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How Was Your Writing Year?

Worksheet Alert! I have a new, free worksheet for you! Take a few minutes to look back at what you’ve done this year. Spend a little time patting yourself on the back on this new worksheet for those of us who like lists but aren’t linear thinkers…[read more]

Worksheet Alert! I have a new, free worksheet for you!

We all love the New Year: the retrospectives, the ‘where are they now’s, the ghoul pools, the feeling of starting afresh and of possibilities.

Well, the end of the year is nigh and it’s time to take a look at your writing life. And I have a printable worksheet to help you do just that.

Introducing The StoryADay.org “My Writing Year” Quick Planner

It’s a one-page, 8.5″x11″ printable form without any straight lines — perfect for those of us who like lists but aren’t linear.

(If you’re not using a US printer and paper, you’ll need to check the ‘resize to fit page’ box in your printer options, but it should work out OK.)

Take a few minutes to look back at what you’ve done this year. Spend a little time patting yourself on the back as well as taking note of opportunities missed, or where you could do better next year. Capture where you were and how far you’ve come. Scribble down a few plans for next year.

Get your free copy now!

If you discover any surprising truths or want to share anything you put down, leave a comment here.

[Weekly Writing Prompt] Alternate History

Fifty years ago this week, the US discovered that the USSR was building nuclear missile bases in Cuba. The two weeks that followed brought the two countries closer to disaster than ever before or since.

The Prompt

Write a story set in an alternate history where the Cuban Missile Crisis turned out differently and someone did launch a strike.

Tips

If you want to read up on the actual events, this Wikipedia article seems pretty good. I particularly liked the part (well, not ‘liked’, but you know what I mean) about the Russian submarine, the facts of which were only disclosed in 2002. What if the commander had made a different decision? What if Miami had been hit by a nuclear bomb.

You don’t have to write a Tom-Clancy-style military thriller here. Imagine anything in the alternate history of the world, from a mother trying to find clean water for her kids, to a history lesson for Fourth Graders.

Your story could treat the subject tangentially. It could be the kind of story you normally write, only with a few details in this world different: maybe there are only 49 states now (or maybe there are 52), perhaps Disneyworld was relocated to Pennsylvania “after the big war”…

You don’t have to be too serious. People lived and loved and laughed through the Blitz. People in an alternate timeline after Cuba would have to find ways to do the same, or humanity wouldn’t survive!

The Rules:

1. You should use the prompt in your story (however obliquely you use the ‘want’, it should be there in the character and all their reactions).

2. You must write the story in one 24 hr period – the faster the better.

3. Post the story in the comments — if you’re brave enough.

4. Find something nice to say about someone else’s story and leave a comment. Everybody needs a little support!

Optional Extras:

Share this challenge on Twitter or Facebook

Some tweets/updates you might use:

Don’t miss my short story: After Cuba #WriteOnWed #storyaday https://storyaday.org/?p=2648

This week’s #WriteOnWed short story prompt is about the Cuban Missile Crisi #storyaday https://storyaday.org/?p=2648

Come and write with us! #WriteOnWed #storyaday https://storyaday.org/?p=2648

See my story – and write your own, today: After Cuba #WriteOnWed #storyaday https://storyaday.org/?p=2648

A Challenge — And A Gift

StoryADay September ’12 starts TOMORROW!

But more about in a minute.

First: I have a gift for you, and a favor to ask.

StoryADay September ’12 starts TOMORROW!

But more about in a minute.

First: I have a gift for you, and a favor to ask.

The Gift: Your Tools For Breaking Writers’ Block

This will be my fourth StoryADay challenge. I’ve had to get pretty good at side-stepping writers’ block.

Now you can have 60+ of my best techniques for breaking through resistance, in handy ebook form, free until Sunday Sept 2, 2012

The StoryADay.org Guide To Breaking Writers’ Block

You can get your copy FREE until Sunday, Sept 2 just by clicking ‘buy’.

What’s Inside?

