I Haven’t Written a Word in Six Weeks
Posted by David Duhr in 
Discussion questions: Are you, like me, in a writing lull? What activities have you prioritized over your writing lately? Make a list, like I do below. How do you feel about those decisions? How will you make changes, if necessary? Do you find that your writing time is affected by the seasons? (i.e., do you, like me, write much less in the summer because you’re outside runnin’ around?) Let’s talk about it in the comments. read more
Halfway to 2020: Writing Goals Check-In
Discussion questions: Halfway to 2020, are you halfway (or more?) toward hitting your 2019 writing and reading goals? If so, congrats! If not, what obstacles are you facing? Have your goals changed? Has your approach changed? What do you hope for from the rest of 2019? Share your progress with us in the comments below. read more
Packing an Emotional Punch in Your Writing
Discussion questions: Who are some writers whose work elicits a strong emotional response from you? Is that a feeling you enjoy? What types of emotions, if any, do you hope for when you read a book? And as a writer, do you aim to elicit similar emotional responses from your readers? Let us know in the comments. read more
Quarter Pole Check-in
Discussion questions: One-fourth of the way through 2019, are you one-fourth of the way (or further) toward hitting your 2019 writing and reading goals? If so, congrats! If not, why not? Have your goals changed? Has your approach changed? What do you hope for from the rest of 2019? Share your progress with us in the comments below. read more
“I Am a Writer!” Your Aha Moment
Discussion questions: Do you remember your “aha moment” as a writer? The moment where you realized, for the first time, or acknowledged to yourself for the first time, that you are a writer, and that writing will play a prominent role in your life? Or are you still waiting on it? Tell us about it below. read more
Your Ideal Writing Space
Discussion questions: What does your ideal writing space — or maybe your ideal writing retreat — look like? Is it in your home, or away from home? Describe your surroundings. What are you writing on? What are you writing with? How much contact do you have with the outside world? How many hours per day do you write? For how long are you there? read more
Do You Like to Write?
Discussion questions: Share your thought on the following quote, attributed often to Dorothy Parker, as well as Frank Norris, George R.R. Martin, and loads of others: “I hate writing, but I love having written.” How do you feel about the act of writing? Is it torture or is it a pleasure? Or does your answer change with every session? read more
Encouragement From Writing Teachers
Discussion questions: What words of encouragement from your writing teachers have kept you going through hard times? Do you think great writing can be taught? What specific lessons on craft do you remember being taught to you by specific writing teachers, and in what ways have they been helpful? Let me know in the comments below. read more
In 2019, You Will!
Happy 2019, WriteByNighters! I feel like this is going to be our best year yet. Are you feeling the same?
And what better way to kick it off than to talk about what we want to accomplish as writers and readers.
“Resolutions” can be an intimidating word; if you prefer not to, don’t use it. Goals. Wants. Hopes. However you phrase it, I want to hear what you’d like to achieve between now and December 31.
Our tradition has been to ask you to complete the following sentence:
“In 2019, I will _______”
But “will” is edging into resolution territory, so this year, let’s try something new:
“In 2019, I _______” read more
Your 2018 Writing Accomplishments
I was planning on doing our annual writing goals post for this week, but I think I want to push that off to next week and instead allow us all a minute to acknowledge the great things we did in 2018.
If you set a 2018 literary resolution, did you hit it, or at least make good progress toward it?
(Maybe you announced it in the comments of 2018’s goals post?)
Did you grow and improve as a writer? As a reader?
What was your greatest literary achievement in 2018? The thing you’re most proud of as a writer and/or a reader? read more
On NaNoWriMo, NaNoReMo, and Mo’
Show of hands: Who’s doing NaNoWriMo this year?
Before I got wise, I thought NaNoWriMo stood for National November Writing Month. Which doesn’t make a ton of sense.
But as most of you know, it’s really National Novel Writing Month, during which thousands of writers vow to write every day and have a first draft of a novel by November 30, a.k.a. my birthday, what should be a national holiday.
I won’t be NaNoWriMoing, but I will be NaShoStoWriMoing. My old accountability partner and I are restarting our thing, and my goal is to each week write a first draft of one new short story and revise one old story.
Roll call: Are you doing NaNoWriMo this year? Have you done it before? Did it work? Tell us about your approach and process in the comments. read more
Share Your Rejection
The #ShareYourRejection hashtag on Twitter has gotten a lot of action lately, and in no surprise, writers are among the most vocal.
Many of these responses are inspirational tales of books that were rejected dozens of times before finding a publisher, like Arianna Huffington’s, Jill Orr’s, and Dea Poirier’s.
Other writers flash some humor within the trauma, like Hannah Khalil, Erin Vincent, and Joseph Finder.
And then there are the anecdotes that are truly horrific and/or weird, like this one from A.N. Devers.
As writers, rejection is folded into our lives. So many thousands of agents, publications, and publishers reject so many thousands of projects and writers each year. It’s just math. read more