Week Six: We've Seen You from Every Angle—Now See Yourself

The final week when community reflection becomes self-recognition

Welcome to Flight School and our last week of the Summer Surge:

From thirty-five dreamers to the faithful few. We've made it. Six weeks ago, you weren't sure you could sustain daily writing through summer's chaos. Today, Jacqui is blowing past her 65,000-word goal, Sara is swimming in oceans and writing scenes, Jill is moving forward scene by scene, and I’m at 156,000 words with a character I adore about to die for the greater good of the story.

We’ve seen this woman from every angle, but now we see her face. That’s week six. From being mirrored in the group, you now face yourself… Is it the face you expected? Recognize?

Discoveries:

🕰️ The Time Myth: Writing isn't about finding time. It's about claiming it

• I revealed a truth that having more time meant stalling longer proved that time isn't the issue—the habit of distraction is.

• Kat learned to write in thirty-minute windows while managing a toddler.

• Sara found her rhythm in two-hour morning sessions.

🤼 The Wrestling Match: Hope vs. reality and existing in the sweet spot of longing

Remember Week Four's guardian conversations? By Week Five, you were writing the hard stuff—Jacqui at a vegan café nibbling quinoa cake while tackling her most challenging material, Sara pushing through exhaustion to add six hundred words she didn't want to write, Patricia laughing at her hyena-like mistakes while grabbing craft principles "even if it is only through an example."

🧗🏻‍♀️ The Perseverance Paradox: Scene by scene. Keep moving forward

As Sara discovered, "Hard is not a four-letter word." The satisfying difficulty of climbing the mountain, of choosing craft over comfort, of showing up when you don't want to. This is what separates true writers from wannabes.

The Creative Sanctuary We’ve Built

This challenge proved that writers need boundaries to thrive. Protecting our creative sanctuary from hot-take and current event chatter helped us to focus on "craft, story, and the timeless elements of human experience,” and transform scattered thoughts into lasting literature.

Seven Prep Days

We have one more week together, and then it will be time to test your wings for solo flights. Some key lessons to take with you:

Keep the Daily Practice: Whether it's Jill's dedicated 2 hours or Kat's strategic 30-minute windows, the habit of showing up is your superpower.

Trust the Process: When my hands hurt from sliding back into inflammatory foods, when Sara faced exhaustion but wrote anyway, when Patricia felt "too slow"—the work continued. The lifestyle, not the sprint, creates lasting transformation.

Write from the Wanting: Your unmet desires, your struggles with boundaries, your wrestling with guardians—this is your material. Don't resolve the wanting. Be with it. Let it fuel your art.

Stay Close to Craft: Remember Frank Conroy's teaching on meaning, sense, and clarity. If your words mean what they say, they're clear, and they make sense, you're on solid ground.

✍️ Your Turn:

1. What has been the best part of the challenge for you?

2. The most challenging aspect of the challenge?

3. What do you have to share about your prep plans?

See you in the comments,

~ Jennifer, 🐦‍⬛

PS: Our final video conversation captured raw honesty about guilt, practical obstacles, and deep longings that fuel great writing. It's worth watching for anyone preparing for a solo flight. Enjoy