Welcome back, Team #SoATW!
Last year’s Summer of All The Words was a resounding success: deadlines were met, projects were finished, progress was made, and a community was born. End-of-school chaos resulted in a bit of a delay getting this year’s SoATW up and running, but YA author Clara Kensie and I are ready to reboot and make Summer 2014 even more successful! If you’ve got writing goals, we want to help you meet them.
We're making a few changes, all with one purpose in mind: We want to make this even more flexible for people to meet up and check in, and we want to make it as low-key as possible without losing our beloved SoATW community. Read on for more details!
For the next twelve weeks – until Labor Day weekend – we’ll be meeting up on Twitter Sunday through Friday for an hour of work. As before, we’ll be using the #SoATW hashtag.
The key difference is that this year, we’re offering TWO times, to accommodate different time zones and schedules.
- Erica will be handling the regular nightly Twitter meetup. From 10-11pm CST, Sunday through Thursday, she’ll be cheering you on and handling the celebratory post-writing check-in.
- Clara will be handling a “flex-time” meetup during the day, Monday through Friday. The time will vary from day to day, because summer is unpredictable. You can keep an eye out for it, or start your own session by using the #SoATW hashtag at any time.
Whichever session you choose (or both!) you can work on whatever you want: drafting, revising, proofreading, synopsis-writing, query letters, blog content…it’s totally up to you. You don’t have to work on the same project every time. You can write in any genre. The point is to give you a small, dedicated block of time each day to focus on whatever aspect of your writing is most pressing.
Participation is completely voluntary – you can show up only on Tuesdays, every day, or every third Wednesday. You can do your during the nighttime meetup, the daytime meetup, or a combination of both. If neither time works for you, feel free to use the hashtag at any time of day. We’ve got a great community, and you’re bound to find another #SoATWer online. We want this to be helpful, not stressful, so use it in whatever way works best for you.
The other difference is that we will not be doing the blog post check-ins on Friday. We loved talking about writing tips, but it’s not an effective use of our limited summer time, especially since Clara and Erica both have releases coming out in July. (EEEEP!!!)
FAQ:
How exactly does this work?
For the nightly meetup:
A few minutes before 10pm CENTRAL TIME, if you’re following Clara or me, you’ll see something like this on Twitter: Starting #SoATW in five minutes! Who’s in? I’m revising Chapter 8.
At 10pm CST: Time for #SoATW – see you in an hour!
At 11pm CST: Halfway through Chapter 8. How’d everyone do? #SoATW
For the daytime meetup:
It’s essentially the same thing – but the time will vary, so you’ll need to keep an eye out for the #SoATW hashtag. You don’t have to wait for Clara’s tweet—your summer schedule is probably as crazy and unpredictable as hers is. If you have time to write during the day, go for it! Tweet #SoATW and then get writing. Clara will be checking for the hashtag throughout the day to send you encouragement and congratulations.
Remember: use the hashtag, or we won’t know you’re participating!
Why 10pm?
Our days and evenings are filled with work and kids and various obligations. By 10, life has settled enough that we can head into our writing cave and close the door for an hour. Staying up until 11 won’t turn us into total zombies the next day, though it might require an extra cup of coffee.
That being said, Erica cheerfully admits she’s a night owl: if 10pm is too late, feel free to stick with the daytime meetup. Last year, we also had East Coast participants who started an hour earlier and checked in just as the 10pm crew was starting. That’s a great way to make the hashtag work for you!
Why Sunday through Thursday nights?
If your summers are anything like ours, Friday and Saturday nights book up pretty fast. We’re not looking to put a crimp in your social life.
Why flex-time on the weekdays?
This summer, we wanted to expand #SoATW by giving daytime writers a chance to participate. Also, Clara’s family is so busy that the only time she has to spend with her husband is at night, so she had to bow out of the late-night sessions this summer. Her summer weekday schedule is erratic, but she can always find an hour to write. Therefore, for the daytime writers, Clara will be running #SoATW sessions Monday through Friday, at various times (Mondays and Thursdays will most likely be very late in the afternoon or early evening). You can watch for her tweet and join in, or write when you can and check in on Twitter when you’re done. Flexibility is key to get any writing done in the summer – you need to grab the time when you have it. Clara may also host the occasional Saturday or Sunday daytime #SoATW, so keep your eye out for the hashtag and join in, or start your own session any time you want!
Why only an hour?
An hour is enough time to make progress, if you do it consistently, but it doesn’t feel like an overwhelming commitment.
Look at it this way: if you can write 1000 words in an hour, five times a week, you’d end up with 5000 words each week. 5000 words a week, over twelve weeks, means you’d have 60,000 words by Labor Day. For some people, that’s a whole book! (For other’s, it’s a sizeable amount of progress.)
If you’re revising, you can still use this formula: ____ pages per hour x 5 hours x 12 weeks = ______. (Feel free to write your own formula. Erica was an English major and cannot be trusted with numbers.)
Why twelve weeks?
Because that’s how many weeks we have until Labor Day.
I can’t possibly get all my work done in an hour! Can I do more?
Of course! The Twitter meetups function like a virtual writing date, but if you need more time to make your goals, take it! We’re here when you need us, and we’ll cheer you on.
I can’t make it Mondays!
Totally fine, my friend. Pop around when you can, and we’ll be thrilled to see you.
When do we start?
We’ll begin the meetups on Sunday, June 8. Clara will lead a daytime session and Erica will be gathering the troops at 10pm CST time.
While you’re preparing, please make sure you’re following Clara and Erica on Twitter. If you have one of those fancy twitter apps that let you track a hashtag, you might want to set up one for #SoATW.
More questions? Hit us in the comments!
