3 Ways to Practice and Engage With Writing Without Writing
Early on in my twenties, I was unemployed for two months during the summer after being laid-off by an audio production company I’d come to work for while attending undergrad.
After the initial shock wore off, after I understood that this experience did not mean I was a failure, even if that’s how I felt, I saw this time of unemployment as an opportunity to treat writing like a full-time job. It was a defining moment in my writing career, one that I thought would allow me the time and focus to write a first novel or a cohesive collection of short stories.
By the time I went back to work, I had one trashed novel attempt and written no short stories. But I did manage to complete a first draft of what would become my second collection of poetry, Delirium.
Unlike so many writers I’ve read about or listened to via podcasts, having twelve hours a day at my disposal to write didn’t equate to more productivity or stronger writing. By the end of that stint of time, my writing had plateaued. Nothing felt new or fresh or unique. Everything I was producing felt like a strand of something I’d written before. And while I thought about stepping away from writing many different times between then and now, I never fully committed to that idea.
Instead, I looked for ways I could practice and engage with my writing without writing.
Read Everything, Read Often
My reading habits have ebbed and flowed over time — I didn’t read much at all in my late teens and early twenties, when I committed to writing; I devoured books in my mid-twenties while in my second and third years of undergrad. And now, in my late-twenties, I read at whatever pace life affords me, and at the pace that the book demands — I read Jenny Offill’s Weather in about eight hours, and it took me almost double that to finish Steven Millhauser’s Voices in the Night, which I admittedly put down before fully finishing the collection after becoming exhausting.
But reading, no matter the length or the vigor, is important. It is the best way to practice and engage with writing without writing. Not to mention it helps generate new ideas and perspectives for future stories and poems.
Reading allows us to leave our lives behind and inhibit another. This is how it should be for the writer who is writing, so that this may be the case for the reader who is reading the writer’s writing. In his craft memoir, Stephen King stresses the importance of reading for the writer.
So, find time to read. It’s one of the best ways to practice and engage with writing without writing.
Practice the Art of Editing
Editing is one of the facets of writing that can make or break a writer. While it comes easily for some, that isn’t always the case for others. But there are a few different ways to practice and engage with editing without writing — specifically your own writing.
One way is to turn to books on writing and craft. Many of these focus on different aspects of writing, including point of view, character development, setting, etc., and a few do cover editing exercises as well.
Line by Line: How to Edit Your Own Writing was one such book that a professor recommended to us in undergrad. Like many of the writing and craft books I’ve turned to, it took me some time to get around to this, but it’s become an indispensable learning tool.
By far the best way to practice the art of editing though is to apply for volunteer and internship positions at various online journals and magazines. Most of these are smaller productions, and many are always looking for extra help when it comes to readership positions. While it may not seem like the most beneficial use of your free time (especially when you think it could be better used writing), I urge you to rescind that thought and reconsider.
Readership positions are a fantastic way to see what a variety of people are writing about, what kind of trends are beginning to emerge in the writing community — this matters more than you may think — and it allows you to better refine what your tastes and interests are when it comes to content. Another benefit is you begin to make connections with other writers — also important.
But where volunteer work and internships pay off are when you’re able to do more with that publication. Last August, I applied and was accepted to a nonfiction readership position for Mud Season Review. In the year I’ve been with the publication, not only have I participated in numerous reading cycles, I’ve also had the opportunity to work on feedback submissions for individuals — ranging from short stories to full manuscripts.
Not only do I find the work of helping other writers immensely rewarding, but it’s helped me practice and engage with writing without writing.
Attend Events as Often as Possible
This is arguably the easiest of all the ways to practice and engage with writing without writing, especially given the current nature of our COVID-19 society.
Many bookstores and writers have been offering free events to help bring people together. While some of the free events are lighter and less craft-based talks, there are still those that do focus on writing and craft.
Jami Attenberg has been hosting a series of online interviews with writers like Kristen Arnett and Alexander Chee in the series “Are You Getting Any Work Done?” While some of the interviews have touched on craft, most of them dealt with creativity during the pandemic and how to work when the world feels like it's burning to ash.
Eventbrite is a great place to learn which writers are having upcoming online events. And here at Write or Die Tribe, we also keep running tabs on online events and classes. For the more craft-savvy events, it’ll cost you. Though, overall, being able to pay a fraction of the cost for what it might be to take in-person classes with some of the writers who are offering is well worth it.
So far, I’ve only taken one online class. It was in June with Garth Greenwell. I was hesitant at first, unsure whether how much I’d get out of the online environment.
Afterwards, I’d gladly take another. Not only do you get to experience what it’d be like to have an in-person class with that particular writer, which is useful for those looking to go into an MFA program, but it also, in some cases, allows you to engage and continually to build relationships between yourself and other writers.
And if you have an Instagram, be sure to follow some of your favorite writers. I’ve noticed that more and more some are offering free classes as well via the social media app. Recently, Kali Fajardo-Anstine hosted an hour-long workshop through her Instagram.
All of these are ways to practice and engage with writing without writing. Though the most important thing at the end of the day is to sit down and write, it does benefit you to take some time away, to read, to engage with what others are writing about, and to listen to what those who have had success have to say.
