The Writer: Morning Revisioning

Day One

Dear Writers,

Today is the first day of Morning Revisioning. You will receive these emails in your inbox every weekday at 7am. If you’d rather not, you can unsubscribe to them via the link at the bottom of this email. The format will be the same each day; the content will always be different. I invite you to answer the question in the comments and be a part of this wonderful community. If you know someone who would benefit from this, please forward the email to them.

Quote, from The Paris Review’s interview with Toni Morrison

“Recently I was talking to a writer who described something she did whenever she moved to her writing table. I don’t remember exactly what the gesture was—there is something on her desk that she touches before she hits the computer keyboard—but we began to talk about little rituals that one goes through before beginning to write. I, at first, thought I didn’t have a ritual, but then I remembered that I always get up and make a cup of coffee while it is still dark—it must be dark—and then I drink the coffee and watch the light come. And she said, Well, that’s a ritual. And I realized that for me this ritual comprises my preparation to enter a space that I can only call nonsecular . . . Writers all devise ways to approach that place where they expect to make the contact, where they become the conduit, or where they engage in this mysterious process. For me, light is the signal in the transition. It’s not being in the light, it’s being there before it arrives. It enables me, in some sense.” -Toni Morrison

Today’s resource is this wonderful Twitter thread about narrative.

Kat Lewis @katjolewis

Earlier this year, I took a job as a narrative designer at a video game company. Here are three things I learned while writing video games that made me a better novelist 🧵 (1/14)

Because we are just beginning, I invite you to share one piece of “inspiration” in the comments. This can be anything that inspires you as a writer and/or human— a painting, song, story, photo, moment. I’ll include some of these in our Morning Revisioning unless you tell me not to.

Be inspired by this photo of a gray seal by Abby Wood (2013). What does this photo say to you?

Today’s Question: What can I offer my creative self today that I withhold on other days?

Take a moment to really think about this question. What does your creative self need today? Space? A moment of quiet? A small dance party? A fifteen minute creation session? Acknowledgement? Tell us in the comments, and share how you’ll offer it.

See you tomorrow, lovely writers. Be gentle with yourselves.