The tips are arranged by section:

Creativity Exercises
Physical Comfort
Goal-Setting
Accountability and Rewards
Examining The Problem
Boot Camp (Just Do It!)
Prove It To Yourself
Seeking Inspiration

You can read the book through once or dip in and out whenever you need a boost.

Why Free?

Honestly, it’s a blatant attempt to rise higher in the Amazon rankings and improve the visibility of my book. Every copy downloaded by you (or someone you tell about it) in the next few days, boosts its sales rankings and helps future, paying readers find it. This, in turn, helps me pay for StoryADay.org and keep it free to you. Oh, and it’s DRM-free, so you should be able to share it between devices freely.

Why Kindle?

Ebooks are easy and Amazon makes it particularly easy to get your book into the distribution stream. They offer 70% royalties, which was unheard of in the publishing world before they came along. And I love my Kindle.

Also, I’m researching the whole process and writing it up, and will release a report on it a few months from now. You’ll be able to use this report to figure out whether or not it’s worth your time to put together your own ebook (a collection of short stories perhaps?) and how to avoid making mistakes along the way. This report will be free to members of the StoryADay.org Advance Notice List.

What You Can Do

You are welcome to download the book and do nothing more. But I would really, really appreciate it if you would consider doing some of the following steps. It really helps.

“Buy” the book during the free promotion period (before Sept 2)
Share the link with writer friends and tell them to buy it while it’s free.
Repost the link at Facebook, Twitter, your blog, whatever other social media you use,
Leave a review at Amazon. 20 words is all it takes and it makes a huge difference tot he book’s visibility.
Read the book and get excited about your writing

Get Your Free Copy of the StoryADay.org Guide To Breaking Writers’ Block NOW

StoryADay September Is Almost Here!

Tomorrow. Can that be right? Tomorrow?!

OK, deep breath.

If you’re NOT doing the StoryADay Sept’12 challenge, no need to unsubscribe. This list will not be flooded with daily prompts or chatter about the challenge. You’ll have to get on the Daily Prompt email list or go into the community for all that stuff. You’ll just get a nice, helpful writing-related post now and then, and news about upcoming challenges.

But, even if you’re too busy with other projects, why not goad your writing friends and challenge them to take part? It’s not too late! 😉

If you ARE doing the September Challenge here are a few things you might want to be checking:

Have you subscribed to the Daily Prompt email? You don’t have to, and you certainly don’t have to write to them, but some people find it useful. If you don’t want a nagging, I mean “inspiring”, email in your inbox every morning, you can still find the prompts on the blog every day if you ever need them.
Have you joined the community? It’s a great place to check in and post your Victory Dance every day, or get encouragement from others when you are lagging.
Have you added your name to the blogroll? There’s nothing like a little publicity to keep you honest!
Are you collecting story sparks? Keep collecting them every day during the challenge and you’ll always have something to write about.
Have you downloaded your free copy of the StoryADay.org Guide to Breaking Writers’ Block? You might need it in ten days or so…

And that’s it from me, except to wish you luck, persistence and courage.

See you in the forums?

Keep writing,

Julie

[Write On Wednesday] Subtle Signs

Over at Wikipedia, today’s Picture of the Day is At Breakfast by the Danish artist L. A. Ring.

Apart from being quite beautiful, the picture is a study in subtlety. According to the accompanying text, the artist is supposed to have surrounded his model (his wife) with subtle signs of his affection for her.

The Prompt

Write a story in which the objects surrounding your characters reflect how they feel about each other.

Tips

Your characters don’t have to love each other. They might be enemies with jagged, broken window in the background of your scene.
Don’t overload your story with details like this, but pay attention to the surroundings and include one or two clues.
Or, alternatively, you can go crazy with this. Be silly. It’s just an exercise!

The Rules:

1. You should use the prompt in your story (however obliquely you use the ‘want’, it should be there in the character and all their reactions).

