Stretching into Summer Writing by Michelle Haseltine

I believe summer is the time when my life as a writer encounters a rebirth or renewal. School year writing is fast and furious and it fits inside the margins of other deadlines and requirements. Summer writing feels free-er to me. I stretch into the minutes and hours of summer writing and allow the words to percolate and bubble out. It's a delicious luxury to have that time.

A few summers ago, I spent a week away at a writing retreat and it changed me as a writer. I was at this retreat...with real writers...to write. I couldn’t hide anymore. I tried. I stumbled over myself when others asked about my writing. I denied my writing self. I uttered phrases like, “I’m trying to write.” That week put me in the company of published writers who accepted me as a writer, even when I argued against it. That week solidified my identity as a writer. That week, I began my book.

My goal this summer is simple. Write my book. Write my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad first draft. The entire terrible, horrible, no good, very bad first draft. I have fifty pages or so already written, but I need it all to come out...ugly and messy and disorganized...this is my primary summer writing goal.

How will I accomplish this? I need three things to guarantee my success. I need time, a plan, and a friend for accountability. The time is there and set. The plan is already printed out in my notebook. Starting on June 19th...that's when the writing begins. The accountability means that I will have someone checking in on me and nudging me and encouraging me. It's like a living deadline. I need to know that someone else will be calling to check in on my progress. Here's to my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad first draft! May it be completed by August 15th.

Happy Summer Writing to you...

Michelle Haseltine spends her days with middle schoolers in Loudoun County, VA. Together they write, read, think, and create every single day. Michelle is a co-facilitator of our #TeachWrite twitter chat and a Teacher Consultant with the Northern Virginia Writing Project. She blogs regularly at One Grateful Teacher and Your Story Matters. Michelle tweets regularly at @Mhaseltine and instagrams at @Mhaselti