Are you Meal Prepping Your Fiction?
"I'm writing a first draft and reminding myself that I'm simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles." - Shannon Hale
Hi Writer!
First, a confession. Today I gave into temptation and bought the meal prep freezer trays that have been following me all over the internet. Have you seen these things? They’re flexible silicone squares that make little pucks of lasagna or soup that you can stack up in your freezer and just pop out into a pan some weeknight when you’re too exhausted to cook and have a yummy, nutritious meal.
I cannot wait until these things arrive, because there is absolutely nothing better than eating my favorite gumbo – the one that requires meticulously cleaning and cooking three different kinds of meat and two kinds of rice, plus veggies – when all I’ve had to do is dump the frozen leftovers into a pan. It’s like a gift to today me from two weeks ago me!
And I was thinking today that there’s way to get that same affect with writing.
Today’s reason to write is to help your future self.
In my classes I often see students disappointed in themselves for not writing during a challenging week. But I encourage them (and you) to be gentle with yourself when your creative energy is too taxed for concentrated writing.
Sometimes life gets in the way. And while we don’t want the break from writing to last too long, it doesn’t help to beat ourselves up for needing a rest from creating fiction or poetry when for example, we’re in the middle of a crisis at work, when a loved one is in the hospital, or when the new president and his billionaire buddy put one of those everything-must-go signs up on the white house lawn and start selling off government programs for scrap.
*sigh*
But the point is, even if you can’t write, you can meal prep.
Get out the carrot peeler and work on the tasks you won’t want to deal with when you’re back in the creative flow – character names, story titles, an author bio. Get on google maps and research interesting towns for characters to be from. Update your website. Organize your google drive.
It doesn’t feel like you’re doing much. But that’s okay, do it anyway.
Because whether life goes back to normal or your tolerance for stress increases, there will come a day when you’re ready to dive into a new writing project and you’ll be so glad to have that perfect frozen cube of prep work ready to go.
And perhaps more importantly, meal prep is an act of reminding your present self that you have a future self to think about, and all your selves deserve care. You’re a real writer even on the days you just update your duotrope.
Try it
Here are a few of my favorite writer meal preps for you to try this week:
Start a list of character names, preferably in your phone or a notepad you always have with you.
Start a list of story titles, the more intricate the better.
Choose a job site or industry that interests you, and list every job associated with it that you can think of from the highest paid employee to the lowest paid.
Choose a year or event from your past and try to remember as many people you interacted with then as you can. Neighbors, bus drivers, librarians, babysitters, who peopled your world? You don’t have to write about them now, just write their names.
Or make up your own list centered on a subject that trips you up when you sit down to write.
And if you do try it, reply to this email to let me know how it went.
This Week I’m:
Reading: Hoping to start Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros this week.
Watching: Brooklyn 99
Listening to: new Vulfpeck!
Snacking on: These sesame crackers are taking me back to the Wendy’s Super Bar of the 90’s (IYKYK)
Take a Class with Me: The Art of the List Story (100% donated to Immigrants’ Rights causes)
Join me Thursday, Feb 20th at 5pm for a workshop on List Stories! This is one of my favorite flash fiction types. List stories are simple enough for a total newbie, and they are infinitely repeatable. In this class you’ll learn what List Stories are, read some great examples, and get started writing your own.
Class is a quick 45 minutes, and if you stick around after we’ll have an open mic for you to read from your brand new stories. Sign up and more info HERE.
Until next week, Happy Writing!
Kayleigh