David - What I Will Do - WoW

How do you want most to evolve as a writer during this course?

I feel my best when I am in the habit of writing every morning. I have not been doing that this season and this class/workshop is my opportunity to begin again. It's also a chance to lay aside distractions and focus single-mindedly on the work. I know what that feels like and it's a wonderful state of being.

What does your writing project need most?

It needs my ass in the writing chair every morning, and more importantly, needs to be the focus of my attention and imagination during the rest of my day. Right now the story is just an idea, to quote the movie Gladiator, "There was once a dream that was Rome. You could only whisper it. Anything more than a whisper and it would vanish... it was so fragile." That's how stories feel at the beginning. Mine needs food and air and light and tending so it can grow and be complete in 21 days.

What is the biggest barrier you face?

As always, the biggest barrier is that first step. Once moving, once committed, I know the necessary steady pace of the trail, putting one foot in front of the other, one word in front of the next. Not looking up at the winding path ahead, or fretting about the ways of fellow travelers or the injustice of the steep climb. Or whether this is even the right trail at all. After a few steps all that is gone. Just leaning into the load. Steading the breathing. Right now it must be about the story, the story, the story...