Prompt #10

Welcome to our 10th week together!! It’s been a fun ride so far, so I thought we’d do a little challenge this week. For any newbies here, these emails are usually shorter than this, but today is a special occasion :)

Allow me to be a theater kid for just a moment. I will try very, very hard not to have that part of me pop out too much on this newsletter, but sometimes it must be done. I’ve been thinking about Hadestown by Anais Mitchell. There’s a lyric in it by ancient himbo, Orpheus,

Now, this man takes nearly the whole show to write this damn song, so hyperfocused on perfecting it that he doesn’t notice the changing of the seasons (or his wife moving to the underworld for fear of starvation). He eventually does finish the song, and I take two lessons from this: First, it’s worthwhile to write something, knowing it’s imperfect and will be for quite a while. Only the pursuit of improving it will get you the result you want, so keep your head down and write. Second, remember not to write to the detriment of living your life and caring for those around you… or they’ll be kidnapped to the underworld. No song is that important.

So today’s challenge is about writing out of your comfort zone, knowing it will be messy. Write the imperfect thing, the song that needs improving, the poem that needs tweaking, the scene that needs revising. It could become something beautiful in the end!

Write something you think you’d be awful at. For me, that’s poetry. It doesn’t matter if you actually are bad at this thing (we all are before we practice); what matters is that it’s a medium that scares you a bit. Orpheus is a Muse’s son, and even he still couldn’t crack a simple verse-chorus-bridge-chorus for months, so we all start somewhere. If you’re a poet, maybe write a scene. If you’re a screenwriter, try a short story. If you’re a songwriter, try a stand-up joke or a humor piece. If you’re a journalist, try fan fiction.

Whatever it is, it should be something you don’t normally write. Go for it! Rooting for you! Write for 10 minutes or more, and let it be as bad and messy or brilliant as your brain wants!

Share this post to write with a friend!

I’m watching Buccanneers on Apple TV and Origin, directed by Ava Duvernay.

I’m reading this piece

by on How to Do Things Badly!

I’m listening to Hadestown, obviously. But also this MAX/Duckwrth collab.

Whew! We did it! If I had my druthers, I’d ask you to pull a quote from your piece and put it in the comments to desensitize us from the idea that things need to be perfect in order to share them, but I won’t make you do that. I would like to know what medium you chose! Tell me in the comments, or email me back :)