The Big Pink Book Prompt 1, A Map
The first prompt in the Big Pink Book isn’t entirely a writing prompt. It consists of a blank page and a unmarked map (though the version above has my markings on it). I used these two pages for some reflections on my writing journey.
I labeled the blank page with “My Map: my journey as an author and a member of the writing community.” Then I made three columns, for past, present, and future.
The Past column covers the history of my writing, which legitimately started at age 4 or 5, followed by some of my early writing activities. I marked the date of my start with “serious” writing as 2009, and listed out some of the other things I’ve done since then. The Present column talks about where I’m at now, in terms of things I’ve published and roles I have within the various writing communities of which I’m a part. I haven’t included these lists here as they’re both very specific to my writing journey.
The Future column has some goals and the steps I need to take to reach those goals. This column is a sort of “to-do” list of things that I should include in my weekly schedule. They are:
- More pro sales (write more stories)
- Teaching classes (set up a way to do this or find opportunities with existing organizations)
- Mentoring (set up office hours or a system by which people could consult with me for mentoring)
- Keep publishing books (assemble by themes; also, write more stories)
- Editing clients (seek them out)
All of these are goals that don’t exactly have a timeline. Some of them will be ongoing, and some could be set up and then done as needed or wanted. They fall into two categories: writing more fiction and administrative/business work. But it’s nice to have both the goals and the plan for each of them so I can refer back to it.
For the map page, as you can see above, I labeled it “Pitfalls,” because there are a lot of things that can get in the way of me writing or otherwise pursuing my goals. I gave the locations on the map cute names, too.
- Plains of Putting It Off
- Also known as “I’ll do that later,” which I tell myself entirely too often.
- Village of Time Wasters (population: not just me)
- This is in reference to all of the other things I do when I’m putting things off or stalling, which oftentimes for me involves getting involved in online conversations with other writers or non-writers. And perhaps “time wasters” is a bit judgmental on my part, but I certainly know how easy it is to have an entire evening slip away because I’ve hyperfocused on something that didn’t need my attention at that moment.
- Mountains of Motivation Sapping
- This refers to all the little things that take the wind out of my sails. Rejection emails. Busy days at work. Aches and pains. Mental health issues. The things that make me say “I don’t wanna” and then don’t do the thing.
- Swamps of Envy
- This one is always so hard. I’m genuinely happy for the successes of my writer friends, but there are days when the green-eyed monster shows up and makes me envious of those same friends.
- Caves of Overcommitment
- Honestly, I think I live here. I’ve tried to keep my commitments in check, but I do have a tendency to say yes when asked for help, and that means I have too much on my plate pretty much all the time.
- Submissions Pass
- This one is a pitfall but also something that needs to be done. It’s really hard to sell stories if you’re not submitting them, after all. But there’s a balance between spending enough and too much time on submissions.
- The Word Mines
- Again, this isn’t entirely a pitfall, but it can be if I spend too much time on editing or futzing with a story. Sometimes, the story needs to be yeeted out of the Word Mines and into Submissions Pass!
If you’re interested in doing a similar exercise, you can do this in a digital document or on paper. Make columns for your writing history (Past), current state (Present), and goals (Future). And then mark up an existing map or draw your own. The map doesn’t have to be about pitfalls–maybe you’ll put sequential goals on the map and use it to track your progress (I’m always a fan of the dotted line from Indiana Jones or The Family Circus).
What’s important about these lists and maps is that you should put them somewhere you can refer back to them and then do just that. It doesn’t have to be a daily thing, but maybe leave yourself some reminders to come back to them every three months (or some other interval). I’ll refer back to this exercise in the future, too!
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