Happy #1000wordsofsummer Eve!

To keeping our promises.

Writer dear,

Happy #1000wordsofsummer Eve!

Though I mean that literally for the 52,000 writers participating in

Jami Attenberg

’s challenge, what I really mean is Happy Commitment Eve. To writers making any two-week promise to their words tomorrow, I’m sending all the well wishes and the best of luck. Good on you for recognizing that the only way to finish whatever it is you must write is to show up.

Future you says thanks.

I do.

I know this because last weekend, I read the draft of my Secret Novel for the first time, and my god am I grateful for Committed Kerry. She’s the reason for those strung-together sentences of a story. Because she kept her promise, I’m that much closer to achieving my book-writing dream.

Which, you guys, I want so badly. I’m praying and working hard for my Secret Novel to be the one: the book that finally made it from my head through my hands out to the world.

Yes, I write myself permission slips to break someone else’s writing rule.

Thanks to #1000wordsofsummer, my commitment will continue. I’m poised to, and will, take the next steps to finish this novel. No matter how badly I want this, it makes things so much easier to know that people will be cheering for me, right alongside me cheering for them, as we write and write and write.¹

Hopefully, you’re one of those writers—someone who, starting tomorrow, will keep a two-week promise to your words. If you are and when you can, I recommend reading Jami’s most recent pep talk and one of her pro tips for staying committed. They’re both going to help me keep going until June 13th.

Sitting in this night-before energy reminds me of the buzz from my running days. The moments before a race, feeling pretty-to-definitely sure I was ready to begin, surrounded by strangers and absorbing the determination they radiate—all of us drawn to this same desire.

We are ready. We are set. Let’s go.

~Kerry

1. In fact, accountability and its symbiotic relationship are a big part of my writing process now. It’s the focus of June’s emotional support letter and digital care package. Soon, I’ll also tell you how Writer Dear can become a source of accountability for you. 👀