The Power of Inconvenience

In which I caution you against looking for answers in the wrong places….

Back in the mists of time, when I worked in an office–before remote working, before video conferencing—we worked together, but separately, each in our own little cubicles. 

From time to time we got up and wandered over to the coffee machine for sustenance—both of the caffeine variety and the human variety. 

You’d see someone, ask about their day, laugh about shared customer-challenges, and wander back to your desk refreshed.

It worked because you were seeing people who shared common experiences (You knew the aims of the company, who the good bosses were, and that nobody should ever reheat fish in the office microwave).

Early online communities and social media were like that…but for stuff you actually did for fun.

Twitter, in 2007, was the online equivalent of the office coffee machine, but for writers and other freelancers who worked alone for most of the day; for people who knew nobody else in their zipcode who was still mourning the cancellation of “Firefly”; and where people with the same twist to their sense of humor could find each other.

So why doesn’t StoryADay have a free community, like so many other writing sites?

Well, when I started StoryADay in 2010 it actually did have a free community (a Buddypress forum that felt a lot like a Twitter feed), but it was hard to lock out the spammers, so I shut it down and went back to asking people to leave comments on blog posts.

Here in 2026 I still ask people to check in by leaving comments on blog posts, which feels impossibly retro now and yet, and yet…

I’m increasingly coming to believe in the power of inconvenience.

If someone replies to your blog comment, you have to make the effort to come to the site and find it to reply to it. 

It doesn’t pop up on your phone and pull you away from whatever you were thinking about a moment ago. You have to set aside time to pull up StoryADay.org and find the post and see if anyone replied. 

You can choose not to.

And if you choose not to, what have you really lost?

I, as the host of StoryADay, have lost the opportunity to hook you into my platform day and night, and so, StoryADay has never gone viral, never had a splashy influx of hundreds of thousands of users, never had companies beating down the door to sponsor posts.

And, equally, we’ve never had any problems with bad behaviour, or people losing days–or weeks–to feuds and drama.

What we have had is thousands of writers who drop by to be inspired by a prompt, share a cheery word of encouragement with another writer, or leave a comment to tell me a story they started during a previous StoryADay May is just about to come out in XYZ Magazine.

Maybe I should have built an addiction machine, where I could sell my captive audience into ever-more-expensive programs until I could hire a bunch of coaches to replace me and retire to a windswept island off the coast of Scotland.

At any point, I could have hosted a message board or forum at the site, started a Facebook group or a sub-Reddit, formed a Patreon, or a MightyNetwork, or a Skool, a Substack or a Discord (I mean, doesn’t everyone have a Substack or a Discord, now?)

But, it has always come back to this:

My aim is to encourage you to write more. 

And I’ve never been able to convince myself that creating a fun place for you to hang out in your spare time, instead of writing your next story, was my best move.

(And I certainly didn’t want to spend all my time moderating comments.)

But what about your Superstars Group, I hear you ask; don’t they have a community?

Yes. the StoryADay Superstars group—my subscription-based membership group for writers who want support as they create their writing practice—has a text-based community, but it works for the reasons that the old workplace coffee machine worked:

  • There aren’t very many of us (Superstars will never have more than 150 people in the group, and I suspect the sweet spot is somewhere under 100), so everyone feels seen.
  • We all share the same experiences: writing sprints, workshops, critique weeks, hangouts and coaching
  • We all understand the group’s aims: to get us all writing more, and feeling more successful. 
  • People have made a commitment, in order to be there. By paying a membership fee they have said to themselves: I am a writer. I take this seriously.

It’s fun to pop in and leave a comment or answer a question, and get that deep sense that, no you are not the only one who struggles with this or that aspect of the writing life. 

But the chatter is never overwhelming. 

Just like when I was back at the office, I think we feel the peer pressure of the group subtly saying, ‘ok, that was fun, but isn’t it time to get back to work, now?’

Why am I telling you this?

In part, because I wonder if you think it’s strange that I don’t have a more modern way for you to connect with other writers, and why the most effective way is behind a paywall.

But mostly, I hope you’ll heed this warning: there are a million and one writing communities out there, of varying quality. Some are free. Some promise the world. Some will suck the life right out of you and most will eat all of your free (aka ‘writing’) time.

If you find yourself in writing Discords or Substack communities, or Facebook groups that don’t propel you away from the group, inspired to write; and instead you just keep scrolling, scrolling, scrolling…I’m going to suggest that you step away. 

