else making the work a gift to humanity.
🐦⬛🐦⬛🐦⬛ Week 1, Day 2: Good morning high fliers! The rubber meets the road and we are off! Welcome to your challenge.
I'm about to sit down and start writing my own work...but making a batch of bagels first (well boiling and baking what rose overnight. Gluten Free of course!) so writing this note to you and sending all the strong writer vibes.
Let me know how it's going: What is slowing you down? What are your victories? What is that monkey mind telling you?
⏰ (I'll be back at 10 a.m. to go through your posts!)
Week 1, Day 2...... I wrote about 1200 words this morning between two threads of thought. It feels so good to be back in the movement of writing from my own thoughts and loosening my compulsion to continually seek and gather information.......I keep asking myself, when do I have enough?.....enough to begin, to continue, to follow through........it's an on going question...
Great questions and allow them to lead you to into more writing...a prompt could be on "enough". What is enough? When is it enough? That kind of thing...see where it takes you!
Hi! Kat here. Thank you Jennifer for providing this wonderful, supportive community! I feel like my brain's been all over the place these past few weeks, so I really appreciate this opportunity to hold myself accountable.
I'm working on the first draft of my novel. Working title: Farewell My Homeland. It's a cross-genre (wartime drama? sci-fi?? adventure???) story with interwar/WW2 aesthetics but takes place in a totally fictional universe.
My writing time is 12:00 - 2:00 pm (and also 4-6pm-ish, and once in a while, 9-11pm).
My goal is to write 3k-3.3k words each week. I've been kind of a slow writer, so this will be a good challenge. That said, word count aside, I'd be happy to write 6 days a week for 2 hours. I also would like to read for about 1 hour each day.
And finally: Anne Lamott, in Bird by Bird, talks about visualizing all her worries, negative voices, distracting voices, into little mice, and picking each one up and putting them in a jar (with air holes) as she begins writing... I think it's high time I put this into practice again! Putting into use my timer and considering adding an appointment to my google calendar.
I will be delighted if I could finish the following chapters:
1) Naval bridge scene + cliff hanger (chapter 17)
2) Tanya's childhood flashback with her father (chapter 18)
3) A bit of a character study on Zakharov (chapter 19)
4) Naval battle (chapter 20) (or start to write this one)
That's a great idea about the jar and our negative monkey mind thoughts. Loving it. And my idea is to fill a jar with those little slips, then when it's full, taking it to the hearth and setting those little nubs on fire! 🔥 What you have is all those thoughts are worth...ash. Write on, Kat! You've got this. I see that little one, Kit, on your lap. A wise child holding you in your creation while you hold him--your creation! It's all a circle, feeding into itself beautifully. ⭕️
Hello, Judith here, This is my second Flight School Challenge - I did not do very well in the Lightkeepers Challenge - there were so many diversions with family staying for the holidays, and having no oven for baking or roasting the turkey - it was a 'bust'. BUT, the new range was delivered this morning, and the house is getting back to normal as family return to their lives. My goal for this challenge is 3,333 words/week. My objective is to start revising my first batch of 48,000 words, incorporating what I have learned in Bones and the exciting stuff I am learning in Studio 1. I live in North Carolina, a retiree from academic research at Duke, and caregiver for my husband with advanced Parkinson's. I grab writing moments when I can during the day, but I feel this word-goal is manageable.
3333 words a week of revision or creation, it all counts! Congrats on getting a decent range and now you can cook on both channels! In your writing. In the kitchen! : )
Greetings from Montana! My project is still nameless, which is one of my goals for this challenge. It's a memoir about my decade working for National Geographic Television, but on a deeper level it's about a young woman who knew nothing about the wild to a someone who is now part of it. (With lots of bear stories in between.) My word goal is 500 words per day, 7 days per week, and I've realized that I'm going to have to grab the time when I can. Shortly after we ended our conversation this morning, I sat down and added around 200 words before I needed to go on to another project. Finally, I hope with more words on the page, as well as delving into some of my journals, I will be able to form a structure to the story. It's probably a good idea to know where I'm going, right?
200 words! Well done. The whole idea is wrangle a bit more time for YOU and your creations. A thought...write outside? On a trail somewhere? Is that nuts?
