8 Summer Writing Activities for Writers
Summer is upon us, so here are 8 summer writing activities for writers to consider as the temperature rises.
This past weekend, I moved my oldest son out of his dorm at Ball State University. And my younger kids are able to use their fingers to count out the days remaining until their summer break begins. So it's time to start thinking about our summer game plans when it comes to writing.
In this post, I share 8 summer writing activities for writers, along with some resources to help out.
8 Summer Writing Activities for Writers
- Write something new. Writers write, right? Start something new this summer, whether it's a story with a creative writing prompt or a poem with a poetry prompt. Or try these 25 ways to get your story started.
- Give your writing a new twist. If you already have a story started, maybe you need to give it a little twist here and there this summer. Here are 25 plot twist ideas to take your story in a new direction.
- Revise your writing. Maybe your first draft is done, but you need to fix it up. Summer is a great time to revise your writing, whether that means tightening your plot lines, filling out your characters, or making sure the middle of the book doesn't sag.
- Submit your writing. If you don't feel revision can do anything for your writing, then maybe you're ready to try submitting it. The summer could be a perfect time to find publishers and publications to submit your writing. Just keep in mind that many university presses and journals close their reading periods for the summer.
- Get a literary agent. Related to submitting your writing, the summer is a great time to pitch literary agents. To help you on your way, check out this list of 20 literary agents actively seeking writers and their writing.
- Read a book. Writers write, but they also read. And the summer is a great time to get some reading done. If you don't have a summer reading list together yet, here are 71 books and authors to check out in 2021 broken out by writing category from our author spotlight series. Find science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, romance, poetry, general nonfiction, memoir, and more (and all published in 2021)!
- Build your writing platform. The summer is also a great time to work on connecting with readers. This might include building a website or using social media.
- Take a trip. Of course, the summer is custom made for getting outside and seeing the world, whether that's out in nature or traveling to another city. Get out and experience the world. If you're lucky, you may find inspiration for your next great story.
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If you love to write and have a story you want to tell, the only thing that can stand between you and the success you’re seeking isn’t craft, or a good agent, or enough Facebook friends and Twitter followers, but fear. Fear that you aren’t good enough, or fear the market is too crowded, or fear no one wants to hear from you. Fortunately, you can’t write while being in the flow and be afraid simultaneously. The question is whether you will write fearlessly.
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
