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Write Your 2019 Into Existence

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Welcome & Logistics (1/4/19)

FRIDAY, JANUARY 4TH, 2019
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READY TO JUMP IN NOW?

"The Power of the Post-It: Writing My Life into Existence"
An article I read about Octavia Butler's intention setting plus my own practices helped inspire this challenge and its name.

If you want to learn a little more on that back story and you want to start thinking about different ways you might Write Your 2019 into Existence, check out my blog post “The Power of the Post-It: Writing My Life into Existence.”

​(No worries if you can’t read it now—we’ll come back to this post at the end of the challenge).



Day 1: Look Back

SUNDAY, JANUARY 6, 2019
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
  • "20+ Questions for a New Year"
If Day 1's prompt was just not enough, these questions will help you reflect on your 2018 a little more.

Day 2: By the #'s

MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2019

​Day 2 Worksheet - By the #'s:
day2.wksheet.bythenumbers.pdf
File Size: 106 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
  • “On Maternity Leave and My Writer Self” by Li Yun Alvarado
Read more about how I redefined what success looks like for me while I honored my cuarentena and the new season of life I was in postpartum. 

  • 20 Ways to Nurture Your Writer Self (Even When Life Gets In The Way) by Li Yun Alvarado
Download this checklist I designed to highlight the many ways we can feed our writing selves.

  • “Concerning Craft: To The Writer Who is Not Writing” by Alicia Mountain
Preview: “You are more than the work you make, inherently worthy if you never draft another piece before you die. You never had to write in the first place to be worthy.”

  • Write Mom Life (WML) Podcast & WML Facebook Community 
This podcast is great for writers in general but especially for any writer moms. Almost every interview begins with some version of the question “What does success mean to you?” I’ve also learned so much about Indie publishing and book marketing from the experiences of these Indie Writer Moms. The WML Facebook Community is also super supportive, so if you’re a writer mom check them out — even if you’re not an indie author, I think you’ll learn a lot and get support for your writing life!

INSPIRATION:
Regular Writing Practices To Take Up & Track in 2019 (If I were you I'd pick one or the other, probably not both(!))
  • Daily Writing Habit: Li Yun Alvarado's "The Art of Low Stakes Daily Writing"
  • Weekly Writing Habit: Vanessa Mártir's #52Essays2017 Challenge​​

Day 3: Acknowledgments Page (1/8/19)

TUESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2019

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

  • “My New Year’s Gratitude not Resolution List” by Jan Warner
(This post might be especially helpful for you if you’re currently grieving a loss)

  • "Publication Summer: Building Relationships & Getting Published" by Li Yun Alvarado

  • In case you’re curious, here are those crazy Dissertation Acknowledgments I wrote way back when.

COMMUNITIES
We don't have to do this work alone. I'm eternally grateful for mis comunidades, which are too numerous to name here, but here are a few online communities that might be a good fit for you.


  • Women Who Submit
"WWS empowers women writers to submit their work for publication." This link is to the FB page of the founding chapter in Los Angeles, where they post local events including monthly submission parties as well as calls for submission. There are also regional chapters all over the country.

  • Women of Color Writers Community
"A National and Global Women's Writing Community." A great Facebook community for WOC writers where you can connect, share work, and learn about opportunities.

  • Long Beach Literary Arts Center
If you're in Long Beach, CA this local organization is run by writer friends I really admire. "The Long Beach Literary Arts Center is a space for local writers to connect, create, and collaborate. Offering diverse literary programming, the LBLAC seeks to elevate the voices in our community through professional development training, inclusive literary events, and resources for artistic cross-pollination."

Day 4: Five W's

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9th, 2019

Day 4 Worksheet - Five W's:

day4.wksheet.fivews.pdf
File Size: 64 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
  • Li Yun Alvarado's About Page
My mission statement and many of my other W's are articulated in one way or another on this page.

Day 5: Theme

THURSDAY, JANUARY 10th, 2019

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
  • Nicole Gulotta’s “How to Choose a Word for the Year”
Need some inspiration for your theme? Nicole Gulotta describes her process for choosing a word for the year and includes a helpful list of potential words to choose from.

