Rec for fiction writers who are struggling to actually write

Big mood, as the kids have probably already stopped saying.

So I want to recommend you this thing! The Couch to 80k 8-week writing bootcamp. It's a free 20-minute podcast with, and this is the bit that makes it marvellous, timed writing sessions. So it gives you a lil exercise and then times out 10 minutes and at the end says '"- and you're finished! Well done!" (You can see what I mean by looking at the soundshape below.)

For dumb human brain reasons, this makes it a million times easier than if it was a 10-minute podcast that said "Okay now do 10 minutes of writing practice, end of podcast". It also starts out really easy (the first few days, the exercises are just lists), which means if you've got art-fear-freezing happening, it's perfect, because just getting you to put anything on paper can throw up weird emotional reactions.

I also think the timed practice session idea thing is genius, and people in other art/craft disciplines should make equivalent podcasts.

This piece was originally published in The Whippet #48 – subscribe to get the next one in your inbox!