Writer In Motion is over and in many ways I’m still embracing the fact that it got off the ground. If you’ve been following the project, you might already be aware that the first spark of this idea started with a random conversation in Slack. So huge thanks to Jeni Chappelle for her fantastic writer’s group, and for her encouragement to move this forward, as well as author J. M. Jinks and all the others who were part of that first conversation. Without all of your chatter and inspiration, this idea might never have sparked.

Project Reflection

At the moment I realized this project was starting to take root, I still couldn’t have imagined how large it would become. Every day was something new: we had a logo, then we had volunteers, a process was established, start dates were in consideration. In many ways it was a but surreal the first time I put out a tweet to advertise the project. It was a lot like walking into a room full of strangers, laying a flyer on the table, and running out before anyone noticed I was there.

When Jeni told us that she was getting messages about more writers who wanted in, I had to tell myself to breathe. But once I embraced what this project meant to other writers, moving forward was a bit easier. And the last twelve weeks have been an amazing journey. Not only did I get to read 24 beautiful stories, I got to become a boat in one story (Ellen Mullholland’s Carly Saves the Kelp Kingdom).

But the true gold in this project is the process. Watching writers eager with anticipation to get started, how each one worked hard the weeks before the prompt to finish edits, clear their schedules and step in a prepared state to take on the next challenge. Weeks 1 & 2 were fun, and by weeks 3 & 4 it became obvious how dedicated each writer was to getting their stories. They stressed, focused, brainstormed, and didn’t shy away from the hard crafting exercises, plotting and blueprinting to dig deep into the core of their character’s lives. By week 5, the work was harder, the critiques both tough and loving, and the stories became edgier, more heart-wrenching, and more engaging.

As week 6 approached, our fabulous editors stepped in with some amazing editorial work. The process changed from deep edits to layered adjustments. Stories became sharper as the writers buried themselves even more in the lines, word choices, and even nursed a few migraines until finally they were able to say “I’m done” and celebrate with tacos and adult beverages.

With the project over, I’m still in awe of the work and dedication of all 28 members of our project, and the amazing feedback from readers and other writers. I’ve learned so much from Writer In Motion about how hard storytellers work, how personal stories are to writers, editors who help shape them, and all the beautiful readers who forge a special place in their hearts for each one.

Personal Reflection

I’ve been writing stories in one format or another for more than fifteen years, and earlier this year I ran into a bit of a new snafu I’d never encountered before. After a year spent working on a book that gave me more migraines than pleasure, I realized I still hadn’t written more than outlines, backstory and scenes, and not enough to get past the first act turn. The story was there, but I couldn’t seem to tell it, and eventually (with a lot of tears and grief) I let it go.

Since then I’ve struggled really hard with my process and whether I can tell a story vs write pretty lines. Even as I was designing the logo for Writer In Motion, I had no idea how much I personally needed this project. I spent seven weeks excited, despairing, encouraging writers, curled up in the corner, loving everyone’s blog posts and certain mine should be sent straight to the dump and killed with fire.

Just like my cursed story I couldn’t seem to write, Fire & Whiskey started to suffer the same fate. I had no idea what I was writing, every word was idiotic, and once again, I could write some pretty lines but had no clue how to tell an enjoyable, engaging story. How hard can it be to write 1000 words, right? Turns out, pretty hard when you understand how crafting and storytelling work. This turned into stressing about the flow, agonizing over word choices, despairing over lines and rewriting them fifteen times each.

As I reached the end, I didn’t like my story. It felt dry, stale, and emotionless. But as I looked back over the obstacles I encountered over those weeks, they are the same ones I hit writing my novels. Every single time. I haven’t read Khalon’s story in two weeks, and I probably won’t touch it for at least a month more. When I do, I know I’ll love it. Because this is my process. I go from love to potential to WTF is this shit to this is garbage to stonewalling to oh hey, this isn’t bad.

So at the end of the day, Writer In Motion taught me that when I’m in the loathing trenches with my story, it means I need to stop pushing and take a step back. To let the story sit in the naughty corner while I write other things, so that when I return, I can see the beauty once more and pick up the threads to weave together and keep moving forward.

What’s next for Writer In Motion?

That is the big question right now.

While several ideas have percolated to the surface, nothing is set in stone. As the project is over, I’ll be resting my brain for a few weeks and concentrating on the next part of Khalon’s tale (he’s getting a full novel), then I’ll be meeting with my team sometime in August to discuss if the project will move forward, when and how.

Thank you to everyone who participated, and to all the wonderful readers who followed the Writer In Motion journey. We hope this glimpse into a writer’s process from prompt to polish was as insightful and encouraging for you as it was for us.

Keep writing your beautiful stories!

K.J. Harrowick is a freelance web developer and graphic designer with more than a decade of industry experience on a diverse range of projects. As a child, she fell in love with fantasy worlds like those found in the books of Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey, which continued well into adulthood with the worlds of Ivan Cat, Rand & Robin Miller, Terry Brooks, Orson Scott Card, and E. R. Mason. She began to world build and create fantasy languages in 2004, and in 2014 it became a full-blown passion to write and publish her own books. Currently she resides in the rainy Pacific Northwest where she works with a broad range of client projects, plots how to destroy her characters’ lives, and occasionally falls down rabbit holes.

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