It's more just survival mode outside right now. Today we have 60 mph gusts because a weather system is moving in that will bring us sub-zero temps over the weekend. I do try to write when I'm sitting in the sauna, but my computer does not last long in the heat! I managed to grab two more brief snippets of time yesterday and cracked 500 words. I'm on the same track today.
Yes, I typically take the computer in with me because, you know, it is impossible for me to just sit. But within 10 minutes the computer fan is whirring and it sounds very unhappy! What I should (will) do, is go old school and take in a notebook and pen with me. When I first started writing professionally roughly five thousand years ago, I wrote out everything first, then put it on the computer. Maybe it's time to do that again. With that said, I managed day #2 with 522 words last night, and it is first on my list as soon as I wrap up my bookwork for the year and send that to my accountant this afternoon. Off to crunch numbers...
Hi, I'm Susannah. I desperately want to get into a writing habit that involves writing consistently but is not so encompassing of my entire life that I start to neglect my loved ones and other responsibilities. In fact, my tendency to do that is one reason I'm writing a memoir! I want to believe that I can reach the 20 000 word goal and still hold my personal life together. My story is about why I chose a career in medicine and how it affected me, my marriage and how that has both helped and challenged me, my decision to move to the USA and repeat my training, and finally how, when I had a child, I reached a tipping point and could no longer sustain a balanced family life with my career. After quitting my busy job and going to therapy I was diagnosed with ADHD. The process of thinking about my unique brain and how I view myself in the world has helped me understand the convoluted course I've taken and have more compassion for myself and my loved ones who have to deal with me.
That's what I'm writing about and I'm so excited to have this goal and a community!
Great summary, Susannah! I'm so glad you're here, too. This community is a great addition to the depths of class. Connecting and staying connected is very hard but vital. Welcome. Can't wait to see your progress.
🐦⬛🐦⬛🐦⬛ Welcome to week one, day one: This is your community and your place to share...check in here each day, share how you're doing and cheer each other on.
Answer the questions above and BONUS: What do you need right now, as a writer, and what will make you most delighted to achieve in these six weeks?
🐦⬛ I will be delighted if this project, Between River & Sea, has legs and more, that it's good enough (in my own mind) to start serializing/sharing. It's a hard conversation. Most don't want to have it (myself included) but here's the deal, I put myself into this three year retreat for one reason: To talk with God. Now I am...all the time. Am I crazy? Is this happening? What does it all mean? How in the world did I get here? Wish me luck.
It will...it will...you are pondering. Yes? And personally, I think this is just a project that has particularly deep roots so...popping to the surface is what will likely happen. 🌱 What do you think?
Hi I'm Sara, this is my third Flight School Challenge. I'm one of those people who needs the accountability, to feel part of a community working towards a common goal, and I'm a huge Jennifer fan. I'm beginning year two of writing a series of essays of my life in Paris after recovering from food addiction and alcoholism. How I navigate the world and my experiences here having learned so much about myself in recovery. I didn't plan this but my first year has turned out to be writing and writing to find out what it is I really want to say, what the foundation for my essays is, how to use the tools I'm learning in Flight School and Studio to make my words zing. And this week, I wrote an Introduction: introducing myself to where I've come from and why the following essays are important and why you should read them!!!!
Oops forgot to say that to the best of my ability, I write for two hours every morning and then whenever else I can. I've learned to carry a notebook around me because I never know when lightning will strike.
My goal for this week is to clean up my Intro to submit to my Studio class next week. And keep writing first drafts.
I've also written about losing my home in a California Firestorm like that raging in LA and would love to submit it somewhere if anyone has an idea.
🐦⬛ Totally timely to write about the fires. Your insight, based on experience, will be invaluable. (Stay in scene...what is that moment in time that totally embodies that experience for you?)And maybe share a bit of it with us that's tangling you up?? What do you think?
Hey there! Karina here! I’m working on a memoir that chronicles my 28-month journey in Federal Prison. It’s all about my exploration of self-discovery, resilience, and ultimately, redemption.
I carve out some quiet time to write in the early mornings before I jump into my day job as an accountant. This week, I've set myself the ambitious goal of writing 3,300 words. Wish me luck!
