Vol. 2 🌙 This Week's Inspiration for Writers
Drafting + goal-setting tips, advice on dealing with comparison, and more
Dreamist provides encouragement, camaraderie, and guidance for your writing journey. I hope you find the advice and carefully curated resources helpful, the recommendations of which may include occasional affiliate links if one is available to help support this publication. Thank you for supporting the love + labor that goes into Dreamist with your readership, comments, shares, subscription, and patronage.
🦋 In this issue:
Tips for drafting + setting writing goals
Inspiration for your week
Recommendations for deeper learning + enlightenment
Weekly check-in with a prompt for reflection
Last week, Camp NaNoWriMo began and I’m unofficially participating with a few friends as I work through a third draft of one of my projects. I thought it would be the perfect time to share some tips and reminders to help you reach your writing goals, whether you’re participating in the challenge or doing your own thing.
TIPS: GOALS + DRAFTING
Celebrate small milestones and reward yourself for each one. This helps you acknowledge all your progress and avoid the overwhelm that can form when we obsess over one big destination. EVERY bit of progress is a win. My goal planning printables for writers include pages to easily keep track of your progress, milestones, and rewards for this reason.
Set a clear intention behind your goal. For example: if your goal involves writing your first draft, the focus could be to dig deeper into the characters and get the story fleshed out so you have something to mold. With a second draft, your focus may be tightening the structure and layering in more world-building details. Know what your focus is to avoid spreading yourself too thin.
Go where the inspiration is. This is one of my main tricks for getting through first drafts—instead of writing linearly, I start with the most vivid scenes in my mind. It reduces resistance and helps me connect with the characters and story in this key foundational stage.
Think of your first draft as an extended outline. No one has to read it because its purpose is for you to understand the project better and lay the groundwork. Focus on the macro (story and character development), not the micro (prose, world-building, etc).
Make notes along the way and use placeholders. This is key for maintaining momentum. Instead of stopping when you aren’t sure about descriptions, transitions, dialogue, or the details of exactly how something will play out, put a placeholder there. If you discover something you want to change earlier in the draft, make notes in a “revisions” document and keep moving forward; you can edit them in the next draft.
INSPIRING THINGS LATELY…
ON SOCIAL MEDIA
The importance of creating for yourself — In this clip from The School of Greatness podcast by Lewis Howes, bestselling author and music producer Rick Rubin shares his opinion on what all good art has in common: the artist making something that excites them, rather than chasing what they think an audience will want.
Neil Gaiman on how similar a first draft is to a final draft — Renowned author Neil Gaiman answers the question “How similar are your first drafts to your last drafts?” with wisdom and insight that is a great reminder to any writer struggling with perfectionism in the drafting stage.
Issa Rae’s advice to her younger self — Issa Rae, an award-winning writer, director, and actor, shares her younger self’s struggles with comparison and why you should never compare your path to someone else’s.
BOOKS, PODCASTS + MORE
Neil Gaiman and Issa Rae both have incredible classes on MasterClass that I highly recommend: Neil Gaiman Teaches the Art of Storytelling and Issa Rae Teaches Creating Outside the Lines. The former offers timeless lessons on storytelling, while the latter takes you through her journey of writing for television while offering advice and wisdom that applies to creatives of all mediums.
Want to expand your ability to think more creatively? Check out Psyche’s article “How to Use ‘Possibility Thinking’” which offers a comprehensive guide on improving your ability to think outside the box in your personal, professional, and creative life: “When you apply possibility thinking in your daily life, it can give you a powerful sense of agency. It can help you find innovative solutions to actually do what you want to do, in one form or another.”
Angela Ackerman’s and Becca Puglisi’s line of thesauruses for writers are some of the most helpful resources I’ve ever found. If you haven’t checked them out yet — like The Emotion Thesaurus (my personal fav), The Emotional Wound Thesaurus, and The Conflict Thesaurus — then you’re in for a treat. They’re great to have nearby while drafting and editing to kickstart ideas when you get stuck.
Loved this conversation on self-compassion, pursuing your passions, and overcoming discomfort between Andrea Crowder and celebrity dog groomer/actress/comedian Jess Rona: Episode 63 of the Unrule/y Entrepreneur Podcast. Perfect to listen to for some inspiration, deep reminders, and encouragement for your creative journey.
CHECK-IN
What goal have you been wanting to set that feels scary to commit to?
Feel free to reflect and journal on this question to explore it, then share your answer in the comments. (🔒 Exclusive to paid members; upgrade to leave a comment and join the discussion)
xx
Lindsay
🌙 WORK WITH ME
Some of my private coaching spots for the next few months are still open! Check out all the details and apply here if you’d love personalized support and guidance on your writing journey
Create your own writing planner with printables available in my Etsy shop
Interested in joining one of my group coaching programs for writers? Click here to join the waitlist