Tag: april sucks

Top Three Writing Tips

I can’t believe we’re in April. April, despite being the start of Spring and warmer weather, is always a horrible month for me. Not only do I have two birthdays followed by death days (yeah, those suck hardcore!), but there are several anniversaries of deaths over the last few years, birthdays of those who have passed on. April is just an awful month.

But! I am still here posting and doing what I can to make it better.

Today, it’s my top three writing tips.

1. Write “This is the shitty draft” or something similar on a blank page to get started.

A blank page is terrifying, especially compared to the perfectly curated image in your head. I used to panic and freeze and not be able to write because “it would never be as good as in my head.” Hence, this tip. It turns off the expectation for the work to be “the best ever” and lets it just be what it is: a first draft.

2. Let the first draft be as bad as it needs to be.

Similar to the tip above, let the first draft be bad. My first drafts are full of notes that make me laugh, notes that make me cringe, way too many parentheses with stupid remarks like this:

Not only does it keep the writing from being too serious, but it makes me laugh when I read it back later and helps me remember how much fun I had writing in the first place.

  1. Have fun with it and play!
    This tip is a little difficult if you’re hard on yourself like me. I’ve always been an anxious kid, and an even more anxious adult so play has never been easy. Writing was where I could feel free and play. I could ask the “What if?” questions and really find the fun in the story.

Overall, there are so many writing tips that might or might not work for you. Do what works and discard the rest. We’re all ultimately on our own writing journeys.

I’m sharing what works best for me. But I hope everyone finds what works for them.

What’s your favorite writing tip?

 

Taking it Easy in April

Usually, April is filled with a frenzy to get words and complete another writing challenge for NaNoWriMo. Camp NaNoWriMo takes place every April and July, but after the recent events around NaNoWriMo, just the thought of it makes me feel icky.

I held strong through November as one of the Municipal Liaisons, but as soon as December and January hit, I started to feel the disgust and shame in my body. The organization I once loved, the organization I put all my faith and trust and creativity into, no longer exists.

Usually, in April, I do Camp NaNoWriMo and attempt to work on a project. This month, perhaps even this whole year, I want nothing to do with NaNoWriMo.

I’ve put in my resignation as the ML for my region. The local chapter has moved onto being its own writing and critique group. I honestly feel so free after nearly a decade of being an ML and carrying the weight and stress.

What does that have to do with writing and my goals for this month? Well, first off, I won’t be doing Camp NaNo, as I said. Second, I’m going to be kind to myself this month and not overextend my time or creativity.

That means taking my time on projects. While I will attempt to meet the self imposed deadlines of posting here on the blog every week (along with substack and medium), I am fully aware and open to the chance it might not happen. April is a harsh month with birthdays and death anniversaries and a lot of other emotional junk.

I have a goal to finish edits this month, and I do intend to stick to that. I’m going to do my best to post and build here on the blog, but if it doesn’t happen, I’m going to take it easy on myself.

 

Ten Years

Ten years ago, I doubt I would have thought of myself here now,

Where I am now and who I was in that moment are markedly different.

For that, I am proud.

The me of ten years ago never thought herself worthy of time or love, stuck in those last few moments for so long.

For that, I am saddened.

Now, I have so much love, so much potential, so much drive to move forward.

To gain all those things, it took growth, leaving so much behind and learning from life lessons,

Lessons that should have never been taught so young.

I had just become an adult, and just like that, felt like nothing but a kid again.

As a kid, I had never felt truly safe in your arms,

But I stayed there much longer after you left.

Not physically, but emotionally.

I think about you a lot,

Even more so over the last few months, when everything has changed for the better.

I dread becoming like you,

I beg for a better life than you had.

I hope I do it all better.

I hope I find a better ending.

Ten years, you’ve been gone.

Ten years of growth you never got to see.

Despite all the struggles,

I still miss you, Mom.

Wednesday Works: The April Girls

The April girls are all there in Heaven,

Sitting in a cafe drinking tea.

Or maybe they’re all raising hell,

In some dingy bar.

Maybe they’re up there,

Chasing lives they wish they had lived,

Making up for the time they lost.

Maybe they’re watching over me and C,

Making bets,

Passing along the binoculars,

Always saying:

“I told you so”.