Five Ways to Prepare for #1000wordsofsummer + Five Tips for #1000wordsofsummer Participants + One SDW Approved Alternative
Here’s a photo of me from last June with my #1000wordsofsummer mug after finishing up #1000wordsofsummer and writing 16,935 new words for the book proposal for my Spiritual Direction for Writers book. This year I will be writing at least 14,000 new words for the book that’s now under contract with Eerdmans. How cool is that?
We’re five days from #1000wordsofsummer. Participants will write 1000 words every day for two weeks. I have loved participating in #1000wordsofsummer with Jami Attenberg ever since her very first one in 2017 or 2018. I think? (It would probably be easy for me to find the correct date if I would just set aside 10-15 minutes to research it. I’ll do that soon!)
Committing to write 1000 words every day for 14 days can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Since we’re five days out, I’m sharing what I know about how to have a successful #1000wordsof summer, five ways to prepare for a successful #1000wordsofsummer, and one Spiritual Direction for Writers-Approved Alternative.
I’m happy to offer what I’ve learned through participating in multiple #1000wordsofsummer challenges over the years. I hope this helps it all feel more doable, less scary, maybe even fun!
Five Ways to Prepare for #1000wordsofsummer
Give some thought to what you want to write. What topics are you most interested in right now? What writing deadlines are you trying to meet in the near (or far) future? Do you want to start working on a new book proposal? Are you in between big writing projects and want to freewrite and journal everyday? Do you want to send emails to friends? Do you want to play with a new genre? Write your first poems or short stories? All writing is writing. What do you want to write? Use one or more of the suggestions above or come up with your own.
Plan your writing sessions. Time blocking is your friend. Set aside a couple of hours every day (or most days) to write. Protect those time blocks with your life. Tell everyone to just hold on for a day or an hour or til June 30th. Figure out the time blocks now and write them on your calendar now. Yes. Right now. Then you can come back and read the rest of this post. I’ll wait.
Get out in front of your errands, regular chores, grocery shopping, food prep. The more you can do now to help you get through the end of the month with more time to write, the better. Also. What can you let go of? Can your bathroom wait another two weeks before a cleaning. (Probably.) Can you eat super simple meals during #1000wordsofsummer? (Probably.) Can you order takeout a few more times than typical? (Maybe?)
Reach out for moral support now. If you’re an SDW Member, comment on the relevant posts in A Writer’s Diary for Member Only. Tell us what you’re worried about most. Sometimes writing writerly concerns out loud can help take away some of their power.
Be okay with whatever happens. Let go of needing a certain outcome. All of life is the writing life, I’m the last person to tell anyone THEY NEED TO WRITE EVERY DAY. I think that’s a trash writing rule. Go ahead and think through various outcomes now and journal about the outcome you desire, how you’ll feel if it doesn’t happen (it’s fine to be mad or disappointed!), and what you will gain from participating in #1000wordsofsummer even if you don’t write 1000 words every single day for two weeks.
Five Tips for #1000wordsofsummer Participants
Start well. I love that #1000wordsofsummer starts on a Saturday. If you get both days of writing in on Saturday and Sunday before typical weekday things can intrude, you’ll be off to a good start.
Take advantage of flow and extra pockets of time. If you are able to write more than 1000 words on any day during #1000wordsofsummer, the overage can count toward another day’s word count. I’m not sure if this is how Jami does it, but it’s how I always do it. I take advantage of any free spots of time to rack up more words in case the inevitable interruptions and disruptions come later on. (The interruptions and disruptions will come. Trust me. Life happens.)
Don’t write alone! Join SDW and post your own #1000wordsofsummer posts to A Writer’s Diary for Members Only and/or comment on my posts or other posts. We will also have three 30-minute SDW Member #1000wordsofsummer Zoom Checkins. One near the beginning, one in the middle, and one at the end.
Nourish your body, mind, and soul. If you’re depleted during #1000wordsofsummer, it will not go well. Trust me. What do you need to be nourished? Set aside at least 15-20 minutes most days to do a spiritual practice, go for a walk, rest, etc. so you can have more of what you need to do the writing you want to do.
Skip #1000wordsofsummer this time around and try again another time. If it isn’t a good time for you to try to write 1000 words every day for two weeks, skip it. You know what you need more than anyone else. You don’t have to participate in any writing challenge that’s not a good fit for you right now, or ever. You can start and stop. Stopping is allowed. The writing police aren’t going to come after you. Promise.
One Spiritual Direction for Writers Alternative to #1000wordsofsummer
Introducing #1000secondsofsummer: 1000 seconds rounds up to 17 minutes. If #1000wordsofsummer doesn’t feel like a good fit for you right now, try writing for 17 minutes every day beginning 6/17 through the end of the month. Just sit down to write for 17 minutes every day for two weeks and see what happens next.
Alright. I hope this helps anyone out there who wants to participate in #1000wordsofsummer or #1000secondsofsummer.
Happy writing!
Charlotte Donlon helps her readers and clients notice how they belong to themselves, others, God, and the world. Charlotte is a writer, a spiritual director, and the founder of Spiritual Direction for Writers™ and Spiritual Direction for Belonging™ Her essays have appeared in The Washington Post, The Curator, The Christian Century, Christianity Today, Catapult, The Millions, Mockingbird, and elsewhere. Her first book is The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other. She’s currently writing her next book, Spiritual Direction for Writers, which will be published by Eerdmans in 2024.