Leah Sumrall

Writer / Mom / Ambivert / Purple-haired Birkenstock-wearer. She / her.

[Leah Sumrall @LeahSumrall]

I say, "Let's go to work."
He says, "See ya when ya come up for air."

Guess I better get writing. That tennis ball won't throw itself.

[Leah Sumrall @LeahSumrall]

@RealKevinBinder Eek! Love this!!! Can't wait to read it!!

[Leah Sumrall @LeahSumrall]

@TimTellsStories

[Leah Sumrall @LeahSumrall]

Update: Send the tweet, automatically find the pencil led.

Man. Now I have no excuses.

[Leah Sumrall @LeahSumrall]

Stupid reason not to work on revisions #986:

Well. Can't remember where I put my extra red mechanical pencil led. Guess I'm never working on this draft again.

[Leah Sumrall @LeahSumrall]

Happy Birthday, buddy ♥️

[Leah Sumrall @LeahSumrall]

First night of live theatre in 3 years and feeling all the feels.

Thank you, Come From Away.

[Leah Sumrall @LeahSumrall]

*TO DO LIST*

Finish my thesis novel ✔️

(Three years, two months, one global pandemic, one miscarriage, several funerals, one terminal degree, one new baby, one move, one house renovation, one new dog, a whole lot of life, and 37 Freaking Chapters later, I finally got there).

[Leah Sumrall @LeahSumrall]

Lol, and now for the first time I'm thinking about how someone, apparently Philip Railsback, wrote this film and had to pitch:

"True story, genius inventor, sacrifice..."

"What'd he invent?"

"Wipers."

And if our man Philip didn't give up after that...maybe I shouldn't either.

[Leah Sumrall @LeahSumrall]

2 a.m. existential crisis &
Remembering that movie I saw once about the man who invented intermittent windshield wipers & how he gave up everything he had for it &
I guess what I'm saying is

Maybe it's not so bad to just teeter on the precipice of possible success for a while?

[Leah Sumrall @LeahSumrall]

"Remarkable" might be a stretch, and yet here I am remarking. Don't take this as a recommendation, though, or you'll be having this same weird tweet stream ten years from now.

[Leah Sumrall @LeahSumrall]

Writing the end of a novel with a planned sequel is 100% this:

[Leah Sumrall @LeahSumrall]

If in every month of 2023 I could match my January writing pace, I'd write just shy of 600K this year. 🤯

((LOL, that's SOOO not gonna happen))

But! At least the novel's almost almost done!

[Leah Sumrall @LeahSumrall]

@KatReyesColvert LOL love that kid.

[Leah Sumrall @LeahSumrall]

@TeresaZAustin Haha, if only it were really three days work! Brain trickery at its finest, though. At least today wasn't a wash, far as the writing's concerned :)

[Leah Sumrall @LeahSumrall]

I seriously think the best writing hack on a slow word count day is bargaining with yourself.

"It's okay. Just write for 20 minutes, do what you can, and call it a day."

--> Almost inevitably write for at least an hour. My writing brain is just not very good at time keeping.

[Leah Sumrall @LeahSumrall]

In my darker moments, looking at this draft, even though I've already planned the last 2 chapters I need to write:

[Leah Sumrall @LeahSumrall]

@heyemilyandrews Dude, the 30s are the best yet.
-someone who is halfway through and loving it (though also hates being ma'am'ed)

[Leah Sumrall @LeahSumrall]

This SO resonates with me. It's the weirdest and best thing to listen to real readers talk about your characters and settings and events like they're real, too. Like this flimsy thing in your head is now a real thing.

Related: Missing my MFA peeps and our collective faith today.