There is a lot going on in a writer’s life.
Make sure you are designing the one you actually want.
LINKS
Fun-Size Challenge: https://storyaday.org/fun-size
StoryAWeek Newsletter: https://storyaday.org/storyaweek
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’!
Out of Order
StoryADay September is coming! What’s it going to look like, this year? Tune in and find out.
PLUS I got some great advice this week on how to write a sequence that was stalling me. I’ll share it in this episode.
LINKS
Sept Challenge: https://storyaday.org/fun-size
StoryAWeek Newsletter: https://storyaday.org/storyaweek
StoryADay Sept 2021 Graphics
Download these badges for all your social media/blog needs
Day 1 – Joanne Harris Is Eerie
The Prompt
Jennifer Smith was never quite sure of the time at which she actually disappeared. She had been aware for some time that she was fading a little, but only in the last twelve months or so had she become increasingly conscious of those flickering intervals, like a television with a failing tube, or a radio on the verge of losing its signal.
The Author
Joanne Harris is the author of many novels, including Chocolat and last year’s The Strawberry Thief, now out in paperback, as well as many wonderful short stories. Her stories encompass magic realism, suspense, historical fiction, mythology and fantasy. She is a master of Twitter (@joannechocolat) where she issues dispatches from the Writer’s Shed, which should not be missed.
Read A Book, Support An Indie
This year’s StoryADay May official bookseller is Reads & Company, a privately-owned indie bookseller in Pennsylvania. Any purchase from the site this month supports Reads & Co.
Leave a comment to let us know what you wrote about today, and how it went!
Sept 2020 Graphics
Grab these graphics and splash ’em all over social media to tell people you’re writing a story a day in September:
089 – StoryADay September Week 4 prompts
In This Week’s Podcast
Writing Prompts [1:44] https://storyaday.org/stadasep17-04/
What To Do If It’s Getting Harder To Write [4:08]
Book Review: Windy Lynn Harris’s Writing and Selling Short Stories and Personal Essays [6:08]
How’s Your SWAGr? [12:18]
Come and leave a comment or question at the blog: https://storyaday.org/stadasep17-04/
And listen next week for more information about an upcoming critique opportunity.
Five Last Prompts for StoryADay September 2017 – Week 4
Subscribe Now:iTunes | Android | RSS
Past Episodes
Use these prompts any way you wish. Change genders, change tenses, quote them, or not. Or, ignore them altogether and use your own story sparks.
The Prompts
Continue reading “Five Last Prompts for StoryADay September 2017 – Week 4”
088 – StoryADay Sep17 Writing Prompts and: Don’t Quit!
This week I give you five story starter prompts and an excitable sermon on not quitting. Enjoy!
The Prompts [0:52]
Progress Report [1:46]
Don’t Quit (with bonus Cassini shout out) [3:36]
Checklist and Feedback info [12:38]
You can find the prompts online here: https://storyaday.org/stadasep17-03/
You can find the checklist for StoryADay Sep17 here: http://bitly.com/2fkPe5M
You can take the survey (with last week’s checklist clutched in your hot little hand) here: goo.gl/forms/O8fHSMfWAlDbrtBw2
And you can always make your public commitment to your writing at the first of the month at https://storyaday.org
Five More Prompts for StoryADay September 2017 – Week 3
Use these prompts any way you wish. Change genders, change tenses, quote them, or not. Or, ignore them altogether and use your own story sparks.
The Prompts
Continue reading “Five More Prompts for StoryADay September 2017 – Week 3”
087 – September Prompts for Week 2
It’s Week 2 of StoryADay September 2017 and I’m back with five prompts for you.
IN THIS EPISODE
The Prompts [1:16]
Connecting With Other Writers [6:46]
The Checklist and a Survey [12:44]
Warm Wishes for your Writing [15:33]
LINKS
The Survey: goo.gl/forms/O8fHSMfWAlDbrtBw2
Five More Prompts For StoryADay September 2017 – Week 2
Use these prompts any way you wish. Change genders, change tenses, quote them, or not. Or, ignore them altogether and use your own story sparks.
