![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fae1df9f7-0b11-413e-bce3-8aea9f98b624_640x640.jpeg)
How apt the layer cake metaphor has proved to be.
After diving in, writing a proto first draft, and doing a re-read to make fresh notes, I dived back into the story once again, this time writing by hand.
Throughout March, I undertook a challenge with my year-long writing program (The Manageable yet Meaningful LAB, opening again in December). We picked a unit that felt unintimidating, like a minute, a sentence, or a paragraph for the ambitious. And then, throughout March, the challenge was to write the number of that unit that matched the date. So on March 10, write ten sentences or for ten minutes, etc.
We could also change the rules. I worked with paragraphs for much of the month, but then switched to time and sentences as it suited my process. And lo-and-behold, I wrote every single day in March, whereas February was a writing graveyard.
Here’s what I’ve been discovering as I add another layer to the cake of Iris. (I just can’t include her last name as the rhyme is too on the nose.)