Writing for Myself by Vanessa Capaldo

This summer, I will write every single day for at least 10 minutes. As a teacher, 10 minutes of my own writing time is a luxury during the school year. Writing in front of my students during class usually consists of expository/informational writing, but in the summer, I let loose and write in my favorite genres: fiction and poetry. I joined a writing critique group before the last week of school and this has already motivated me to work more on my young adult novel and hold myself accountable every week.

My ideal writing day will begin with 10 minutes of freewriting. I will use a fiction prompt and take the writing from there. I am a “pantser,” I write by the seat of my pants. I never know where my writing will wind up. Sometimes my freewriting leads to something I want to add to my novel, but not always. I put the non-novel-related-writing away for another day, sometimes adding it to my writing for the next freewrite. Depending on what my other plans are for the day, I will try to fit in additional writing at my favorite coffee shop. The atmosphere there is enough to keep me going creatively.

Eventually, I will set a writing word count goal, starting at 500 words per day. I am working on several projects simultaneously, so working on increasing word count goals on a weekly basis will be incredibly important. I will set up dates and times to meet with my writing buddies to just chill with each other and write. What is imperative is that I keep writing no matter what.



Vanessa Capaldo teaches middle school in Keller, TX. She has an undergraduate degree in English from The University of Texas at Arlington, and a graduate degree in Education and Literacy. She is a voracious reader of young adult novels and is currently writing one herself. She can be reached at @VanessaCapaldo on Twitter.