Maybe just for a day or two. Try it out.

Trust me when I say:

  • You don’t need another tip on how to write dialogue. 
  • You don’t need to know who’s saying what about AI this week.
    You need to write your next story. 
  • You need to finish that chapter. 
  • You might need to go and read a real book, to get inspired. 
  • Or perhaps you need to go outside and feel the wind on your face, and gaze into the deep blue of the twilight sky for an unreasonably long time, and be struck, once again, with awe at your speck-like existence in this improbable, ridiculous universe. 

This is what I remind myself every time I see another writer, or writing teacher, offering an invitation to their free Discord and wonder, “Should I be offering that too?”

And this is what I hope you’ll remind  yourself any time you are temped to go online to find the answer to a question that you know, deep down, can only be found inside yourself, and birthed into the world through the process of you fumbling your way through drafts, and revisions, and through the messy, frustrating joy of this thing we call writing.

Actually-writing harder than scrolling a ‘community’ feed. It’s scarier. And, in the end, sweeter. 

Keep writing,

Julie (signed)

Julie Duffy

Is One-Story September Right For Novelists?

I got a great question from a long-time StoryADay community member today: “Will One-Story September help me write my novel?”

Here’s what I answered:

On balance, I don’t think it’d give you enough support or direction for a novel project.
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Really, this challenge is designed to poke writers to keep working on a story throughout the month and to give some thought to what each part of the story is doing for the reader. It’s not designed to be a content-heavy course.
​
Having said that, you could use One-Story September to help you flesh out the central spine of the novel’s story, or alternatively, to let you play in your novel’s world with less pressure.
​
A short story set in the world of your novel could help you develop backstory, character development and voice, and let you fall in love with the world of your novel (as well as potentially giving you the bones of a chapter, or a standalone story that supports your novel when it comes time to market it).
​
I’ve done this for several projects and enjoy it, but it all comes down to what you want to do.
​
I’d hate to see you throw away money on the wrong thing, which could, in turn dent your confidence.
​
I see two options: join this challenge and write a short story set in your novel’s universe that could stand alone or grow into something bigger; or put the money aside and begin saving for a more substantial “How To Write A Novel” course or cohort.
​
All of which is to say, the One-Story Challenge might not be right for you—right now—and that’s absolutely fine.

But if you’re intrigued by the idea of crafting a complete story this month, come and play with us!

One Story Challenge 2026-09 TWS mockup showing the challenge on desktop, tablet and ipad.

We start Sept 1.

Keep writing,
Julie

Why Bother Writing…

…in an age of AI?

Watch The Video Edition

I’m already starting to think about next year’s StoryADay May and, here in this age of AI, I was struck with the awful thought: why bother?

AI means you can generate 31 short story writing prompts in 90 seconds (5 minutes if you’re willing to wait for more polished prompts with a theme and multiple repetition. How do I know this? I asked it.)

It takes me roughly 3 months of (admittedly part-time) work to research guest authors, reach out to them, assemble their responses, curate and cue them up, create pretty images, summaries, and queue everything up.

But the point is that you get a human-created journey through a month of story writing. You get a peek inside the head of other writers. And you get to have the experience, along with other writers in the community.

It’s not for everyone. But I’ll keep doing it for you.

And also for me.

Because the work is not just about the prompts. It’s never just about the output, the end product.

Writing Changes Us

The struggle, the striving, the research, the craft, the failure, the resilience, the patience, the growth…It’s personal development at its finest.

How To Bother, in an age of AI

I’ve been preaching this for a decade and a half (and now I have the experience of leading a group for 8 years to back up my hypothesis). 

The most important foundation you can give your writing is to:

  1. Define success

If you don’t know what success means for you, how are you ever going to know if you’ve attained it.

Not someone else’s vision of success.

Yours.

And that means asking some questions about why you’re doing this.

  • Are you doing it to be published?
  • Are you trying to support yourself from your fiction writing?
  • Are you building a daily practice for self-development?
  • Are you trying to improve a particular craft skill?
  • Are you keeping a promise you made to yourself as a child?
  • Are you setting an example for a younger person in your life who needs to see what ‘self-respect’ looks like?

This is Step One. 

Without it, you will never be—or feel—successful, no matter what external measures of success you hit.

If you skip this step-–or if you think this remains static forever—it’s almost impossible to be productive, motivated, or fulfilled by writing. If you’re simply on a treadmill, turning out words, you’ll be consumed by the idea that it’s never enough—that you’re not enough.

