How To Go Back to a Draft (+ October opportunities)
A newsletter about writing, art and living more creatively
Hi friends,
In my freelance life, I'm used to drafts. Writing an article means working with an editor to make sure it's as strong as possible. There are red marks in Word docs and comments in Google docs to address.
But when it comes to my creative writing (think: essays, prose poems, etc) I'm much harder on myself. I want it to be perfect the first time around!! DUH.
I recently revised a manuscript and it was one of the hardest project I'd taken on. How do you come back to a draft and approach it with fresh eyes? How do you motivate yourself to keep going? These questions were on my mind recently.
Writers often have to motivate themselves to come back to that first draft of a short story, essay, novel, memoir. Then there are more drafts!
Visual artists often start on a canvas and step away for a little, or pause on the process. Musicians record demos before they put out the final, shiny single. And ceramicists sometimes have to re-do a piece because of glaze issues or kiln malfunctions.
image description: GIF of a person wearing a smiley face costume and falling on the ground
How can we encourage ourselves to go back to the drawing board, either on a large or small scale? My main method has been space. Sweet and simple. I've come back to drafts months later and thought OH SO THAT'S what this draft was missing. I asked my super talented friend, Lio Min, about the process of returning to a major draft. Lio recently published an incredible YA novel, "Beating Heart Baby" and had this to say about the drafting journey:
"No matter how long you've been writing you should have some gauge of what your "conditions" are, those periods of time when things flow a little easier and your draft grows with abandon. A lot of writers I know follow word count schedules but To Me recognizing and cultivating your patterns of abundancy gives yourself more freedom to relax and play (which is perhaps how you develop style) and saves you from the gritted-teeth frustration and headaches of grinding out a draft for the sake of grinding.
Even if your life is centered around writing, you can't write about life without being out in it; we can all recognize when some piece of writing has never seen the atmosphere beyond its creator's huffed breaths as they try to push it out. Know your creative circadian rhythm and honor it. You'll be amazed what time and chance alone can achieve — and while the work will still be work, you'll be thankful to be back in it."
I also really love this interview with poet José Olivarez by Jessica Hopper. Olivarez shares some great insights re: perfectionism. This is a BIG OBSTACLE that keeps me from writing messy drafts — and sometimes from coming back to drafts I wrote a long time ago.
"Through the help of therapy I came to see my imperfections as something that I could revel in, and take joy from. Like the fact that I write bad poems. Instead of hating myself for it, I could be more compassionate with myself. Then in that compassion I could make room to go back and do a second draft and a third draft, and so on and so forth."
image description: GIF of a person with long hair tapping laptop upside down and looking back angrily at the camera
So what if the first draft isn't quite how you wanted it to look? No one needs to know (it's like that TikTok sound!). It can be hard to turn that perfectionist voice down, but I'm cheering for you!
How do you go back to your drafts? Hit REPLY to share your thoughts!
In my recent work:
I spoke to five latinas in architecture about representation, mentorship, nonprofit work and more.
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Opportunities of the Month
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LEARN
✍🏼 Writing Deliciously: The Poetry of Food
Oct 11 & 18
More info here
✍🏼 Metaphor in Memoir
November 5
More info here
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Topics so far include understanding productivity from
your own unique perspective, thinking deeply about
your business mindset and identity, managing money in a sustainable way, how to deal with your inner critic, and beyond.
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(link exchange)
APPLY
🎨 The Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Artistic Research Residency Program
Applications due Oct 9
More info here
🎨👩🏽🔬👩🏽🎓 Pine Meadow Ranch Residency
(food & agriculture theme, open to
artists, scientists, researchers, etc)
Applications due Oct 14
More info here
🎨 LACE Lighting Fund
(for LA County artists)
Submissions due Oct 14
More info here
📚Poets & Writers Publicity Incubator
for Debut Authors
Applications due Oct 14
More info here
✍🏼 Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Scholarships
Applications due Oct 15
More info here
✍🏼 Hyperallergic Journalism Fellowship for Curators
Applications due Oct 15
More info here
💼 Charlene Victor & Ella J. Weiss
Cultural Entrepreneur Fund
(for residents of Brooklyn)
Submissions due Oct 16
More info here
🎨 Denbo Fellowship
(printmaking, papermaking, book arts)
Applications due Oct 18
More info here
✍🏼 Periplus Fellowship
(for U.S. writers of color)
Applications due Oct 24
More info here
🎨 Artist Educator
Museum of Arts and Design
Applications due Oct 31
More info here
🎨 RAIR: Artist Residency at a Recycling Center
Applications due Oct 31
More info here
🎨 NYSCA/NYFA Artists with Disabilities Grant
Applications due Nov 1
More info here
🏢 2022 WV Foundation for Architecture Scholarship
(for residents of West Virginia)
Applications due Nov 11
More info here
📸 En Foco Photography Fellowship 2023
Applications due Nov 11
More info here
✍🏼 💭 Lenore G. Tawney Fellowship
(for onsite research projects
on Tawney's work)
Applications due Nov 14
More info here
🎨 The Hopper Prize (artist grant)
Applications due Nov 15
More info here
🎨 Women's Studio Workshop
Studio Residency Grant
Applications due Nov 15
More info here
🎨 Lucid Art Residency Program 2023
Applications due Nov 22
More info here
✍🏼 💭 Design Writing Fellowship
Applications due Dec 1
More info here
🎨 ✍🏼 The Cabins DIY Group Retreat
Applications due Dec 1
More info here
SUBMIT
✍🏼 Asian American Journalists Association
SF Bay Area Fellowship
Submissions due Oct 6
More info here
📚 Arthur Flowers Flash Fiction Prize
Submissions due Oct 9
More info here
📚 The 2023 Alice James Award
Submissions due Oct 16
More info here
🎨 2023 Brooklyn Arts Fund
(for Brooklyn artists, collectives, etc)
Submissions due Oct 16
More info here
📸 Booooooom x Capture 2023 Public Art
Open Call (lens-based work)
Submissions due Oct 17
More info here
📸 Sming Sming Books Bay Area Open Call
Submissions due Oct 30
More info here
📚 Tucson Festival of Books
Literary Awards
Submissions due Oct 31
More info here
✍🏼 CRAFT 2K contest
(microfiction, flash fiction, prose poetry)
Submissions due Oct 31
More info here
📚 The Bergman Prize
(for poetry collections)
Submissions due Oct 31
More info here
✍🏼 The Briar Cliff Review Contests
(fiction, poetry, nonfiction)
Submissions due Oct 31
More info here
📚 Hidden River Arts Tamaqua Award
(for an unpublished collection of essays)
Submissions due Oct 31
More info here
🎬 🎶 📺 🎭 NYC Women's Fund for
Media, Music and Theatre
Submissions due Nov 1
More info here
🎨 Call for artists and designers:
Uncommon Thread exhibition
Submissions due Nov 6
More info here