🐦⬛ Look how easily you wrote that...it just rolled off your fingers and is so natural. Well done. You are doing this. You are ready. This is the work you are not at liberty to quit. The lesson of a lifetime. 💕
🐦⬛🐦⬛🐦⬛ Week 1, Day 7: We did it! Week one. I'm standing at 11,000 words (but I cheated and started a week before the challenge, so there's that). How about you? What's your victory...and watch out because tomorrow comes the new page for week 2.
It's been a good week of steady, non-journaling kind of writing for me. I estimate about 3,500 words! I'm kind of amazed, lol. At this pace I'll make the 20,000 words in 6 weeks. I'm starting to see a glimmer of progress : ) A big armful of gratitude to you, Jennifer, for providing this space and inspiration, and to everyone here, thank you!
Week 1 Day 7; completed 3500 words for the week and one scene and a backstory. It brought up ideas for two more scenes that I will work on this week.
I love it! I also estimate about 3,500 words this week!
I'm at 4500. I also wrote a bit of that starting a few days before day 1. As a new writer this challenge is going to be hard for me so I'm going to post every week to hold myself accountable.
Week one was amazing for me. My writing routine made a come back. It was so great to get into a structured writing time. I've been writing everyday; some new paragraphs/pages and some rewrites. I also started writing a poem a day or an idea for a poem. All of this has given me a sense of agency.
My goal for the coming week is to keep writing and rewriting. Keep my journal work going. Write down ideas as they make an appearance.
🐦⬛🐦⬛🐦⬛ Week 1, Day 6: Good morning, dedicated creators! Welcome back to our quiet revolution of daily practice. While the world chases viral moments and overnight success, we're here doing something far more powerful - building our creative foundations word by word, day by day.
You know what's beautiful about this challenge? It's not about hitting bestseller lists or trending on social media. It's about showing up to the page, even when inspiration feels distant. Whether you crafted two perfect sentences or flowed through two thousand words, you're developing the inner strength that sustains a writing life.
Here's the truth about great writing: it's built in these small, consistent moments. Every paragraph you shape, every scene you envision, every character you bring to life is adding to your creative resilience. This is how stories that matter are born.
So, my fellow word-warriors, tell me about your day of creation. What did you discover? What surprised you? What small victory are you celebrating? Remember, in this community, every word counts and every effort matters.
I have been circling around these questions...... What is enough? When is it enough?......
We live in the realm of Earth. All that exists here on earth would not exist without earth. All symbolic imagery and metaphoric language for describing what God might be begins with its roots in earth, grounded in and formed by, our experience of being human in an earthly realm. There is no escaping this fact. When it comes through revelations of the spirit, still, the translation comes through our mind, through our thoughts and is going to be flavored with our visual and verbal filters gained from living life. At times, our ‘knowing’ of God, comes through what others may tell us is the ‘correct’ way to think about God. The words we have to describe something so indescribable grow out of our lived life on earth. We are formed from the dust of earth, from clay, we are earth……. God - the rock, the mountain, the roaring lion, angry mother bear and protective mother hen…….. a consuming fire, light, cloud, refreshing water and life itself…….
The closer I am to earth……to trees, soil, sunflowers, birds, rivers, sand, oceans, rain, grass, berries, frogs, dear, chipmunks, rocks, mountains, wind, thunder…… and all of her smells, sounds, textures and temperatures, beauty and fierceness, her exquisite painting of the sky at sunset and day break……her rainbows and thunder clouds……. all of it……when I am close to the nature of earth I feel a presence that can only be described in analogous ways. No comparative words can ever actually BE this Presence of Mystery that is beyond all description. Yet, in the describing, the reaching for “what is that?”, the yearning to know, I ache to create something that may hold within it a piece, something that points to the Mystery that will enable us to feel a hint of Divinity. Within this questing that has no absolute destination, but instead, a path that rolls out before me as I take each step forward, I am animated, resuscitated, enlivened…….to sing, to dance, to paint, to write, to converse, to build fires to gather around in community, to extend my hand and my heart to others, to look up at the stars in wonder, to drop to my knees in remorse and prayer……. Without this questing, questioning, reaching, pondering upon……my life would be done, complete, finished, over………
In a metaphor given by Henri De Lubac in, “Discovery of God”, he says, “persons who seek to know God by compiling the names of God……are compared to swimmers who can only keep afloat by moving, by cleaving a new wave at each stroke. They are forever brushing aside the representations that are continually reforming, knowing full well that these support them, but that if they were to rest for a single moment, they would sink.” *
*(I learned of this metaphor in Elizabeth A Johnson’s book, “She Who Is”)
Wow! Well done. Amazing quote. Amazing work. Thank you for this share, Tracy. Truly. “persons who seek to know God by compiling the names of God……are compared to swimmers who can only keep afloat by moving, by cleaving a new wave at each stroke. They are forever brushing aside the representations that are continually reforming, knowing full well that these support them, but that if they were to rest for a single moment, they would sink.”
