November sprint round up
Celebrating community, creativity, and compound German nouns
Hello there, writing friends!
It’s Chris here with a quick roundup of our latest 7-Day Writing Sprint.
First off, a huge thank you to everyone who sprinted with us this month - we had a ball! It was great to see so many new faces join in alongside our sprinting regulars. Speaking of regulars, Nancy asked if we had a name for those who’ve sprinted with us multiple times. The best I could come up with was ‘sprintoholics,’ though I’m not sure how appropriate that is. Suggestions are very welcome!
Finding your writing groove
We loved seeing the variety of approaches during the week. Some of you had specific goals, like finishing a draft or tackling a tricky section, while others used the sprint to simply write or establish a daily routine.
This is a great reminder that writing goals don’t have to be about output alone - building the habit is just as important. Writing for a few minutes a day at a regular time is a powerful way to make progress, even if it doesn’t feel like much at first.
The midpoint slump
This sprint coincided with some tough external news: the re-election of a certain orange someone to a very prominent position. The timing couldn’t have been more apt, as Thursday is the day we typically ask, What gets in the way of your writing? Unsurprisingly, current events topped the list for many of you.
External disruptions often stir strong emotions, which can make it even harder to focus. I found myself glued to rolling news, hoping to wake up from what felt like a bad dream. Perhaps you can relate. Sometimes, we just have to accept that there will be days when writing takes a back seat.
A bright spot
In happier news, Bec used part of her sprint time to write a Substack piece about novelist Dawn O’Porter’s wonderfully eccentric writing office. If you haven’t read it yet, it’s the perfect antidote to the gloom — uplifting, quirky, and thoroughly enjoyable.
A lesson in endspurt
Finally, we learned a fabulous new word from sprint regular Helmut: Zwischenspurt, an intermediate spurt of energy. Reflecting on the sprint, he said:
"I got derailed mid-week, got unexpectedly busy, and then felt sick on Friday. So I put in a serious Zwischenspurt yesterday and a short Endspurt today. I did make some progress, and above all, my attitude and feelings about my project changed for the better. I know feelings and motivation are fickle, but I’ll take it anyway."
A fellow sprinter summed it up perfectly:
"I love the ability to create compound nouns to express whatever you want to say — what a beautiful language German is! I believe ‘Zwischen’ = between, so that’s an intermediate spurt AND an ending one too. Impressive, Helmut!"
We couldn’t agree more. Writing isn’t always a straightforward journey - sometimes it’s about those bursts of effort that keep us moving forward, however small they might seem.
Until next time, Chris
Dates for the diary…
Your next sprint starts on Monday 2nd of December
We’ve decided to run a special one-off Zoom Wrap-up your writing year webinar on Wednesday 11th December at 6pm GMT. Register in advance.
Member only! Goal setting webinar and Q&A Friday 3rd January 1pm GMT. Details will be sent soon.
SPRINT START: Monday 3rd February 2025
SPRINT START: Monday 3rd March 2025