The Prompts
Continue reading “Five More Prompts For StoryADay September 2017 – Week 2”
086 – StoryADay September Prompts & Encouragements
StoryADay September has begun
In This Episode
The Prompts [5:03]
The Checklist [6:23]
The Importance of Reading [12:19]
Five Prompts For StADaSep17 – Week 1
Use these prompts any way you want. You don’t have to quote them verbatim. They don’t have to end up in the finished story. Or you could decide to start/end your story with these quotes exactly as they are. Continue reading “Five Prompts For StADaSep17 – Week 1”
Sign Up for StoryADay September 2017 Here!
084 – Write About A Writer – the last prompt of StoryADay May 2017
in today’s prompt, you get a chance to write about a writer. This is not something I suggest often, but I think you’ve earned it.
Also: news about StoryFest 2017 (https://storyaday.org/storyfest-2017)
Find more about this prompt: https://storyaday.org/20170531-writer/
Week Four: Your Storytelling Strengths
By this point in the challenge, you’ll have discovered some of your strengths and weaknesses.
This week we’re going to explore those areas further.
Look back, and think about which stories flowed the best for you, and in which your voice was strongest.
This week we’ll:
- Work on the tone of your stories
- Write in your favorite genre
- Write in an unfamiliar point of view
- Think about emotion, and the business of making readers feel.
The Prompts
Day 22 – Finding Your Voice
Day 23 – Watch Your Tone
Day 24 – Exploring Genre
Day 25 – All Change
Day 26 – So Emotional (Baby)
Day 27 – Write At Your Natural Length
Day 28 – Pace Yourself
Keep writing (and commenting) throughout this week, and get ready for The Last Hurrah in the final couple of days of the month.
Welcome to Week Two
Okay, you made it! Welcome to Week Two.
| jump to this week’s writing prompts |
Week 2 Elements of Story
[Remember, if you want ALL THE PROMPTS NOW you can get them in the ebook A Month of Writing Prompts 2016, and help keep StoryADay free at the same time!]
This week we’re going to get a little more serious, but still keeping the stakes very low. I want you to remember that nothing you’re writing this month needs to be brilliant. The point of all of this is to get you writing a lot so that you can find out
- what it is you really want to be writing
- what your strengths are what your weaknesses are and
- how to get over that hesitation when you start to write, and instead find your way to the place where the writing is flowing.
Having said that I don’t want this to be a waste of your time.
So this week we’re going to work on some skills that you’re going to need as you get into crafting your stories when the month of short story writing is finished.
This week I’m going to give you three different story structures that you can use with the story sparks that you’ve been collecting (you have been collecting stories parks haven’t you?) We’re going to take a look at
- Setting and incorporating setting into your story so that readers feel like they’re part of the action.
- Ways of making your protagonist a rounded character by giving him or her some flaws.
- Antagonists and villains and how to incorporate them without making them flat but also without letting them take over the story.
- Sidekicks and secondary characters to see what they can do for your protagonist and your story.
If you’ve already written a story a day for seven days I’m confident that you are discovering your best practices. Hold onto that knowledge while we dive deeper into the nitty-gritty of storytelling this week. Work when your energy is highest. Squeeze writing into tiny pockets of the day if you have to. Harness your community and your support group and get them to keep you accountable. It’s going to get harder this week, but it’s worth it. Keep writing.
This is important to you.
You deserve this.
Tips For Success In Week 2
It’s getting harder this week so take all the lessons you’ve learned from last week and make them work for you.
- What was the best time of day to write?
- What did you do on your most successful days? How can you replicate that this week?
- What did you do on your worst writing days last week? How can you avoid those things this week?
- Did you read any short stories last week? Try reading some this week, to help recharge your imagination.
The Prompts
- Day 8 – The Cinderella Story Structure
- Day 9 – The Ugly Duckling Story Structure
- Day 10 – The Hansel & Gretel Story Structure
- Day 11 – Paint A Vivid Setting
- Day 12 – Your Flawed Protagonist
- Day 13 – Your Villain As A Mirror
- Day 14 – The Sidekick In The Tale
Tips For Taking Part
- Write a story every day (you don’t have to use the prompts)
- Come back to each day’s post (or this one) and leave a comment telling us how you got on.
- Encourage other people to keep going!
- Even if you’re not using the prompts, click on the links above, because the comments of those blog posts are where the community discussion’s happening for StoryADay September 2016!
Keep writing!
P.S. Want me to read all the prompts to you in my soothing Scottish accent? Check out the new podcast on iTunes, Android, or any other podcast player.
Now What?
StoryADay Sept is over. You did great. You wrote. You participated in the community. You got a real boost from all the creativity.