Thank you for the nudge to explore this question : )
🐦⬛🐦⬛🐦⬛ Week 1, Day 5: How great to have a community to fly back to each day! You are here and I know you are here, though each off in your own worlds, surrounded by your own concerns, you are here...and I feel you in the comments, sense your words flying onto the page. Yesterday was a good-ish one. Old habits of sloth sneaking in and slowing me down. I didn't finish writing until 1 in the afternoon. That's different. I'm usually done by 8:30...after being up at 5:00 so...but I got 1500 words in and felt happy with that. Walk, then wash the car, then the rest of the day....what about you?
Today I barely sat down (already evening here), but yesterday Sara and I had our check-in via messages, and my ten-year-old son and I were both immersed in our writing for a couple of hours – he came home from school on Friday burning to write a fantasy adventure story he started in class. I love it.
Otherwise, my technique of adding writing to my calendar is working really well. I am very good at following directions, so I just need to give myself the right ones. I am really pleased to be in this rhythm!
Hi Anjali: I love this, you and your son co-creating. How perfect. And well done keeping to your goal of making appointments with yourself. Also brilliant. I want to know all about this fantasy adventure story...what his premise?
There’s a boy who discovers he’s named in a prophecy and meets others like him; he’s powerful but in danger. There are pirates and prisons and chapters alternate between two groups of characters who will eventually meet. Can you tell I’m proud?
That's so fun! Yes, a proud mamma : )
LOVELOVELOVE this story (of course you're a proud Mama. Who wouldn't be?). What a great little guy. 🏆 Show him how to write in scene, and watch him fly! He probably already does...yes. Children are very close to the moments of being...it's grown ups who adapt into their minds.
Week 1, Day 4: Wrote and revised this morning. Checked in with Anjali though we missed each other's calls, we left messages.
First part of Surviving a California Fire. It's been suggested I send it as an opinion piece to The Guardian or Washington Post or Huffington Post. What do you guys think.
"October 22,1991: I’m standing at the top of Swainland Road in the Oakland Hills looking down at where my home stood yesterday morning. All around, I see a war zone. Everything is dead. What is left of the trees still burns though I only see smoke puffing out from within the trunks. Chimneys stand like sentinels guarding nothing. Stone and brick staircases climb up to nowhere. The earth is charred, black, brown, russet.
It’s been less than twenty-four hours since I was told to evacuate. I stare down the long winding block of Swainland Road from where I stand on Broadway Terrace 1000 yards away. I’ve been robotic doing what I was told. Packing the car, though I couldn’t think clearly what to take with me. Driving to safety along with the rest of the neighborhood. A long meandering snake that had to keep adjusting as the fire jumped from hill to roadside to median.
My home is gone. I sit down on the pavement and sob. There is no one else around. I snuck behind police lines desperate to return and find my second cat, Squeak, who didn’t make it out with me. I couldn’t find him. My home, my first home that I’d bought with my own money, that I’d lovingly decorated with anything I could find that made it mine, was gone. Burned to the ground.
Standing up, I walk down Swainland passing one lone house that still stands. It seems in perfect condition, blue with grey trim, a child’s bicycle at the front door. Only later, do I learn that it had a new up-to-date roof, three months old. At my property, I walk up the sixty stairs (this is the Oakland Hills) to where my front door should have been. The railing had been wooden. Nails lie side by side on the left of the stone steps all the way to the top as if someone had arranged them in perfect symmetry. Near where my bedroom had been, tree trunks burn. Red-orange coals are visible when I look inside what's left of the trunk. I can see for miles. San Francisco and the Bay to my right. Only two years earlier, the 1989 Earthquake had destroyed part of the Bay Bridge. Downtown Oakland and Lake Merritt in front of me. There is nothing to block my view.
