In Defense of the Sprint: How 30 Day Challenges Helped Me Become the Writer I Wanted to Be
How many times have you heard it’s a marathon, not a sprint? Or to keep your eye on the ball? All of the various sports analogies stinking like a pile of sweaty socks. I know, I know... it’s all about the long game.
BUT WHAT IF WE’RE TOO TIRED FOR THE LONG GAME?
I ran a marathon once, to prove to myself I could. On mile 22, while each footstep caused my cells to scream in pain. I vowed to never do it again. Ever.
Now 2020 feels like the longest marathon known to man.
We have 101 days left in the year that feels like it will never end. We all have our different ways of coping with the many tragedies, with the new lives and routines we’ve had to invent. I went from constant travel, commuting between cities, an overbooked calendar, bouncing around from job to job, to stillness, quiet. All that lack of movement, staying in one place felt like chaos. It also gave me a chance to check-in.
2020 GAVE ME TIME TO ASK MYSELF THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION: AM I HAPPY?
THE ANSWER WAS NO.
When I asked myself this it was March, I had a brand new book out, but couldn’t help feeling like a failure. All I wanted to be was a writer, yet here I was: a writer who didn’t write (enough), a bookworm who barely read. I was so focused on meeting other’s deadlines or dreams, I forgot about my own.
Above my desk hangs a reminder I wrote:
WRITE LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT. IT DOES.
While this might seem dramatic, for me it is true. Sartre said “we are our choices” and every day I did not write or read it felt like I was moving further away from who I wanted to be. When I thought about everything I wanted to do: write a novel, a screenplay, finish two new poetry collections, it felt too overwhelming. This wasn’t even including buying a house, starting a family. How was I going to do any of this with two jobs?
If I have learned anything from the self-help section it is that habits define us. And while I now know I’m not a long-distance runner, I thought… what if I sprint? I figured:
I CAN DO ANYTHING FOR 30 DAYS,
AS LONG AS THERE IS A FINISH LINE IN SIGHT
In May I decided that since 2020 was going to challenge me, I would challenge it right back. I used a number of different writing and reading challenges to change my habits, reduce anxiety, and become the writer I wanted to be.
Here are a few challenges (aka support systems) I completed or am about to complete that helped me get my writing (and reading) back on track.
The Sealy Challenge: The Sealy Challenge founded by one of the dopest poets out there. Nicole Sealy, is a challenge where every August people read 31 poetry collections in 31 days.
If you’re anything like me you have poetry collections coming out your ears. I’m a firm believer of supporting other poets, so I try to buy all the books I can afford. I also believe reading is paramount to grow as a writer. However, for the past year, I have been collecting books without ever cracking a spine. This August I completed the Sealy Challenge. It was one of the most fulfilling and often exhausting months of my life. Many times I whined, “I don’t want to read, I’m so tired” but three poems in I was in awe, reminded of the trance poetry put me under. What was even better was that I got to promote my friends' work, sharing on social media, leaving reviews on GoodReads. It made me feel part of a community again.
The Grind: Founded by the brilliant poet and editor of Four Way Review, Ross White, the Grind is one of the most intimidating 30/30 I’ve ever encountered. An invitation-only group, the signup form says this group is “a serious commitment, and each time someone drops out mid-month, our community is weakened. So please sit the new folks down and threaten them with shaming or bodily harm if they don't carry through on the commitment.” While I know this is a joke it set the stakes higher for me. I told myself you better be ready to show up all month. The Grind places you in groups with 6-8 other writers (many who have been my poetry heroes) and you email your new or revised draft each day. I have found that I enjoy Grinds best with a buddy.
This month, I’m doing a double Grind with mt friend Victoria Lynne McCoy where we revise poems of ours every day and offer daily feedback to one another for the poem we just submitted. Now the 20 poems that have been sitting in a Google Folder are ready to be submitted and I’m so much closer to my second collection than I was 21 days ago.
NaNoWriMo: While I adore poetry, I also like to flirt with other genres. I have a young adult novel that has sat on my desktop half-finished for 4 years. 4 years! When I think of what it takes to complete a novel, forging social outings and tv, it feels like another marathon. I’m sore and defeated just thinking about it. But it is something I want to do, need to do. This November it is time to try my first non-poetry sprint. While I have never participated in National Novel Writing Month I decided this is the year. Eek! As described on their website: “The challenge: draft an entire novel in just one month. For 30 wild, exciting, surprising days, you get to lock away your inner editor, let your imagination take over, and just create!” I’m excited about the supportive online community, word count trackers, and all the tools they’ve created to cheer me along. It's time.
Goodreads Challenge: I listened to an interview with V. E Schwab who had 3 New York Times Best Selling books before the age of 30. When asked how she did it she revealed two things: 1) to finish her first book she wrote for 3 hours every night no matter what 2) she read 100 books a year. This looked like audiobooks in traffic, books in line at the store, she read whenever, wherever she could. Pam Allen says, “Reading is like breathing in, writing is like breathing out.” When I thought about my own craft, I wasn’t breathing enough. So I signed up for the Goodreads challenge. Follow me so we can be book friends. My goal was to read 100 books this year. However, I didn’t decide to really commit until May.
However, this yearly challenge, felt like too much to bite off, so instead of making it a yearly or monthly sprint, I made it a weekly one. With my calculations I learned that I needed to read 3ish books a week, I would finish 100 by 2021. I’m currently 67 books in.
I usually have one non-fiction audio, one bathtub novel, and one poetry collection. I told myself no TV until the books were read. That’s the deal. I usually finish by Friday night which means I can spend some serious time guilt-free during the weekend doing whatever I want.
30 Days to Kickstart Your Poetry: As a self-proclaimed challenge junkie I decided to put a challenge together that will help others. I’m a self-taught poet, I went from high school teacher to award-winning poet, through habits and systems. I worked smarter, not harder. I was blessed to get my book accepted with my number one publisher, YesYes Books. However, I did this without the things I was told I needed: an MFA, a chapbook, famous poetry mentors, and connection. I never signed up for a paid workshop until my first book was accepted. Please note: I don’t say this to brag, I write this to say it can be done.
People often ask me how I managed to do this. For the first time ever I will be sharing these systems, techniques and more with a small group in my workshop 30 Days to Kickstart Your Poetry: How I Landed My Dream Publisher without a Degree or Connections.
Wanna sprint with me?
Whether you start small or decide 2020 isn’t your year, that’s okay. It’s vital to mportant to remember every day, every month is a new chance to challenge yourself and take a step towards being the writer you want to be. Write on. Shine on.
KELLY GRACE THOMAS is an ocean-obsessed Aires from Jersey. She is a self-taught poet, as well as an editor and educator. Kelly is the winner of the 2017 Neil Postman Award for Metaphor from Rattle, 2018 finalist for the Rita Dove Poetry Award and multiple pushcart prize nominee. Her first full-length collection, Boat Burned, released with YesYes Books in January 2020. Kelly’s poems have appeared or are forthcoming in: Best New Poets 2019, Los Angeles Review, Redivider, Nashville Review, Muzzle, DIAGRAM, and more. Kelly is the Director of Education for Get Lit and the co-author of Words Ignite. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband Omid. Wanna work with Kelly? Learn and more about her upcoming workshops and courses.