17 Fun Things You Could, Might, Maybe Want to Do For Your Writing This Summer

A list to inspire your summer. Why 17? Because that's how many I came up with. And it's the date of my birthday in July, so a lucky number for me.

Mindset, motivation and inspiration for writers, with a dash of instruction about writing craft added in, from novelist, writing coach and workshop leader Charlotte Rains Dixon. I also carry on a lot about process, because: there’s no one approach to writing that works for everyone. But I can help you find what works for you. I love all of my readers, every single one of you and I’m truly grateful when you read my work and connect with me. Subscribe to get the fuel you need for your writing career. I truly adore all my readers, and a paid subscription helps my bring these words to you.

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Inspired by this Substack post, I’ve come up with my own list of “could do” things to inspire and delight your writing (and you) this summer. This is a post for my paid subscribers, but free subscribers will find plenty of ideas before they hit the paywall. And all are welcome to comment—add your own ideas!

1. (For my friend Renee, a lover of clouds.) When I was a child, I used to ponder which was more beautiful: a full-on blue-sky day without a cloud in sight, or a mostly sunny day with a few clouds scudding by. (For the record, clouds always scud.) I never did make up my mind. But on a partly cloudy day this summer, lie on your back in the cool green grass and watch the clouds scud. Name the shapes in them. Or not. Let your mind roam as freely as the clouds.  Then go home and write about it.  Or simply enjoy how refreshed your mind now feels.

2. Go to what we used to call a head shop, now more likely an alternative book or crystal store, and buy a deck of tarot cards. (If you, like me, already have a substantial collection of them, this is your excuse to go buy another.) Bring them home, get to know them and then use them in service of your writing. Suggestions: ask questions about plot and character. Or even about your writing habits. Or lack thereof.  Let the cards lead you. They will.

3. Every day for a week, take your pen and journal to a coffee shop or somewhere else where you are likely to see and hear an assortment of people. (Portlanders, I know the best, bar none, people-watching sandwich shop on the planet. Message me for the name. The sandwiches are really good, too.) Each day, assign yourself a different category, such as dialogue, clothing, hairstyles, face descriptions, and so on. Focus only on that category and write your observations on a dedicated page in your notebook.

4.  Take a whole weekend (or longer, maybe even a whole vacation) to do nothing but read. Inhale words like they are sustenance (because they are).  Order take-out, leave the dishes in the sink, don’t do the laundry. If someone in the family complains about the mess, say my three-year-old grandson’s favorite response: “Not right now.”

5. Same as above, only instead of reading, devote yourself to writing. Pretend you have a deadline coming up. You do—I just assigned you one. It’s next week. So, you have to spend every single minute you can writing. Just for fun, reminding yourself that this is easy, see how much you can get done.

6. Better yet, make like Maya Angelou and rent yourself a hotel room to write in for a couple of days. Read here how she did it, everything off the walls and moldy sheets. Okay, the moldy sheets don’t appeal but the rest of it does. (It’s summer, the kids won’t miss you.)

7. On your way to the above, road trip! Use the record feature on your phone to talk out your story. Or a willing human to listen. (And take notes?)

8.  Make a collage or other art representation of your WIP. Novelist Jennifer Crusie makes a collage for each of her novels before she writes one.  This could be setting, a character, a symbolic item, an object one of your characters loves. It doesn’t have to arty, it doesn’t have to look good, it’s about seeing your story in a new one. Layer paper torn from magazines with other ephemera. Take out your kid’s crayons and draw. (I love how Jeni Hankins carries around a tiny tin of crayons so she can sketch whenever she wants.) Sew a skirt your proto might wear. Splash paint on one of those small canvases.