I find the dishwasher and nudge the door open. Broken plates and some pots in good condition lie within. Ashes look like sculptures. I see a long line of books that I know were once my journals. In perfect shape except they are ash. I reach out my right index finger and lightly touch one. The whole structure collapses. Thirty years of recording my joys, my sorrows, my breakups, my love affairs. Poof. Gone like smoke and ash. Literally. Funny elongated pieces of silver show up on the ground. It takes me a few seconds to realize this is the remains of the silverware my mother had sent last month.
I walk around in ever widening circles calling Squeak’s name though I know that the likelihood of surviving the 2000o heat is nil. I see small blue tiles scattered all over that had been stored in the basement. I pick up distorted glass perfume bottles that look beautiful in their bizarre shapes.
I’ve had enough. I want to leave. I hear a ‘meow’. Squeak emerges from seemingly nowhere covered in the tan liquid that been dumped out of helicopters yesterday in an attempt to slow the Fire’s progress. I scoop him up and, standing atop my lonely hill, I hug him crying my heart out."
Thoughts? Feedback?
So beautifully written, I felt like I was walking with you.....and the journals, "in perfect shape except they are ash.......the whole structure collapses"! Wow! a gut punch for me as I thought of how I would feel to loose all my journals in that way! Powerful imagery! Thank you for writing this and sharing! I send you love from my heart......... Oh, and to end with Squeak emerging, Yes! : )
Love it. Hit send. (Of course, I would have other thoughts but for an editorial?? Do it!) PS: Great surround with Squeak. Excellent landing in the positive despite the devastation.
Thanks so much Jennifer, both for reading and commenting. This is the first 500 words of a 1500 word piece. I gave it to my writing group last night who gave minimal comments. I'm going to send it in to Huffington Post today/Monday. Cross your fingers.
Keep us posted. Pulling for you.
🐦⬛🐦⬛🐦⬛ Week 1, Day 4: Lovely responses to the question-Why do you write! TY. And here we are on the fourth day. Saturday. A day of catching up and doing this and that around the cabin. AND writing which I'll get to the moment I hit POST on this. I want to thank you all for being here, for your courage to keep showing up to yourself and your creations. And to this community! How's your day? How's it going?
Hi all! Catherine here. This challenge really speaks to me because 20,000 words is just about how many I need to complete my first draft of my first novel. It's a fiction piece, working title The Support Group, about people who get cancelled in the real world and sent to a purgatory where they have to participate in support groups to figure out what they did wrong and how to atone for it.
I began working on this project in 2022 when I took Bones (which was so amazing / helpful). I wrote so slowly in spare time for years, but I've recently quit my job to support my husband moving into a new career, so now is the time!
I use a timer (and most importantly put my phone on Do Not Disturb) and try to write for one or two 45-minute chunks during the day, with a goal of 600 words per day, five days a week.
I'm so impressed by this group of dedicated writers! Going to use you all as inspiration to hold myself accountable. :)
You are inspiring also. I try to write for two hours in the morning. It never occurred to me to break it down and some days, I’m a success if I only get the first 45 minutes. Thank you ☺️
Welcome welcome welcome. I'm so happy to have you here. Did you do with the debrief, or on your own?? I've got a thousand questions. What are you writing? What is your plan? Oh my goodness...welcome. 🤗
Thank you! I'm so happy to be here. :) I did it with the debrief, it was led mostly by Cloie and Audrey, if I remember correctly. It was immensely helpful, especially creating the final report that I am still using as the map for my project! Plan is to get this draft finished and then into the hands of someone who can provide actual editorial feedback.
Well, once you've taken Bones, your family. Let me know what you need and how we can be helpful. XO
Week 1, Day 3: I have written very little, thought a lot. My writing group has a book group that discusses a book every three months. Today, we discussed On Writing Stephen King--which I'd read 6 years ago. But this reading was very different. His writing is clear, his examples so specific, and compare so possiivitively with Jennifer's teaching. I also had a Studio class last night and I have taken in so much in the last two days. Now it's time to write though I will start with revising/partly rewriting my piece on Surving A California Fire.
