Join Us for the Last Silent Write-in of the Year
The writing begins today at 5:30pm EST on Zoom
Hello dear memoir lovers,
It’s been a minute, hasn’t it?
You might not know this about me, but this is one of my favorite times of the year. I love the lights and decorations, and that it’s completely acceptable to spend an entire day in bed with a book because it’s too cold to leave the apartment.
In the past, I’ve always welcomed a sort of calm around the holidays, especially with my small household of just me and Ryan. We don’t typically travel or have a long list of people to shop for. Instead, we prefer strolling through crowded New York City holiday markets, sipping on seasonal drinks, and enjoying a quiet Christmas morning, just the two of us. I look forward every year to the little traditions we’ve curated over our nine years together.
However, ever since I started teaching, early December becomes a race to the finish line to earn a much needed winter break, and I find myself putting off my typical holiday activities until later and later in the month. It’s difficult to think about stringing lights around my Krysmas tree when I’m staring at 50+ student essays that all need my feedback (something I should be doing right now).
During this time of year, it’s also normal for me to put my goals on hold. It’s all too easy to look to the New Year horizon and tell myself that the reset is coming. That I can take this time to truly rest, setting down my writing (and other) goals, because they will all be there for me to pick back up January 1. And what’s a few weeks in the grand scheme of finishing my memoir?
The New Year’s Resolution train will eventually come for all of us — forcing us to decide if we want to jump on it or not. Asking us to contend with where we are and where we want to be. I can say that while I’m nowhere near where I want to be in writing my memoir, I’m much closer now than I’ve ever been to finishing it.
That’s mostly thanks to my writing contract with Hope that got me through a very decent edit this summer. I went from scraps and pieces to having half of a first draft that actually makes sense to me. And because of that, I’m pleading with myself to keep that momentum up through the winter break, and there’s no time like the present to start.
This is all to say that I’m making a little promise to myself (and all of you) that I’ll use today’s virtual write in to pick up where I left off this summer. Don’t worry, I’ll still rest over the holidays, and enjoy a celebratory seasonal cocktail as soon as I submit my final grades — but it feels like a good time to recommit to the process, instead of scratching the itch I have to do absolutely nothing.
Reminder that this will be the last virtual write in of the year, so I hope you’ll join us!
♥️ ,
Krystal (and Hope)
What we’ll do during our write-in:
Get into your favorite writing corner.
Grab a cup of coffee or tea and a notebook, laptop, tablet, typewriter or whatever you draft your writing on.
Meet on Zoom for approximately one hour.
Use my favorite method to give focus and structure to your writing.
Stay silent.
Work on whatever you like during the hour of writing—journaling, editing, chipping away at your WIP, drafting an angry email to your ex, writing fiction (who would know?), composing song lyrics, etc.
An optional prompt will be provided if you need something to help get the creative juices flowing.