Get The Post-Challenge Workbook

Keep writing,

Julie

Today’s prompt is here

How to write the story even when it doesn’t come easily

Keep writing,

Julie

Today’s prompt is here

Everything is material…when you’re a writer. Also: my theory about why it’s a good thing for humanity that we are writing instead of doing…other things….

Keep writing,

Julie

Today’s prompt is here

The surprising truth about writing a story a day…

Keep writing,

Julie

Today’s prompt is here

And again, the best laid plans o’mice and men, as my buddy Rabbie Burns used to say…

Keep writing,

Julie

Today’s prompt is here

How to write even when your plans go to pot…

Keep writing,

Julie

Today’s prompt is here

Week 1 is a wrap!

Today I was pretty happy with the very short story I wrote. When I got to the end I discovered something interesting, which I share in this video.

Also: now’s a great time to assess what went well last week and what you’ll keep/do differently during this coming week of the challenge (I talk about this, too, in this video)

Keep writing,

Julie

Today’s prompt is here

Week 1 is a wrap!

Today I wrote badly and learned some things. I also got to hangout with the StoryADay Superstars and talk about writing, and it was moving, and inspired.

Hey you: if you’re reading this and writing at all: you’re pretty unusual and you’re pretty amazing.

Keep writing,

Julie

Today’s prompt is here

Sometimes we resist things because “I don’t write that genre” or “I don’t know what to do with this scenario”.

My advice? Try it anyway. You never know what you’ll discover!

Today’s prompt is here

Sometimes we resist things because “I don’t write that genre” or “I don’t know what to do with this scenario”.

My advice? Try it anyway. You never know what you’ll discover!

Today’s prompt is here

Today was a lot of fun.

I did things I don’t generally recommend…and I am not sorry!

Today’s prompt is here

I found today’s prompt challenging, perhaps because I was feeling the pressure to write about something weighty and important, which made me feel intimidated and stuck. But then I remembered my collection of Story Sparks, and I found inspiration in a personal experience that I gave to a different character.

I decided to write the story in third person and present tense to make it more experiential for the reader. This was different from what I had been writing the past couple of days, which were more narrative in form.

Through this experience, I was reminded of the importance of just getting started with writing. Even though parts of the prompt made me resist at first, I found that I had unknowingly incorporated them into my story.

Trusting yourself as a storyteller and putting words on the page, even if they feel choppy or imperfect, can lead to magic in your writing.

So, don’t fret about finding the perfect topic or having everything planned out. Just start writing and let the interesting stuff happen. Nobody needs to see it, and you might just end up with a big, stupid grin on your face like I did.

Keep writing, and stay tuned for tomorrow’s prompt on keeping things short!

Day two of the challenge and I’m feeling great.

But, I made the classic mistake of not planning ahead, so I spent the first half hour doing admin instead of writing. I’m going to fix that tomorrow by planning my morning better.

The prompt today was from Mary Robinette Kowal:

“What’s in your character’s pocket?”

I used characters from my work in progress and wrote a self-contained story that I can later use as a scene in my novel. Other participants are using the challenge to push forward their work in progress in various ways.

What will YOU do?