Love this fire story. 🔥🔥🔥 Get it out there. Hurry!
And I love On Writing. The memoir part bummed me out (such a good writer but...) Anyway, the teaching is so helpful. His book and Blackbird came out in the same season. Our display windows at Simon & Schuster in NY were side by side.
I'll post a pic on Notes.
🐦⬛🐦⬛🐦⬛ Week 1, Day 3: Good morning to all and welcome into day three. A question...a prompt...why do you write?
Me: To know the world and myself in it.
Week 1, Day 3:
Just off the top of my head--I write because I love my characters, I love the world I'm building (and the things I'm learning along the way), and maybe, I want to love myself too. And at the end of the day, I want to get a story out with all the things I hold close.
Progress:
Not so successful on Day 2 because I ran errands, had work and couldn't write. BUT, realize I can be darn focused when working with a deadline for a client. I just need to train myself better to see me as my own client!
Day 3: Better! I wrote and fleshed out some details on the ensuing naval battle... I'm excited!! I love aerial dogfights haha. In the meantime, I find myself rather tired these past couple of weeks from cutting caffeine and increasing my running mileage from 3 to 5 miles each day at 9,000 ft above sea level. I guess I'm tired and hungry all the time like my characters, which is helpful to understand??
That's such a great feeling, Kat. You love your characters. Guess what...that means you have much self love. Because you cannot create what you do not know at the deepest level (even if subconscious). Booker knows all about that and that's what he writes about...how few authors know, let alone, love. Thank you for the share. Can't wait to read about the aerial dog fights in class. I love you working out in winter. Not easy. And also, I'm with on the caffeine. I've cut both sugar and caffeine. Very calm but missing that jolt, for sure.
I see what you're saying about having self-love when one loves their characters--it's a really wonderful thought that I want to contemplate on some more, but I do know that the act of writing (real, present writing) can feel very grounding.
And amazing job cutting both sugar and caffeine! It's not an easy thing to do but it's definitely rewarding. Gold star for self care!
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Gold stars all around. XO
Week 1, Day 3: I write for expression and to escape into the story.
My hope is that my writing will lead to knowing myself better.
How's that going, BTW! What's your most recent revelation?
Love this! Thank you 🙏
I see some revelations coming out as I develop my main character. She is starting out with obvious impatience and controlling issues. Releasing control keeps coming up for me in other areas too. Hmmm....
Very nice. As within so without. Always. The job is to spot it and you are. Thrilled for you. Every step we take on the path of self-awareness impacts everyone and everything else making the work a gift to humanity.
🐦⬛🐦⬛🐦⬛ Week 1, Day 2: Good morning high fliers! The rubber meets the road and we are off! Welcome to your challenge.
I'm about to sit down and start writing my own work...but making a batch of bagels first (well boiling and baking what rose overnight. Gluten Free of course!) so writing this note to you and sending all the strong writer vibes.
Let me know how it's going: What is slowing you down? What are your victories? What is that monkey mind telling you?
⏰ (I'll be back at 10 a.m. to go through your posts!)
Week 1, Day 2...... I wrote about 1200 words this morning between two threads of thought. It feels so good to be back in the movement of writing from my own thoughts and loosening my compulsion to continually seek and gather information.......I keep asking myself, when do I have enough?.....enough to begin, to continue, to follow through........it's an on going question...
Great questions and allow them to lead you to into more writing...a prompt could be on "enough". What is enough? When is it enough? That kind of thing...see where it takes you!
Thank you, I will do that : )
Share. SO great to see you in the light in the meeting. : )
Hi! Kat here. Thank you Jennifer for providing this wonderful, supportive community! I feel like my brain's been all over the place these past few weeks, so I really appreciate this opportunity to hold myself accountable.
I'm working on the first draft of my novel. Working title: Farewell My Homeland. It's a cross-genre (wartime drama? sci-fi?? adventure???) story with interwar/WW2 aesthetics but takes place in a totally fictional universe.
My writing time is 12:00 - 2:00 pm (and also 4-6pm-ish, and once in a while, 9-11pm).
