writings (draft) — a new project
(If you want to spare yourself the next 800 words, sign up here and continue on with your day!)
Hello, hello!
I’ve been doing a lot of offline writing over the past year, filling up journals with drafts of things, using my notes app to jot down in-moment thoughts, observations, and ideas. Lately, I’ve been craving collaboration. I decided to start a creative project that shares more of my writings while helping others get pen to paper.
This creative project is a recurring email called writings (draft). I named it so because lately, I haven’t been great at sharing anything I write until it’s “100% done.” This has led to a notebook filled with things 70% of the way there, words messy yet so raw and alive, ideas that never move outside the bounds of its pages because they didn’t feel ready.
This newsletter is a way to break out of that. I want to share my drafts while inviting others to work on their own writings. Also, I hope readers will want to share their drafts with me, which I can feature in future issues.
writings (draft) — the format
The format is likely to evolve, but here’s what you can expect when you sign up:
A writing prompt, whether a line, poem, essay, or other writing
My take on the prompt, whether that’s through my own essay, poem, or rambling
An invitation for you to write, with a few suggestions on how to approach the prompt
A featured post from a reader. I hope others will share their drafts with me, which I can feature in an upcoming issue
writings (draft) — my approach
I’ve been inspired by so many gifted writers over the year. Currently, my favorite writing practice is called “wild writing,” which was deemed by Laurie Wagner and born from the incredible Natalie Goldberg, whose book Writing Down the Bones is a must-read for any writer. The concept of wild writing is simple: you pick a prompt, set a timer (I usually do 15 minutes, but you can do less or more!), and write for that amount of time, never picking up the pen. It’s a way to get out of your thinking head and into those deeper emotions; you might be surprised to find where your words end up by the time the timer goes off. The concept of wild writing is also the backbone of Lauren Fleshman’s Wilder Retreat (which I participated in back in 2016) and is used by many other writers.
For example, say the prompt is “things I miss.” I’ll set my timer for 15 minutes and see where the pen takes me. The idea isn’t necessarily to write about the most “profound” thing. Rather, it’s to see where your mind takes you and how you write about the thing. The thing I miss can be big (a person) or small (a food item off a menu). Recently, I wrote about how I miss sushi. It sounds mundane, but you’d be surprised at how fun it was to work on a scene that might feel unworthy but is actually an incredible opportunity to connect to a moment — and connect to other readers, sushi lovers or not.
Another example: I spent some time last week writing about airports. I’ve really missed the feeling of landing in a foreign country and navigating through its airport. I crave the ability to exit a plane into unknown air, following signs in other languages with arrows, ending up on a countless amount of lines to scan bags and papers while swimming in the sharp anticipation of exiting the building and entering a new world.
See?
It’s this step — the messy, wild writing — that I love most. This part of the practice is what unearths the truth that is screaming, maybe silently, to be written about. After the wild writing session, the next step is typically when you can take your time, putting your editor’s hat on to update, add, subtract, and evolve the piece. This is what brings the piece closer to its “doneness.”
writings (draft) brand created by the unstoppable ash gallegos!
writings (draft) — your invitation
I’m not exactly sure what this will look like, but the idea is that after I share a prompt with readers, some (or all!) will want to use it for their own writing practice. I welcome everyone to share their work with me, especially if it’s in the messy, wild stage. The idea is to crack yourself open and share pieces of the writing process, not just the final version.
If you made it this far, wow. Thank you! I’m really excited to get this going. You can sign up for writings (draft) here. My hope is to send the first issue SOON! And if you think someone you know would be interested in signing up, please pass along the link.