But now it’s half way through October and you’re not writing nearly as much, if at all. You feel like a failure.
Change Your Point Of View
As with so much of your writing, this too, is a matter of Point of View.
If you’re feeling discouraged, it’s probably because you thought StoryADay was helping you build a great writing practice. You wrote every day. So why aren’t you still writing a story a day?
Because StADa wasn’t about building habits. It was bootcamp. You can’t keep it up.
So Now What?
Now it’s time to ask what you learned from writing a story a day.
- What did you learn about the types of stories you like you write?
- What did you learn about the time of day you write best?
- What did you learn about the value of finishing?
- What did you learn about your need for community?
- What did you learn about your writing strengths and weaknesses?
How you can use those lessons to improve not just your writing but also to create new writing habits?
- What will you commit to doing?
(Hint: think of something that sounds reasonable, then commit to doing half as much.)
- How will you track your progress?
(Hint: make it as simple as possible. If you, like me, have a gadget clamped in your hand at any time and think a monthly word-count goal will help you, please help yourself to a copy of my “Writing Log” in Google Docs. Otherwise, every day when you do write, color in a box on your paper calendar with a green pencil so you can see at a glance how you’re doing.)
- How will you get other people to help you stay accountable?
(Hint: check in with the very welcoming SWAGr group here, on the first of every month).
Tomorrow I’ll talk about Anchoring Habits and a scientifically-tested process for making your new writing habits stick.
In the meantime, leave a comment sharing how you’re getting on, what you learned and what you will commit to doing to improve your writing habits.
StoryADay September 2015 – It’s ON!
May too busy for you? How’s your September?
StoryADay September 2015 Is Coming
Thanks to a bunch of lovely volunteers, StoryADay September 2015 is happening.
(right-click and save this graphic, then share it anywhere you like)
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO?
If you’re already on the mailing list, watch your inbox for instructions on how to make sure you get all the prompts for September (or avoid them if you’re not into the idea just now, but don’t want to unsubscribe altogether.
If you’re not already on the mailing list, go here and add your email address. Be sure to check the box that says “Sept 2015” and you’ll start receiving writing prompts every day next month.
(Once you’re on the mailing list, you can ALWAYS adjust your preferences. The list has a number of ‘groups’ you can join or leave, to control how often you hear from me. If you only want occasional news, you can opt for that. If you want All The Things, you can get that too.)
Then, start gathering Story Sparks and get ready for a month of intense creativity!
HOW STORYADAY SEPTEMBER WORKS
- You write and finish a story every day in September (it doesn’t have to be good, or long. It has to be finished.)
- You leave a comment at the blog, telling us you’ve done it.
- We cheer you on.
- You get a huge creativity boost and surprise yourself: who know how much you could actually write when the fear of ‘trying to write something good’ is removed in favor of ‘trying to write something today’?
That’s it.
Stay tuned!
StADa September: Five More Writing Prompts
Here’s your digest of this week’s StoryADay September writing prompts.
This set of prompts is all about point of view. The choice to write in First Person or Third Person Omniscient gives you, the storyteller, a different set of tools to use in each story. Use these prompts to practice some of those skills.
Prompt 1 — First Person Practice
First person is a great place to start because it’s how tell all our stories in everyday life…
Prompt 2 — Up Close And Third Person
Third person limited has quite a lot in common with First Person, even though you’re writing ‘he’ and ‘she’, not ‘I’…
Prompt 3 — Two Heads Are Better Than One
Third person omniscient gives you the chance to get inside more than one head at a time in your story…
Prompt 4 — A Way Into Second Person Storytelling
Writing well in the Second Person is tough but can be innovative and truly creative.
Now you’ve tried a few, you get to pick your favorite. then rewrite an old story in a new way.
Could You Use More Instruction, From Writing’s Hottest Teachers? Watch this video!
(Not an affiliate link, because I want you to get the 50% discount you get by joining the DIYMFA list!)
Video notes
- Chuck Wendig actually blogs at terribleminds.com, not the fake site I made up in this video!
- Also, I forgot to mention James Scott Bell, the most generous man in publishing, and Stuart Horowitz of bookarchitecture.com, will both be speaking too. It just keeps getting better 🙂
Keep writing,
Julie
P.S. Don’t forget, everyone who comments this month will be entered in a drawing to win a free copy of the StoryADay Time To Write Workshop.