My goal is to write 3k-3.3k words each week. I've been kind of a slow writer, so this will be a good challenge. That said, word count aside, I'd be happy to write 6 days a week for 2 hours. I also would like to read for about 1 hour each day.
And finally: Anne Lamott, in Bird by Bird, talks about visualizing all her worries, negative voices, distracting voices, into little mice, and picking each one up and putting them in a jar (with air holes) as she begins writing... I think it's high time I put this into practice again! Putting into use my timer and considering adding an appointment to my google calendar.
I will be delighted if I could finish the following chapters:
1) Naval bridge scene + cliff hanger (chapter 17)
2) Tanya's childhood flashback with her father (chapter 18)
3) A bit of a character study on Zakharov (chapter 19)
4) Naval battle (chapter 20) (or start to write this one)
That's a great idea about the jar and our negative monkey mind thoughts. Loving it. And my idea is to fill a jar with those little slips, then when it's full, taking it to the hearth and setting those little nubs on fire! 🔥 What you have is all those thoughts are worth...ash. Write on, Kat! You've got this. I see that little one, Kit, on your lap. A wise child holding you in your creation while you hold him--your creation! It's all a circle, feeding into itself beautifully. ⭕️
Haha, I love the idea of filling out a jar with those slips and burning them!!
Thank you for your words of encouragement, Jennifer!
Did you do it? I've got a fire going now...(it's freezing here, finally)....think I'll write a few of those and set them ablaze.
I have my little box for slips...! Going to start collecting them, can't wait to burn them in our wood stove!
Hello, Judith here, This is my second Flight School Challenge - I did not do very well in the Lightkeepers Challenge - there were so many diversions with family staying for the holidays, and having no oven for baking or roasting the turkey - it was a 'bust'. BUT, the new range was delivered this morning, and the house is getting back to normal as family return to their lives. My goal for this challenge is 3,333 words/week. My objective is to start revising my first batch of 48,000 words, incorporating what I have learned in Bones and the exciting stuff I am learning in Studio 1. I live in North Carolina, a retiree from academic research at Duke, and caregiver for my husband with advanced Parkinson's. I grab writing moments when I can during the day, but I feel this word-goal is manageable.
3333 words a week of revision or creation, it all counts! Congrats on getting a decent range and now you can cook on both channels! In your writing. In the kitchen! : )
Greetings from Montana! My project is still nameless, which is one of my goals for this challenge. It's a memoir about my decade working for National Geographic Television, but on a deeper level it's about a young woman who knew nothing about the wild to a someone who is now part of it. (With lots of bear stories in between.) My word goal is 500 words per day, 7 days per week, and I've realized that I'm going to have to grab the time when I can. Shortly after we ended our conversation this morning, I sat down and added around 200 words before I needed to go on to another project. Finally, I hope with more words on the page, as well as delving into some of my journals, I will be able to form a structure to the story. It's probably a good idea to know where I'm going, right?
200 words! Well done. The whole idea is wrangle a bit more time for YOU and your creations. A thought...write outside? On a trail somewhere? Is that nuts?
It's more just survival mode outside right now. Today we have 60 mph gusts because a weather system is moving in that will bring us sub-zero temps over the weekend. I do try to write when I'm sitting in the sauna, but my computer does not last long in the heat! I managed to grab two more brief snippets of time yesterday and cracked 500 words. I'm on the same track today.
Oh my! I can just see you sweating over a keyboard. That is simply hilarious. Stay warm.
Yes, I typically take the computer in with me because, you know, it is impossible for me to just sit. But within 10 minutes the computer fan is whirring and it sounds very unhappy! What I should (will) do, is go old school and take in a notebook and pen with me. When I first started writing professionally roughly five thousand years ago, I wrote out everything first, then put it on the computer. Maybe it's time to do that again. With that said, I managed day #2 with 522 words last night, and it is first on my list as soon as I wrap up my bookwork for the year and send that to my accountant this afternoon. Off to crunch numbers...
