As I explained in an earlier post, part of my retirement plan is "more writing, fewer citations". Participating in the Story A Day in May challenge was part of that plan. Despite the bad timing -- spanning the last weeks of my last semester before retiring -- I somehow managed to post something every day for thirty-one days. (To see the entire collection, click here.) What am I taking away from the experience?
What will June bring? July and beyond? More writing, and also editing. Lots of editing. (Yes, I saw all the typos.)
- It helped me experiment with strategies for capturing and recording my writing, especially when I am on the go.
- It helped me establish a daily writing habit again. Getting words on paper no matter what is crucial. I am pretty good at doing this for academic articles and books, but needed to develop an approach that was more free-form, less goal-driven, and less linear.
- It helped me discover my imagination again. I had no idea, at the beginning, what kind of stories I would write. As it turns out, I have a bit of an inner H.H. Munro or Rod Serling -- a penchant for mysterious endings and creepy plot twists.
- I wrestled with many of the prompts, but also used them as often as I could. I also used my own old journals (over 50 years worth) and a tarot deck.
- I got more comfortable with dialog, and am now looking for ways to get better at creating voices for different characters.
What will June bring? July and beyond? More writing, and also editing. Lots of editing. (Yes, I saw all the typos.)
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