THIS MONTH'S SHOWCASE FEATURES:

THE WRITING LIFE
WRITE 10,000 WORDS IN ONE DAY!
by The Freestylers' Writing Group

FEATURED CRAFT ARTICLE
Where's the Why? by Jennifer Turner

MONTHLY WRITING CHALLENGE
No Joy in Mudville by Audrey Yoeckel

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WRITE 10,000 WORDS IN ONE DAY!
The Freestylers' Writing Group Copyright © 2002

Note to subscribers: If you've already read the
first part of this article in the eZine itself, look
for the red cue below to find your place.

This exercise is designed to free the writer within and to give aspiring authors the chance to live their dreams for one day.

THE WEEK BEFORE

Personal:
Set the date and begin talking about the day. Tell those close to you that you will be unavailable. No phone calls, no cooking, cleaning, diaper changing/pet care, no errands or other chores that we typically do. Prepare your loved ones by delegating your regular responsibilities to them. Schedule some time before the designated day to accomplish what you can to lighten their load.

Writing:
Decide which work you want to expand on during your 10,000-word marathon. Once you've decided, begin gathering the materials and researching anything you believe will be necessary for the writing: location, names, characters, plot. If you are accustomed to outlining, complete your outline during this preparatory week. It's not necessary to polish your outline, just have it prepared for your own use. Print as much of this information as you think you'll need.

THE DAY BEFORE

Personal:
Reiterate to family and friends that although you'll be home, it will be as if you're on the moon: totally unavailable. This is the day to help prepare your loved ones to take over. Shop for speedy "nuke 'em" foods and for your personal menu for the marathon (vitals such as coffee and chocolate). If you are the housekeeper, clean as much as you can so your family will be able to maintain the home without your input. Make a list of all the stuff that MUST be taken care of the next day (anything not utterly important can wait until after your writing day) and then assign those chores or errands to family members, if applicable.

Writing:
Make yourself familiar with all the research from the past week. Review what you've gathered and ensure there's nothing you've overlooked--but remember, anything that isn't vitally important to the story can wait for the editing process. Gather the last of the materials. Make sure it's all printed--there will be no opening of files during the marathon, so it's important to have the hard copy. Organize and prepare your work area. Finish any busy-work you have on hand (such as answering emails) and make sure to go to bed early. Set your alarm for the time you've designated to begin.

YOUR 10,000 WORD DAY!

Personal:
Make sure to dress as comfortably as you can--flannel pajamas are comfy and also keep you from leaving the house. Eat a good breakfast and take a few moments to care for yourself so you feel fresh and ready to go. Gather your drink, snacks, and anything else you need to fortify yourself while you write. Kiss your loved ones goodbye, thank them, and wish them a good day. If there's a phone near your computer, unplug it. (The exception to this rule will be for GROUP writing via the Internet--if you're doing this on your own, unplug it, because you will not need Internet access).

Writing:
Make sure you have the printed materials neatly laid out on your work area. Have working pen(s) and scrap paper handy. Hide the dictionary and thesaurus from yourself. If possible, turn off your spell-check, grammar-check, and the thesaurus options (so the computer won't interfere with your stream of thought). Eliminate as much distraction as you can until it's simply you and the work . . . your imagination and the story, nothing else.

Subscribers continue here:

If this is a group effort, email those who are joining you with your start time and a SHORT note on what your hopes for the day are. Close your email program once done.

RULES FOR THE DAY

1. NO EDITING! This means no fixing typos, no rewriting at all. You should write as fast as you can and go with the flow of the story (using your outline if you have one).

2. NO RULES Do not concern yourself with the standard rules of writing, word choices, or other issues you think may be incorrect, such as brand names or language you're not sure will fit publisher's guidelines (e.g. swearing, lingo). If you're not sure which character's POV is correct for the scene you're working on then head hop if you want to (this can be changed during editing later).

3. NO RESEARCH This should all have been done the week before. For areas needing more research, for now just use your imagination and sketch in details that you THINK would work. Use a marker such as three asterisks (***) in your manuscript so that you can easily find those sections later, once you've had time to check facts. Research notes may be glanced at, but not studied. Don't waste time shuffling through papers to find something. You already know what's there, just make your best guess.

4. NO SCROLLING BACK Once it's written, that's it. Don't go back and add things, move things, or switch things. This is what your pen and paper are for. If you think, "I'll need to change that," or, "I should go back and add this part in" write a few memory cementing phrases on paper to remind you what you want to fix later during editing then continue working AS IF you've already changed it.

5. NO STRUGGLING When we write on our regular days, we have a tendency to search for the perfect description, the perfect word choice, or to create the perfect scene/moment. Forget all that. Allow yourself to be awful. This won't be seen by anyone else. This is "For your eyes only." Remember to write as fast as you can, close your eyes if it's too difficult to watch. Make sure that you NEVER second-guess yourself. Part of the excitement of doing a writing marathon comes in making friends with your own voice. Too often we tend to strangle this voice with our idealism of the perfect work.

6. NO STRUCTURE Don't concern yourself with chapter or scene breaks, page count, or proper formatting. Naturally, you can add these as you write, but these are not final and should NOT be a concern. Structure is secondary to the act of free-writing and the stream of consciousness approach (while following your outline if you use one). Remember: Anything and even EVERYTHING can be changed in the editing phase.

7. NO SEARCHING Don't open other files for that tidbit you wrote last week. Don't go into other realms of the computer for information you think you want to read. If it's already in your computer, it will be there during the editing phase and you can search for it then. This includes email and the Internet. The only time you'll use these tools is to communicate in a group setting within the rules of the marathon. Other than that, you should be completely cut off from the world.

8. WORK IN TWO-HOUR INCREMENTS This is only to be broken by bathroom breaks and (only if absolutely necessary), a refresh on the drink or snack of your choice. At the two-hour mark, take 10-15 minutes to make yourself as comfortable as you can for the following two hours. This includes meals. Don't break for lunch any longer than you did for the regular breaks. Eating every two hours (snacks--healthy or not, that's your choice!) should be enough to keep hunger at bay for the entire time you're writing.

GROUP NOTE: At the two-hour break, send a quick, short email to the group to announce your word count. Read and respond to any emails pertaining to the group. Close your email program.

Once you reach 10,000 words, you're finished for the day. Hopefully you've discovered not only your own talent for relating a tale, but how much of the craft of writing has become second-nature to you. Conversely, this will also show you what you need to brush up on and where your focus should be. Too often we get lost in our own insecurities about what we know, what we "should" be studying, or what path we need to follow. This new recognition of your work will help you develop a lot faster.

Look through your freewriting and know that a lot of it will most likely "end up on the cutting room floor," as they say in Hollywood. But also recognize the strengths you see and how much you can accomplish if you set your mind to it. As you evolve as a writer, more and more of this type of freewriting will be useable. Great authors are great story tellers at heart, and they have a knack for connecting with the reader in a very personable way. The only way we can emulate that gift is to write from our creative core, not our left-brain perfecting mechanisms. Clean copy is easy to read, but too clean, and it becomes sterile.

Good luck on the big day and remember to relax, enjoy this pursuit of what you love, and allow yourself to be who you are. Let your personality shape your work, for that is where the strength of your voice lies.

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THE FREE STYLERS' WRITING GROUP was formed more than two years ago through Writer's Village University. The seven women that make up this intense and devoted ring of writers are from all corners of North America, from California to Canada, Washington to New York. Their writing covers every genre and each is dedicated to hard work and honest editing. The Free Stylers are a true sisterhood of aspiring authors.