StoryADay Post-Challenge Debrief Exercise 2021 - Part 1

 StoryADay Post-Writing Debrief Exercise 2021

On the latest episode of the StoryADay podcast, Julie Duffy shares the Post-Challenge Debrief exercise, which is an exercise that helps writers reflect back on the month of May, which, for quite a few writers, was StoryADay May - a month of writing one short story every day. 

 

 

I haven't really been able to commit to it this year because I've had several other responsibilities, but I've enjoyed reading the prompts and listening to the StoryADay podcast in the meantime, and I have written a respectable 11,000 words in May, despite how busy and stressful the month has been, so I wanted to give the Post-Challenge Debrief a go. I've also been actively reflecting on my writing process in the past month or two, so any exercise that gets me thinking about my writing process is a welcome activity.

 

#1: What did I learn about my writing practice?

Ideas 💭

Some of my best ideas this past month came to me while I wasn't working on the story at all. I think it's interesting that, as a result, I've been able to figure out so many elements in the story that were giving me major writer's block, and I'm still not sure how the solution ever came to me, except I remember a vague memory of sitting at my desk and staring at my wall when it did. Hm. 

Apart from that, I was able to write so much mainly because I was applying this big change that I had made to my story idea without trying to force it into a particular mold or make it fit with the previous draft of the story. Because of that, I was able to really be flexible and explore a different retelling of the story, in which characters are doing different things, making different decisions, interacting with one another in completely different ways. 

It was hard to pull away from the previous draft because I'd gotten quite attached to the aesthetic, the vibe, the character personalities, etc. But I realize that from a more objective perspective, this has made the story better, and I'm excited to continue exploring the new ideas I've gotten for my murder mystery novel. 

Best Days & Times to Write ⌚

I think my most productive days for writing were during the weekend, mostly because on the weekends, the administration and academic department at my uni are closed, so I didn't have much that I could do this month, apart from research - which, after a full week of Googling, researching, and discussing, I had gotten quite sick of by the time the weekend rolled around. I don't think this is necessarily always the case, but at this point in time, as I'm quite busy with this academic project, it seems to be that that's simply how it's going to be for the next few months.

I tend to write at night, but because I've been allocating my weekends to writing my murder mystery lately, I've been working throughout the day as well. That being said, I don't see this trend continuing. These past weekends have probably been the only ones in which I won't have much to do, and moving forward, I'll probably be just as busy during the weekends as I am during the week. I expect to get a little bit of writing done throughout the days here and there, but I think I'll continue being my most active during the night, when I have more time to myself and am in a more relaxed mindset.

I was able to write every day for about 4 days or so before I started to feel my energy starting to sag a bit with regards to writing. I think it's correlated to the fact that by that time I had written out all that I could think of, and my mind was at a stage where I now had to pause, think about what will happen moving forward, before continuing. I think this is the stage where I'm currently at, and I am excited because I've also found that writing this murder mystery has been an easier feat compared to my high fantasy novels - possibly because it's a contemporary mystery that doesn't require too much worldbuilding, explaining how daily activities are carried out in another world, or any of that.

Environment 🎧

I write best in silence at my desk, though I get restless and often need to move around with my laptop in order to remain focused. A very noisy environment isn't really conducive to writing for me, though having some instrumental music in the background every now and then can help me get motivated and feel more productive (I especially like this early morning lofi playlist).

I'm easily distracted, so I need a place to write where I know I won't have someone accidentally destroy my train of thought as I get the words out. This has happened before, and it can feel like trying to clutch at straws to try to get back that train of thought afterwards. 

Obligations, Unexpected Developments, and Events ❕

I haven't really had to deal with any of these. Writing at this time of the year is taking a back seat to everything else, namely my academic pursuits, and as a result it's something that I do when I have the time to do it - in other words, once I've done everything else. However, I will say that I do get carried away once I start writing, and it can be hard for me to keep up with other obligations and chores around the house when I'm focused on getting all my ideas out before they dissipate. So, in a way, it's not that other events derail my writing, but rather that my writing derails my other responsibilities.

Bonus Questions

1. What is your next big goal for your writing? 🌟

My next goal is to complete a book by the end of August. This is going to be a bit tough if I write only 11,000 words per month, but I'm going to try to achieve a bigger word count by the end of June (maybe around 15,000 to 20,000) in an attempt to make some big strides towards that August deadline.

2. Based on what you learned about your writing practice, how are you going to achieve that next goal? How will you stay on track? 💪

So, what I think I can attempt to do is I think I can make an effort to fully dedicate a certain number of hours (about one or two hours) per evening during the work week to writing, and about 6-8 hours per day on the weekends, possibly splitting that time up between an early morning session and an evening session. 

I'm not generally very good at keeping to schedules, so I don't think this is going to be a regularly implemented kind of thing, but the more often I can do that, the better, I think.

However, my most productive day (most hours recorded) when I'm working on my academic project so far are Wednesdays and Thursdays. It might be a good idea not to have evening writing sessions on those days. But I'll keep recording my productivity using an app and see how that changes over time, as I fully expect that it will.

Looking forward to part two of this exercise in the next episode of StoryADay podcast!