write now.

welcome to the club. here we go.
i'm starting write along with you.

i'm so fired up about writing. real writing. and i hope you are too. i've decided to start a writing club to get me writing in a notebook on a very regular basis. to stop talking the talk and actually walking the walk. i was going to start a few weeks ago, hoping i'd be the guru in write club, but i've been procrastinating waiting for your company. which now i realize is like selling blueberry cream cheese muffins without first tasting one. do they have enough brown sugar? are they done in the middle? are the blueberries ripe? so here we go. i'm simply along for the ride. as, i hope, are you. making it up as i go. pardon my inexpertise.

onto club business. my goal is to write. with my own hand in my own notebook for at least 15 - 30 minutes every day. i am aiming high. but i'm not going to beat myself up if i cannot get to it. though i'm truly going to try. no grocery lists. no to-do lists. no recipes or design ideas. with these writing exercises, i am planning to juice my imagination. to dig in deep. to give writing a shot. to not be afraid of what i'll find. to not be afraid of failure. to look fear in the face and just write what's on the inside. write. everyday. yes, it's a commitment. which gnaws at me. but i know, in the end, good things will arise. hopefully this will form a habit.

No one likes to write but everyone likes to have written. - Joel Salzman

the real writers advise to practice not lifting up your pen, to keep your hand moving during the entire exercise. you can always sift through the mumbo jumbo later. jot down whatever you come up with. whatever your mind is whirling. it can be a daily journal, it can be a random rant session, it can be a character sketch about the stranger next door, it can be details about your childhood, it can be chapter three of the mystery novel you hope to publish someday. every day can be a completely different writing session. no rules. no edits. no comparisons. no strings attached. do not worry about grammar or spelling. you are not handing this in. do not worry about who might read this. it's just for you. it's just practice. it's simple. just keep writing and good writing will eventually come out. though you may have to hunt for it among the busyness of your words. i figure practicing every day will only assist in juicing the real flavor.

so if you plan to play along, every week i will list three writing prompts to help you get going. they will only be suggestions. if you had a fabulous encounter with a mad man on the street, by all means, write about that instead. prompts are a simple way to get the pen to the page.

other write club suggestions.
start reading books by people you admire. books that have stimulating words. texts by authors who you want to write letters to and thank them for writing such glorious books. when you are so submerged in a good book, you are more motivated to write. good authors make it look so easy.

create sections in your notebook. 01.) excellent quotes that keep you inspired. 02.) writing prompts that you want to visit in the future. once you start noticing the details in every day, you'll begin to conjure fantastic writing material. don't forget them, write your own prompts down. i have whole notebooks with one-liners. ready for upcoming novels. if only my creative genius could come in paragraph form. 03.) make a list of books about writing that you have read or want to read. that way when you re-visit your notebook in four years, you'll get all fired up again and know where to go to feel enlightened.

but be warned, do not allow the set up (the notebooks and tabs and the reading of inspiring quotes and the search for the perfect pen) snatch up all of your energy. if you take too much time setting up, inevitably you will need to start dinner or make your bed or check your email or water your plants. and you will have missed your 15 - 30 minutes of madness. make your writing sessions brief but enjoyable. treat yourself to a handful of chocolate chips whenever you sit down to write.

ready, set, go.
write now.

writing prompts | week 01.
the real you. you got a new notebook? very good. now introduce yourself. use any of these prompts in any mixed up fashion you'd like to get your juices going.

01. describe your daily routine from sun up to sun down. use only nouns.
02. list your obsessions. what do you think about, obsess over, what types of things, ideas, ideals, plans, dreams, and hopes consume your mind? what are you known for? wearing red lipstick? write about that.
03. pick a year from your life. past or future. describe who you were, what you wore, what your problems were, what your biggest concern was, who you spent time with, who you dreamt of becoming, what you watched on tv, what type of shoes you wore, what you ate for lunch. dig deep and rediscover who you were then and who you are now.


have fun.
meet back next week.
with ink on pages.