HEALER FRIENDS I TRUST TO HELP ME TAP INTO MY OWN INTUITION
  • Shyamala Moorty (yoga instructor)
  • Seagoat Astrology (astrologer)
  • Mariana Lee (clairvoyant, tarot, life coach)
  • Healing Queen Reina Preado (cranial sacral, polarity energy work, raindrop technique, love limpias, yoga, tarot)
  • ​Healing Phases (herbalist, tarot, and my cousin & comadre)

Day 6: Writer's Compass

FRIDAY, JANUARY 11th, 2019

Day 6 Worksheet: Your Writer's Compass:

day6.wksheet.compass.pdf
File Size: 143 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

day6.wksheet.samplecompass.pdf
File Size: 168 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Grants, Residencies, Books, and Podcasts oh my!
Check out & bookmark these two lists if applying to grants & residencies, reading more, or listening to more literary podcasts is on your 2019 Writer Compass:
  • "Artists Grants & Opportunities"
  • "48 Books by Women and Nonbinary Authors of Color to Read in 2019"
  • "14 Literary Podcasts that Aren't Hosted by Three White Guys"
  • ​"23 Best Podcasts for Writers"

ADDITIONAL INSPIRATION
  • Kate Northrup's “Upward Cycle of Success” and "Four Phases of Creation”
I’ve been learning a lot from Kate Northrup’s materials (she’s a coach to entrepreneurial women). Here is a blog Series she wrote on what Northrup calls “The Upward Cycle of Success” and “The Four Phases of Creation” that I think will resonate with all of us as creators and also relates well to our final planning worksheet & Writer's Compass.

What I love about Kate’s approach to creation is that it makes space for the down time needed before and after any project. We often get caught up in doing, doing, doing, and do not build enough down time into our lives. Reading these four posts might inspire you to tap into the different phases of any creative process and harness those phases to be more productive while experiencing less burnout. Check them out!

  • Four Phases of Creation (4 blog posts)
    • Visibility
    • Culmination
    • Fertile Void
    • Emergence
 
  • The Specific Mindset Workflow Shift That Automatically Allows You To Have More By Doing Less 
    (podcast episode of the Kate & Mike Show Podcast Episode. **Start listening on minute 21:00**)
On this episode Kate & Mike discuss moving away from time orientation and towards PROJECT orientation. She also discusses her four phases of creation and how they align with various cycles (menstrual cycle, moon, seasons). If you're into podcasts already, definitely check this episode out.

  • Origin Membership Community
I’m a member of (and an affiliate for) the Origin membership community Kate mentions in the blogs and on the podcast episode. Being a member and watching all the membership content has really helped me to tap into my own needs in order to have more by doing less #doless.

There will be a FREE 4-part online Origin workshop starting next week that will cover the following:

  • How you can get everything done without rushing
  • What to do when you find yourself overwhelmed by everything on your plate and how to not end up there again
  • Why the time management strategies you’ve been taught don’t work- and what does
  • Why the female brain is optimally wired for entrepreneurial success and how to make the most of yours
  • How Self-Sourced Scheduling will give you your time and your life back while increasing your business results
  • And so much more!

I think the workshop will be awesome and will really align well with what we’re doing this week while giving you even more ideas on how to build a Writer Life You Love without stressing yourself out!

At the end of the workshop, Kate will invite you to join Origin. It’s a paid membership, but there really is no obligation to join. You’ll still get a ton of good info from the free video workshop.

If any of that sounds interesting, click here to sign up for the workshop and you'll receive helpful information from Kate and her team as well as the videos as they go live.

Like I've mentioned I am an affiliate, so if you do decide to join Origin, I’ll get a small commission at no cost to you.

But seriously, I’m not sharing this because of the commission — I’m sharing it because these principles have been valuable to me over the last year, and I think they’ll be valuable to you as well. I won’t be upset at all if you don’t join Origin, but I WILL be thrilled if you watch the videos and report back that you found them as helpful and actionable as I have.


I’m happy to answer any questions you have about the benefits of belonging to the (paid) Origin community.

No worries if this isn't for you -- just wanted to put it on your radar in case it might be a good fit!


Day 7: Look Ahead

SATURDAY, JANUARY 12th, 2019

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
  • (Re)Read my blog post “The Power of the Post-It: Writing My Life into Existence."
​Ask yourself: 
  • How might you incorporate into your daily life some of the techniques described in the post?​
  • What other techniques might help bring this week's activities into your daily life?

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​
Cover of the poetry collection, Words or Water. Features a black and white print of a woman with outlines of birds in her hair.
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