Let’s Write Your Novel. Together.
Join my challenge!
One of the main frustrations I hear from writers—in this In the Weeds community or through my magazine, Write or Die—is the inability to complete a project. Or, more specifically, getting through that pesky first draft. I feel a special connection to these writers because that was me for so long. Drowning in my own perfectionism! Never able to make it past a certain page number! Feeling as though I only ever had incomplete ideas, only pieces of a novel but never a whole one!
But now that I’ve made it to the other side, I know for a fact that you can, too.
To help you along, I’ve started my own writing challenge on TikTok and her in the subscriber chat!
As many of you know, I wrote the first draft of my novel using The 90 Day Novel by Alan Watt. (Check out this recent post if you missed it.) The basics of the book is to write 1000 words a day for 90 days. Watts walks you through writing a novel using the three-act structure—something that was SO helpful for me as a flailing little fish in the beginning. But he also reminds us to be playful on the page in the first draft, to hold the work loosely, and to have an attitude of curiosity rather than perfectionism. This is what led me to the finish line. This is why I love this book so much. This is what can be so crippling when working on the first draft— the need for it to be something.
But if we reframe our mindset while writing, we can discover as we go. We can inquire about our curiosities. We can be interested in seeing where this will take us; it can feel as though a weight is being lifted from our shoulders. We are just writing to get the draft done. We are holding it loosely.
I know that starting a project can be the hardest part and that accountability is EVERYTHING for us writers, so I think it would be fun to do this TOGETHER.
My 90-day novel challenge officially starts on November 1. (but you can jump in anytime!)
On TikTok, I will share a video daily to encourage and inspire you, as well as some of the tips that helped me finish my draft. I’m encouraging participants to check in each day and leave a comment, letting us know if they wrote that day, how many words they wrote, or if they are struggling. I aim to make this an easy and fun way to stay accountable.
This challenge is for those who need the motivation to start their novel or for those who have dipped their toe in but then abandoned their project because they didn’t know where they were going or simply feeling frustrated with the process.
This is also a challenge for those who are in the middle of writing but need a partner to hold them to it.
This is a challenge for those who love deadlines (hi, eldest daughters!)
This is a challenge for you, my dear writer friends!
I plan to post more “prep” type videos to get us in the mindset before our Friday, November 1st start date.
How It Works: Two Ways to Connect
TikTok: Follow me here: https://www.tiktok.com/@kaileydellorusso
Every day starting on November 1, I will be posting a video. Comment on that video to let us know if you wrote! This will be your accountability and a fun way to connect.
Threads: Subscribe to this newsletter and join our chat here.
Each day, I will be posting a new thread, and we can check in for accountability. We can discuss how it’s going or if you encounter any hurdles. Or you can simply post your word count and use our thread as a kind of log!
I hope to see you in one of these locations! <3
Very interested but: Old Lady here. I don't do threads or tik tok . :(
I could learn if I have to but is there some other alternative. And if i had a choice between threads and tik tok my preference is threads (for the reason I've been made fun of by my children for trying to do tik tok once....)
This sounds promising. Thank you for leading the way. I am very shy of any type of regular social media, hence Substack. I hope you get enough response to do it here.