Week Three: "We're in the Soup Now"

Writers in the Summer Surge Challenge face the hardest reality of the creative journey: Endurance

Hi all, and welcome to week three of our Summer Surge, six weeks to hold each other accountable for our creative writing amidst these balmy, long days.

We’ve arrived at the messy middle. Our initial excitement meets real life: illness grabs some of us, moving disrupts others, and summer obligations pull at everyone.This is precisely where the magic happens.

Time for honest accounting

In the last week, many of us got real about our struggles:

Laura's brutal honesty: "I'm gradually losing some facility for language... there's a chasm I need to cross to get to the words." The fear every writer carries—that our gift might fade, that age might steal our voice.

Jill's beautiful confession: "I'm so into my story that even when not writing, I am writing in my head and making notes on my phone." This is what it looks like when a story claims you completely.

Judith's courage: "The urge to look away is present constantly" because writing about narcissists with APD when they're still alive and causing damage requires warrior-level bravery.

My truth: Standing at 104,000 words, about to write the scene where my beloved character gets hurt, and instead finding myself shopping for garden statues and replacing mascara. "STOP STALLING, Lauck," I told myself.

Week three teaching & mission:

Resistance isn't a bug in the system—it's a feature. When Tracy admits her most significant challenge is "consistency amid too many things," when Vivian realizes she was running away as much as running toward, when Jacqui faces the question of what led a 45-year-old woman to a fertility clinic in Albania—we're touching the real stuff that transforms both writer and reader.

1. Name Your Soup

What's making this week messy for you? Health? Family obligations? The sheer terror of writing the complex scenes? Name it. Own it. Then write anyway—even if it's just notes on your phone like Jill.

2. Find Your Heat

What moment in your writing this week made you lean forward? Made your pulse quicken? That's your magnetic north. Write toward it, not away from it.

3. Stop Stalling (With Me)

We're all avoiding something. I know I’m avoiding my character's pain, so it’s your turn. What are you avoiding? Name it and see what happens.

4. Remember Why You're Here

Tracy ends every check-in with gratitude, calling it her most significant victory. Jill lives so deep in her story she's writing in her head while doing family activities. Bridget published a raw, shaking piece about prison visiting rooms and the elephant story that opened her (and our) eyes.

See you in the conversation. Remember to post your comments, catch up with your original buddy or the new friend you made in our live meeting, and let’s get to work.

~ Jennifer, 🐦‍⬛