Just Released: Save Time with the StoryADay Challenge Handbook

Ever have one of those days where you want to write, but get to your desk and…nothing?

Well, I created StoryADay May for you (and me).

And this year I have a fantastic new way for you to gain all the benefits of StoryADay: but spend less time wondering what to write: The StoryADay Challenge Handbook.

With daily warm-ups and brainstorming sessions, this new StoryADay experience will propel you into your writing day and let you get to the fun stuff (the writing) no matter how busy you are.

StoryADay Handbook

Whether you’re planning to write a StoryADay in May or just want to be able to show up at your desk any day, write, and walk away feeling like you’ve flexed your writing muscles, improved your grasp on the craft, and created something real.

​ I built the StoryADay Challenge Handbook so you can get more out of this year’s writing prompts, in May…or any time you want to write.
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(And this one is specially designed for the introverted writers who aren’t interested in writing sprints or hangouts or really anything other than getting words on the page and growing their skills.)

I’ve taken everything I’ve learned over the past 15 years about short stories, writing, writers, and prompts, and put it together in this brand-new offering. I think you’re going to love it (and the special 15th Anniversary discount….it’s like nothing you’ve seen from me since 2018!).

​Find out more here​

If you’re longing to get to your desk more often, and feel more fulfilled when you walk away, check out the brand-new StoryADay Challenge Handbook​

Keep writing,

Julie

P. S. Yes, the writing prompts will still be coming to your inbox for free, if you’ve signed up. The Handbook adds video, audio, an ebook collection, and daily warm ups and brainstorming exercises designed to propel you into your writing, whether you’re taking the StoryADay May Challenge, or simply want to use it throughout the year to jumpstart your writing day. Grab your copy now

Don’t Let Unfinished Stories Hold You Back: Try This Technique

Do you ever start a story only to get stuck, and find yourself either abandoning it or wondering if it’s really a story at all? First of all: welcome. This means you are a writer. This frustrating phenomenon strikes us all, especially when we are just starting out or just starting to come back to our writing seriously. This doesn’t mean you “aren’t meant to be a writer”. It just means there are some strategies you haven’t discovered–or fully-integrated–yet. This week I have a technique for…

Do you ever start a story only to get stuck, and find yourself either abandoning it or wondering if it’s really a story at all?

First of all: welcome. This means you are a writer.

This frustrating phenomenon strikes us all, especially when we are just starting out or just starting to come back to our writing seriously.

This doesn’t mean you “aren’t meant to be a writer”. It just means there are some strategies you haven’t discovered–or fully-integrated–yet.

This week I have a technique for you, that will help you turn fragments, vignettes, and “I’m not really sure what this is”-se into actual stories.

​Go to the lesson >>>

Try out the technique, using the writing prompt I provide, to feel te difference it makes to your Story Sparks.

Then leave a comment to share what you learned. I can’t wait to hear from you!

Keep writing,

Julie

P. S. If you want more of the nitty-gritty, ‘how to craft a story’ techniques like this, consider taking the 3-Day Challenge, which guides you through the art of writing great openings, middles, and ends, all in easy-to-consume lessons.

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Does Your Writing Cut The Mustard?

The first restaurant I worked in was an American-style family restaurant – pretty exotic for the southwest coast of Scotland in the 80s, a place festooned with fish’n’chip shops, where ‘chicken tenders’ sounded like a new language.

One of my jobs was to set out bowls of condiments before the customers came in…and not just salt, pepper, vinegar, and the two sauces known to us (red and brown), but things like ‘hamburger relish (it was green! Who had ever heard of such a thing?!) and three types of mustard: one classic yellow, one fancy ‘Dijon’, and one totally alien grainy concoction that I fell in love with.

Tonight, I opened a jar of that grainy mustard and its tangy smell transported me back 38 years, to the service corridor between the kitchen and dining room of my first job, when mustard was an exotic new experience.

