Jumping Back In
I am a writer who needs time away from writing and considers the time away an important part of my process.
I don’t know about other authors, but in the months following a book publication, I do not write at all. I just cannot write and do publicity at the same time.
My brain won’t let me!
I certainly admire writers who can stick to a routine even when they are doing book promotion and events, but I am not one of them.
This is not a problem for me because I am a writer who needs time away from writing and considers the time away an important part of my process.
My debut story collection, Anecdotes, came out in September 2023, and I really hustled with this one—I even embarked on a multi-city tour with some amazing writers!
I still have a couple of events coming up in January, but things are slowing down on the hard core promotion. I am relishing going back to a quiet life and looking forward to writing again—although I’m not quite sure what project I’m going to focus on. I have a screenplay I want to finish, a novella I want to start, and I may pick away on a future story collection, Anecdotes 2.
I usually like to have at least three projects on the go because I often flit between them!
But before I start working on any of these, I’m planning to do some loose writing prompts and free writing to get back into the swing of things.
One writing exercise I did this year with my fiction students was have them choose a literary technique from a short story that we were reading and use this technique as a writing prompt.
So if a story uses all dialogue, then the writer might try that in their own story, or if a story is written in the form of a letter then the writer might experiment with that. This exercise turns into a choose-your-own-prompt adventure based on the techniques that resonate with you. Another option is to pick an image or line that sticks with you and use that as a prompt.
I love this prompt because it has you writing something you never would have written without the story that came before.
Writing Prompt
Pick a story from the list below or any story you want to work with.
Write a list of the literary techniques the author is using such as point of view, structure, image, theme, character traits, situation, setting, etc.
Then select one technique or style or image or line to work with from this story and start free writing.
Write for 10-minutes without stopping. Don’t worry about punctuation, grammar, or whether or not what you are writing is any good.
Repeat this exercise three times using a different technique.
Review what you’ve written, and see if you can build a story, poem, or play out of this material.
Share your piece or your process below.
For Inspiration
Scab Painting by Yoko Ogawa, The New Yorker
Her First Palestinian by Saeed Teebi, CBC Books
Pre-simulation Consultation XF007867 from Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century (Coach House Books) by Kim Fu
Certain European Movies by Emma Cline, The New Yorker
Of the Empire by Mary Oliver
“Inaction in Action,” The Imperceptible Mutabilities of Susan-Lori Parks in 365 Plays And As Many Days Across The Whole Kingdom, Brooklyn Rail
He Said She Said by Sandy Ibrahim, Watch Your Head
About Kathryn Mockler
Kathryn Mockler is the author of the story collection Anecdotes (Book*hug Press, 2023), five books of poetry, and several short films and experimental videos.
She co-edited the print anthology Watch Your Head: Writers and Artists Respond to the Climate Crisis (Coach House Books, 2020) and she runs Send My Love to Anyone, a literary newsletter which was a featured Substack publication in 2023.
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