Do This Now

If you haven’t taken the time to examine your definition of success lately—and perhaps to notice how it has changed since you were 14, 25, 35, 45—put down your pen, push away the keyboard, and spend the next week just noodling on these questions:

  • What does success look like for you, in the next few years?
  • In order to get there, what milestones would you have to hit, if any?
  • What would you have to do regularly, to feel successful when you look back at your month?
  • What does that look like, for today?

If you do this exercise right, you’ll notice that it becomes easier to show up for your writing and enjoy yourself.

Without taking this step, your internal ‘motivation process’ can look like this:

“Today I have to work on finishing the novel so that I can get it out into the world and quit my job and prove to [that friend/family member] that I haven’t been wasting my time all these years.” [Sighs. Drags self to coalface….]

Not only is that demotivating since your inner critic is bound to kick in and try to keep you safe by pointing out how hard it is to do what you’ve outlined. It’s also doomed to fail, as a path to success today, because it’s impossible to figure out what first step to take today. 

And so it’s impossible to know when you’ve finished your work for the day. Without a clear definition of what success looks like to you, you’re likely to do nothing, or to keep working until you’re so exhausted you have to stop. Neither of which makes you feel successful, or advance you towards external success. 

So you pick up your phone and doomscroll and go to bed promising to do twice as much tomorrow, still without a clear idea of what that looks like.

No More Doomscrolling

If you have done the work to figure out what ‘success’ looks like for you—for now—your internal motivational conversation goes more like one of this:

“I know I want to finish this novel, because I want to prove to myself that I can write something I’m proud of. I need to finish the scene where the protagonist confronts the bad guy, but I’m having trouble doing it. Maybe I need to back up and do some character exercises (from that course/book I bought and never finished) to figure out the characters’ real motivations. OK, that won’t add to the manuscript’s word count today, but I’ll learn more about the characters, which might free me up to write the actual scene tomorrow. So today’s task is: find that character exercise I remember liking in that course I took, and go through it slowly. When I’ve done that I’ll summarise my thoughts, for next time, then my reward will be to take a walk outside.”

(Notice the reward. That’s a key part of building a satisfying practice and feeling successful in it.)

Picture The Day

Imagine yourself at the end of a day when you’ve ground through 2,000 words or four scenes, because “that’s what successful writers do”, and then collapsed on the couch with a whisky, ‘to recover’. 

No imagine yourself at the end of a day when you took a small concrete step that aligns with your goals and your current energy, and that you can put a checkmark next to as ‘accomplished today’. You bound out of your chair with energy left over to hang with the kids or the spouse, knowing that you’ll be back in a day or two to tackle the next task.

Doesn’t that feel like a successful writing life, regardless of external rewards or judgment?

So should you bother writing, in an age of AI, even if the external rewards you once hoped for aren’t guaranteed?

I, for one, say “yes”.

Need help tracking your successes? Get the Planning & Tracking Bundle

LINKS

LINKS

StoryADay Challenge archive: https://storyaday.org/writing-prompt-archive/

SWAGr monthly accountability posts: https://storyaday.org/category/swagr

‘Define Success’ article: https://storyaday.org/how-to-become-a-highly-successful-writer/

The Dream of being a Writer, article: https://storyaday.org/the-dream/

Permission to Write article (and certificate): https://storyaday.org/write-more-permission-to-write/

The I, WRITER Framework for a Successful Productive Writing Life, article: https://storyaday.org/i-writer-framework/

Planning & Tracking Worksheets Bundle: https://storyaday.kit.com/products/story-a-day-planning-tracking-worksheets

StoryADay Superstars group: https://storyaday.org/superstars

Book a 1:1 Writing Strategy Session with Julie: https://members.storyaday.org/creative-coaching

What Now?!

Today is a particularly important day…you’ve spent the past month focusing on your writing and your life as a writer. 

I couldn’t be more proud of you!

I encourage you to download the post-challenge worksheet attached to this page and either print it out or simply use the question and answer them in your journal. 

  • What worked?
  • What was a sure-fire way to sink your writing day?
  • What surprised you?

WRITE IT ALL DOWN

While you’re in the throes of the challenge it’s easy to think you’ll never forget all the lessons you’re learning. 

You will.

So save the lessons, put them somewhere safe, then take the rest of the day off. Maybe tomorrow too. You deserve it.