It reminded me of a truth in writing: we spend so much time in our own heads that we take for granted the way we think, the way we talk, and the way we write.

Sometimes, when we show our work to someone else they are thrilled by a throwaway phrase or a description that took no effort at all…because it’s normal to you.

Sometimes we need other writers to push us to try the mustard, when we’re accustomed to always reaching for the salt and vinegar. 

And yes, this is my fancy way of letting you know that Critique Week is coming up, and that if you would like to get some fresh eyes on your writing you should consider joining us.

But more than that, it’s my way of encouraging you not to take your own writing for granted. It might be the new flavor someone else is looking for!

Keep writing,

Julie

P. S. I’ll be opening up registration for this round of Critique week, soon. Get on the waitlist here.

StoryADay September 2022 is Coming

Despite our fantasies of a life that allows us to write all day in a library-like spare room…most of us are writing in the margins of life. And that’s OK. But we need support if we are to pursue this writing life.

Sometimes that support comes in the form of a challenge.

This year I am doing a short short-story challenge: from September 10th to September 17th and the reason for this is: I have both feet firmly planted in the real world, and I would like you to join me here.

Whether you are looking for:

  • a creative kickstart after finishing a larger project
  • accountability so that you can live up to your own expectations
  • the excitement of getting back in the saddle again after a busy season of life
  • A structured schedule to help you get un-stuck on a particular writing technique,

The StoryADay Fun-Size challenge may be just what you need.

The Challenge runs from Sept 10-17, with daily tasks that will walk you through the process of writing a single story. There will be daily emails and some special events too…and it’s all no cost: my gift to you because the world needs more stories and your voice matters.

Sign up today and I’ll send you my Story Sparks Workbook so you can get start collecting the raw materials of your next story between now and the start of the challenge.

(May writers have told me this was the start of a habit they’ve continued for years, meaning they’re always ready with ideas when they make time to write!)

Register for the Sept 2022 Fun-Size Challenge

Keep writing,

Julie

P. S. Accountability is powerful. Even after all these years, I still need stuff like this. This morning I came thisclose to signing up for a $895 writing course that would teach me nothing-I-don’t-already-know but that would have provided some structure to help me finish a project. The StoryADay Fun-Size Challenge is a much better deal 😉 Have questions? Hit ‘reply’!

StoryADay 2022 Week 1 Bingo winners

This week’s #StoryADayBingo winners are…

This year, as an added incentive to keep you writing during StoryADay May, I posted a bingo card and tokens on each prompts.

It’s ridiculous how motivated we are by stickers and how much fun it is to do a little arts’n’crafts at the end of a long day!

For those of you who’ve been playing along, well done (especially those of you who got inventive on days when I forgot to post the official piece!)​
Bingo Card Examples
I promised that, if you posted your bingo card on social media (or left a comment on the blog saying you pinkie-swear you’ve been checking in every day), I would draw winners to receive a special something in the mail from me.
This week’s winners are:
Michele Reisinger
Faith Canright
Brenda Rech
SpiritGrind7 (Rory)
Wendy Blunty
Stephanie
Darla
Jessica

If that’s you, email me at julie at storyaday dot org with your mailing address and I’ll get you prize in the mail to you. (I will not share your address with anyone)

If that’s not you, don’t worry, this is a new week, and you can start posting your bingo card now (any social media, use the #storyadaybingo so I can find you, or, if you don’t do social media, pinkie-swear in Saturday’s comments!)

What will the prizes be? Remember those old Mastercard ads? “Priceless” is probably the best word 😉

If you haven’t been keeping up with the challenge as well as you’d hoped, now is a great time to consider what is getting in your way, or how you might want to update your ‘rules’ for the rest of the month, to make it more realistic, but still push you to do the writing you long to do.

If you have been writing but not posting the bingo card, please know I salute you, just the same!

Keep writing,

Julie

P. S. Download your bingo gameboard here​​