Welcome to week six – halfway through the 12-week provisional schedule that we have for the projects and activities for this course. So congratulations, you are halfway through. We’re not quite halfway through the semester, but we’re halfway through the tasks and projects for this class.
This is the week when you start to think more directly about the writing project. Maybe you’ve made some notes already. And as you’ve continued along with your reading, you’ve hopefully been able to integrate your reading into your thoughts about writing.
Perhaps you’ve also been reviewing the various guides on the course web pages about improving your writing. If you haven’t yet done that, now would be a good week to start. These guides are scattered throughout the weeks, and some of them have been shown in previous weeks (and some are planned for future weeks). You can review them all anytime.
For this week in particular, the skill guide is focused on editing. Check that out
As you know, in this class you have a lot of freedom about what you write about. And that freedom can sometimes be stressful for people because it’s up to you to choose. I don’t tell you what to write about. You choose based on your own personal interests, your own experience, your creativity, your unique character. This is the week to choose. Don’t delay choosing. Despite this recommendation, people often do delay choosing: they wait until the final days before the writing project is supposed to be submitted. Don’t do that. Instead, think now about what you’d like to write about. Choose a topic, subject, or theme. Write it down, make some notes about it. Start shaping up the writing project. Make an outline if that’s your thing. Maybe try to write a few sentences. See how it goes.
Also, do the creative activity for this week (my favorite of these activities overall). Read the example narrative, which focuses on the ways we can connect to themes from myths and stories. Then write something. Keep your notes – you may need to refer to them for the self-awareness project.
If you get stuck, reach out, I’m happy to help you in any way that I can. In the meantime, go help the princess.
If you’d like to do a deep dive into some of the related ideas from this week, here’s a short list of further resources:
Further Readings for Week 6: On Writing
N.K. Jemisin is Trying to Keep the World from Ending
The Psychology of Writing and the Perfect Daily Routine
Bring Back Handwriting: It’s Good for Your Brain
Writing is Thinking: Learning to Write with Confidence
The Spacing Effect
Famous Writers’ Sleep Habits vs. Literary Productivity, Visualized
15 Resources to Become a Better Writer
How to Keep Criticism from Sinking Your Confidence
The Deep Roots of Writing