Share your favorite lesson in the comments, below!

Celebrate Your Success

And don’t forget to download your Certificate of Completion. Print it out, fill in your name, and post a picture of yourself on social media with the hashtag #StoryADayMay

certificate of completion for StoryADay May 2026 with Julie's Signature

Keep Going

Feeling fired up and don’t want to lose momentum? Here are some ways you can keep going, with StoryADay:

The Superstars Group

If you know what you want to write and don’t need Just Another Course (™), the Superstars group might be for you. This dedicated group of writers drops in daily, as their schedules allow, for co-working sessions, and gets together a couple of times a month at hangouts, to simply be writers, together. We also have critique sessions three times a year and an extensive library of workshops and masterclasses to help you build your craft. 

Find out more about Superstars

I, WRITER Course

If you aren’t sure what to write next and want to keep building your practice and skills, the I, WRITER Course might be for you. A six-part course, it’ll take you through my I, WRITER Framework to help you build a regular writing practice AND you’ll write 6 or more stories, while taking pre-recorded workshops on your own schedule, to build your craft. Workshops include the ever-popular Copycat Writing Workshop, along with workshops on Flash Fiction, Character Development, Story Structure and more.

Find out more about the I, WRITER Course

StoryAWeek Newsletter

If you’ve enjoyed having me pop into your inbox weekly, and want to keep writing stories in a more sustainable way than during the challenge, my StoryAWeek newsletter might be for you. 52 weeks of lessons and prompts, each designed to nudge you to write a story, and keep showing up for you writing, week after week. 

Find out more about the StoryAWeek Newsletter

Day 31 | Best Day Ever by Julie Duffy

The Prompt

You made it! You’re hear at the end of the month, still showing up, still writing. Whether you wrote one story or thirty-one, congratulations. This is a pretty good day.

Today I want you to write a story about someone’s best day ever.
You are, of course, free to use that title ironically (and write about the opposite).

StoryADay Challenge Handbook logo

Get the StoryADay Challenge Handbook for 2026 – custom warm-up and brainstorming exercises for every prompt, delivered as a private podcast with transcripts.
SUBSCRIBE NOW

Julie Duffy

Julie Duffy is a writer and the host of StoryADay. She coaches other writers and creatives on how to keep the momentum going. She also hosts a year-round writing community. If you need a place to keep you on track going forward, join us in the StoryADay Superstars:

Join the discussion: what will you do with today’s prompt OR how did it go? How much did you write this month? What’s your ‘epic win’? Post here!

Remember: Please don’t post your story in the comments here (and I talk more about why not, here). Best practice: Leave us a comment about how it went, or share your favorite line from your story.

31

Here’s your next Game Piece. save the image and share on social media with #storyaday

Prefer paper crafts? Here’s the cut & paste version

Day 30 | When The Robots Came… by Julie Duffy

The Prompt

At this point, it’s almost impossible you haven’t encountered a piece of software that tried to convince you to use it’s new AI features.

Today you’re going to write a story that delves into the relationship between humans and technological pals…and this stuff is going to seem a lot less sci-fi than it used to!

Bonus points if you write this story in a non-narrative format. That means,

  • Writing out a chat conversation, or making a list of things that your character needs to complete their project (and telling a story in the process).
  • Or perhaps your character is trying to write a ‘rescue me’ note in a code that the AI won’t break.
  • Or perhaps you’re writing the after-action report for your corporate overlords about how things went so spectacularly wrong.

If you don’t want to write about the tech we have today, you could have a medieval knight working with a clockwork squire; or steampunk Sherlock Holmes android invented by Dr Watson…run wild!

StoryADay Challenge Handbook logo

Get the StoryADay Challenge Handbook for 2026 – custom warm-up and brainstorming exercises for every prompt, delivered as a private podcast with transcripts.
SUBSCRIBE NOW

Julie Duffy

Julie Duffy is a writer and the host of StoryADay. She lived in an era when humans still thought they were in charge of everything, and she thanks her Robot Overlords for allowing the relic of that time to continue to exist online.

Join the discussion: what will you do with today’s prompt OR how did it go? Need support? Post here!

Remember: Please don’t post your story in the comments here (and I talk more about why not, here). Best practice: Leave us a comment about how it went, or share your favorite line from your story.

30

Here’s your next Game Piece. save the image and share on social media with #storyaday

Prefer paper crafts? Here’s the cut & paste version