Okay, yeah, but still you are going to sweat all over the page! That's adorable, Amy. You are totally busting me up over here. 🤣😂
Hi, I'm Susannah. I desperately want to get into a writing habit that involves writing consistently but is not so encompassing of my entire life that I start to neglect my loved ones and other responsibilities. In fact, my tendency to do that is one reason I'm writing a memoir! I want to believe that I can reach the 20 000 word goal and still hold my personal life together. My story is about why I chose a career in medicine and how it affected me, my marriage and how that has both helped and challenged me, my decision to move to the USA and repeat my training, and finally how, when I had a child, I reached a tipping point and could no longer sustain a balanced family life with my career. After quitting my busy job and going to therapy I was diagnosed with ADHD. The process of thinking about my unique brain and how I view myself in the world has helped me understand the convoluted course I've taken and have more compassion for myself and my loved ones who have to deal with me.
That's what I'm writing about and I'm so excited to have this goal and a community!
Great summary, Susannah! I'm so glad you're here, too. This community is a great addition to the depths of class. Connecting and staying connected is very hard but vital. Welcome. Can't wait to see your progress.
🐦⬛🐦⬛🐦⬛ Welcome to week one, day one: This is your community and your place to share...check in here each day, share how you're doing and cheer each other on.
Answer the questions above and BONUS: What do you need right now, as a writer, and what will make you most delighted to achieve in these six weeks?
🐦⬛ I will be delighted if this project, Between River & Sea, has legs and more, that it's good enough (in my own mind) to start serializing/sharing. It's a hard conversation. Most don't want to have it (myself included) but here's the deal, I put myself into this three year retreat for one reason: To talk with God. Now I am...all the time. Am I crazy? Is this happening? What does it all mean? How in the world did I get here? Wish me luck.
Personally, I cannot wait for this project to take root (and I think it will)!
It will...it will...you are pondering. Yes? And personally, I think this is just a project that has particularly deep roots so...popping to the surface is what will likely happen. 🌱 What do you think?
Hi I'm Sara, this is my third Flight School Challenge. I'm one of those people who needs the accountability, to feel part of a community working towards a common goal, and I'm a huge Jennifer fan. I'm beginning year two of writing a series of essays of my life in Paris after recovering from food addiction and alcoholism. How I navigate the world and my experiences here having learned so much about myself in recovery. I didn't plan this but my first year has turned out to be writing and writing to find out what it is I really want to say, what the foundation for my essays is, how to use the tools I'm learning in Flight School and Studio to make my words zing. And this week, I wrote an Introduction: introducing myself to where I've come from and why the following essays are important and why you should read them!!!!
Oops forgot to say that to the best of my ability, I write for two hours every morning and then whenever else I can. I've learned to carry a notebook around me because I never know when lightning will strike.
My goal for this week is to clean up my Intro to submit to my Studio class next week. And keep writing first drafts.
I've also written about losing my home in a California Firestorm like that raging in LA and would love to submit it somewhere if anyone has an idea.
🐦⬛ Totally timely to write about the fires. Your insight, based on experience, will be invaluable. (Stay in scene...what is that moment in time that totally embodies that experience for you?)And maybe share a bit of it with us that's tangling you up?? What do you think?
Hey there! Karina here! I’m working on a memoir that chronicles my 28-month journey in Federal Prison. It’s all about my exploration of self-discovery, resilience, and ultimately, redemption.
I carve out some quiet time to write in the early mornings before I jump into my day job as an accountant. This week, I've set myself the ambitious goal of writing 3,300 words. Wish me luck!
I’m excited to get these thoughts on paper!
🐦⬛ Look how easily you wrote that...it just rolled off your fingers and is so natural. Well done. You are doing this. You are ready. This is the work you are not at liberty to quit. The lesson of a lifetime. 💕
It's the writing community you have so lovingly created that moves me forward! 💕
It is the students, eager to learn, who will not give up and a have a kick a## story to tell, that moves me forward!
Wow! That's a story I want to know more about. Hope I meet you today. Hang on to your excitement.
Thanks Sara! I'm looking forward to meeting you as well!
Hi! I'm joining the challenge as I work on the draft of a fictional piece titled Pages of the Heart: A Journey of Friendship, Yoga, and Reinvention.
I choose to write early mornings but I am grabbing a pen when thoughts come up during the day if only to capture a line or two.
My goal is 700 words 5 days a week to start.
🐦⬛ The math adds up: 3500 hundred a week. Do able and not so many words you get lost in the mind but can devote yourself to craft! Welcome.