Journal Prompt: Bettering Craft
Create. Grow. Repeat.
I don’t know how life is for you, but for me, it’s a daily race to finish this novel? Who am I racing? Myself and my degree. That is why I haven’t been doing these journal prompts weekly like I want to. Most if not all of my creative energy is going toward my grad school thesis work, which is just the novel at this point. And I’m not just writing, but interrogating, researching, reading, arguing, and finding footing in an imaginary land.
Writing Skins is a reader supported author newsletter that shares excerpts from an award nominated speculative fiction writer’s craft journals. It offers a vulnerable, funny, and interesting look at the writing life, craft, and storytelling.
This week’s journal prompt is about something I think about a lot: what’s one thing I can do to make my writing better and my stories hit harder. So I ask you,
What is one thing you can do this week that will make you a better artist?
For me, this next week, I want to focus on creative energy harnessing and presence in my story. Over the past several months (since September), I’ve been working on a second draft of my novel and it’s been early mornings of writing from 6-8 am, usually with people from my program, and some evening editing with lots of reading in-between.
This past week I’ve noticed that my brain is taxed and drained and tired by the time I wake up. I’m still in love with my story and what I’m writing. I still believe in the process and love writing, but in order to meet my thesis deadline and my own of finishing the novel by April 13th without rushing or forcing anything, I need to give myself a healthier creative routine.
I am not flirting with burnout or anywhere near close to burnout (which for me would be hating writing and storytelling and losing the ability to think of story). But I am tired and exhausted and doing more forced writing than I would like.
I do not know right now what that will look like, but it will most likely include:
One no screen day
Reading in quiet settings
Walks in the woods
Sleeping in a couple days a week
No writing days
How about you? What can you do this week that would make you create better or grow as an artist?
Next Sunday, we’ll reflect on some skills we have and want to sharpen.