It’s almost time!

I’m taking a moment to share some last minute details and FAQs.

• If you have signed up for the challenge, you should start receiving writing prompts by email just after midnight (Eastern US). If you haven’t, you can sign up here.
• If you haven’t been through the prep tasks, don’t fret. You can dip into them any time you get stuck, to shake things up. Find them all here.
• Each day, you should read the prompt and decide if you want to play with it or write something completely different. Try to start and finish a story every day that you’re writing. (If you ‘miss’ a day, don’t try to catch up. Just keep showing up.)
• Come back to the prompt when you’ve written and leave us a comment, letting us know how it went. Don’t post your story, but do feel free to share a line you loved or tell us what you learned.

Something New

A couple of years ago I provided an optional Challenge Handbook, with daily warm up and brainstorming exercises, tailored to each prompt and I’m doing it again this year.

Here’s what people have said about these exercises:

• “The brainstorm exercise in the Handbook rocketed me directly into a draft of the story (thanks, Julie!)”
• The Warm-Up helps me get the page “dirty”….
• The Brainstorming page is where a lot of my ideas are generated. If I already have an idea, then it helps me flesh out my plan…

This year the Handbook is available as a private podcast with written transcripts. It’s just a dollar a day during the challenge, with the option to donate more if you like. (The price will go up in June.)

It’s time: sharpen your pencils, straighten your notebooks, get some sleep, and I’ll see you in the comments tomorrow!!

Keep writing,