I live with anxiety. I live with deadlines and worries and fears about my future. I want to write, but I sometimes feel overwhelmed with the enormity of the task in front of me. Today, I have to edit a video, write a transcript, create the web copy and find links for the project. I then have to package this to my editors in a way that’s easy to read and convert into a post.
This isn’t difficult work, but it’s busy and precise. It needs a lot of thought and planning. And today? I have a brain that feels like spaghetti. It’s just a tangle.
At around 3:30 PM, I remembered that I signed up for Prolific Writer’s Life Words Count. It was to be my first session. My immediate thought was,
I have too much work to do to go to a writing group!
Even though I knew the point of Words Count is to write…. I still tried to talk myself out of it. Then I reminded myself that there was no way to know if this Words Count thing was going to help me unless I actually attended a session.
I have to show you something. This is a picture I took right after we finished the Zoom call. Can you see the happiness in my face?
I got work done. I was able to listen to the experiences of my fellow writers who were facing the same struggles to find the focus needed to finish a project.
Lorraine talked about how easy it is to go down the rabbit hole of different projects when you have one project in front of you that needs to get done.
Ryan taught us about the Plot Clock he’s using to write his novel! He wrote over 500 words for a chapter!
Keiko, our Words Count leader, shared her desire to send one last essay to her editor for her current book. She also led the group with a professional and welcoming touch.
I was with my people! My fellow writers who understand how hard this is–how brutal and beautiful writing can be.
And most importantly, all of us accomplished the small step we wanted to focus on when we started the hour.
In 45 minutes of writing, I made great progress with my difficult project. And, I had a smile on my face for the first time today when I thought about my work.
I hope you can join Words Count and experience the joy and camaraderie of spending time with fellow writers. It really made my day!
- How “Words Count” with Prolific Writers Life Made My Day - November 1, 2021
- Poetry Quiz – First Lines - July 5, 2021
- Poetry Postcard Event Open to Poets and Writers around the World - July 2, 2021