2. You must write the story in one 24 hr period – the faster the better.

3. Post the story in the comments — if you’re brave enough.

4. Find something nice to say about someone else’s story and leave a comment. Everybody needs a little support!

Optional Extras:

Share this challenge on Twitter or Facebook

Some tweets/updates you might use:

Don’t miss my short story: Subtle Signs #WriteOnWed #storyaday http://wp.me/p1PnSG-CW

This week’s #WriteOnWed short story prompt is all about subtle signs in the background #storyaday http://wp.me/p1PnSG-CW

Come and write with us! #WriteOnWed #storyaday http://wp.me/p1PnSG-CW

See my story – and write your own, today: Subtle Signs #WriteOnWed #storyaday http://wp.me/p1PnSG-CW

Announcing StoryADay September 2012

StoryADay May is such a success that we’re going to do it all again … in September! Join us for StoryADay Sept’12

For the past three years we’ve been getting together in May to write A Story A Day. It has been some of the most creative, inspiring, productive writing time I’ve ever had and I’m not alone:

“I love this challenge…” – Marta
” I reached most of my goals and learned more about my writing habits.” – Chit
“I have discovered that I do believe in myself as a writer – as cliched as it seems, writing regularly really does make you a writer. So, here’s to discovery…without which I would still be stumbling alone in the dark rather than enjoying the sunshine with my muse.” – Cat

So this year I asked around and discovered that you lot are crazy.

You want to write even more!

So, just for fun, let’s do it all again: in September

Are you finding it hard to find time to write?
Are you bogged down in the middle of a novel and need to refresh your sense of possibilities?
Are you a lover of short stories and the possibilities they offer?

Come and write with us this StoryADay September!

How It Works

The Rules are the same as ever:

Write (and finish) a story a day for a month. That’s it.

The Options:

Join the community and hang out with us,
Use the prompts (or not),
Set your own definition of what ‘a story a day’ means to you. (Need to take Saturday’s off? Hey, it’s your challenge, you make the rules. But once made, stick to them!)
Grab a badge for your website
The Victory Dance group in the community, or on that day’s blog post, to say you have written.
Share links to your story online if you want to. Don’t if you don’t.

What’s Different?

I’m not giving anyone the option to start a new StoryADay blog for the September challenge. It’s just a matter of administrative time. We’ll see how it goes. If you already have one, feel free to use it. Otherwise, post StADa-related news (and stories if you want) on your own blog and link to your posts in StoryADay’s blog comments and forum posts.

How To Sign Up

A, You don’t have, but it helps keep you honest. You can sign up at the site (see below) or just announce your participation to your friends.

B, If you want a username for the StoryADay.org community I’m opening up registration again now. A username gets you into the Community area where you can find friends and discuss writing with some other incredibly dedicated writers. It’s a wonderfully supportive community and I recommend signing up (it’s free and optional).

C, I’m going to post a ‘blogroll’ of participants on the front page of the site. If you’d like to be on it (optional) fill in this form. You can add your name to this list even if you don’t have or want a StoryADay username. If you plan to write, you’re in.

The More The Merrier

Remember, one of the reasons StoryADay works so well, is because you are part of something. Please, please tell your friends, blog about StoryADay Sept’12,

Tweet about it,
Mention it on Facebook,
Tell your real-world writers’ group.

The more people you enlist, the more likely you are to have an amazingly productive month. Trust me. I know 😉

StoryADay September?

So, hey, quick question: would you be interested in doing a bonus StoryADay September?

Why September?

*It’s that time of year when years of school timetables have conditioned us (in the Northern hemisphere at least) to think about fresh starts and buckling-down-to-work.
*It’s far enough away from NaNoWriMo, for those of you who participate, that it won’t eat into your novel-planning time in October.
*It’s a full calendar-quarter since May. Our creative batteries will be recharged (and frankly, we might have fallen back into some old, bad habits, yes?)

I’d be thrilled to prep for a StoryADay September if people are excited about the idea, but frankly, I don’t want to waste my time (and pepper you with unwanted emails) if everyone feels ‘meh’ about the idea. I’d be so grateful if you’d take a moment to click on the poll and let me know. Is it “Meh, I’ll wait until May” or “Oo, yeah, I’m SO going to need this by September”?

[poll id=”2″]

And please feel free to leave a comment saying how you feel about this 😉