OK, you’re in!
I’ll be in touch soon with more details, but here are some essential tools for you to download, including
Oh, and I’d love it if you’d scroll down and leave a comment, letting us know how you’re feeling and what you hope to get out of this challenge.
I’ll be in your inbox soon!
(right-click to save/download)
Open your email each day to gain access to another game piece.
Post a picture of your board on social media using #storyadaybingo any time you complete a row/column!
Begin observing the world as a writer with this lesson on StorySparks and several printable “Story Spark Catchers”. Collect 3 a day, and find yourself bursting with ideas and creativity, almost effortlessly.
Get ready for the challenge by understanding what Success looks like for YOU and RIGHT NOW. (It might be simpler than you think)
Because….coloring!!
We’ll be using this throughout the challenge to build your story! Download your copy now.
Worksheets, course, swag and more…
The only qualification to be a ‘Superstar” is a desire to write and support your fellow writers.
A supportive group of committed writers, who meet virtually, support each other’s efforts, and inspire each other.
Registration for 2024 open now-June 8, 2024
106 thoughts on “!Thx 2022 Fun-Size Challenge Participant”
I want to commit to focused writing time. Thanks for helping that happen.
OK! I’m in! I’m committing to myself, the writer, that I’m going to go at this thing as best as I can. I will check in every day and spend at least 15 minutes on it. I can do at least that, since it’s time way better spent than on Facebook. Thanks for this, Julie, I’m excited!
Taryn M
HI Julie,
I am so, so excited! I have just subscribed to your “StoryADay One-Story September” Challenge! Thank you for this opportunity.
I am just really looking forward to having a first draft after 30 (or 60) days. I have absolutely no idea what story I want to write yet though, not even sure if I will write a thriller or fantasy yet and this does worry me but I am sure you will be there, ready with some inspiration on Sunday (please?).
Thanks again.
See you soon!
Hi Julie, I love your podcast. Thank you for your dedication and inspiration! I have a journalism background and while I work in a different field, I still freelance and take local magazine assignments to keep doing what I love. I’ve been asked by a friend to help write a non-fiction book. I’m hoping the fun-size challenge will also help me as I prepare to take on this larger task.
Any time giving yourself permission to be a writer is a great investment. Welcome!
I’m not sure how I feel. I’ve never written a story and I’m a bit nervous about being able to come up with any ideas.
I love to write and read and watch movies. So I’d just like to see if I can write one of my own.
I’m not an exceptionally observant person do the 3 things a day already stresses me out a bit.
Training yourself to notice tiny details (remember to use ALL the senses, not just sight) is a great way to transition from being a consumer of other people’s stories to gathering the raw materials of your own.
Don’t stress: you can’t really get it wrong!
Glad you’re here.
(PS Remember that ‘ideas’ don’t have to be world changing or particularly clever. I’ve read great stories where the action revolves around buying a cup in a second-hand store, and the fake history of an invented town…)
To be honest, I’m not sure how this will go. I’ve written a couple of full length books but I’m intimidated about writing short stories. I’d like to learn.
I love your accent! I’m Scottish by heritage, but both Scottish parents grew up in Canada and I only sound Scottish if I visit Scotland–which I’ve done three times now.
I will do my best to follow the prompts and see what comes.
Ha, this happens to my kids too, when we go back to visit 😉
Time to get back in the habit and get this thing going. I’m feeling a little anxious but excited.
So Here we go.
Nervous and excited. Life has been so hectic the past two years that I stopped setting aside time for writing, even journaling. I hope I can stick with this. Fun size sounds just right for my baby steps!
Yes! This is great. I need a bit of a plan to get in a groove. Looking forward to it!
Love it! Can’t wait to get started. And I love your jumper! Must be a Scottish thing!
It sounds like a great place to start writing. I’m not sure if I’m prepared but I will stick till the end.
I’m excited and scared at the same time. More specifically, excited at the prospect of writing a story by baby steps and scared that I’ll end up blowing this off like I’ve done for practically every writing challenge I’ve signed up for in the last 2 years. Fingers crossed!
Thank you for saying that publicly. Acknowledging it is huge (and I’m sure other people thinking about it will feel the same).
I have a good feeling about this for you!
Same here Danielle. Want to get in the daily habit of writing & want to actually FINISH my stories. So grateful that Julie is a consistently positive voice, saying ‘You can do this!’ Let’s prove her right this time!
I do love being right… 😉
This challenge looks exciting! Admittedly, this is my first time participating in a public event like this, since I mostly spend time with the little circle of friends I work on projects with. I’m a little worried about keeping up with the challenge, but I feel like I can at least give a storied effort, haha.
Thank you much for putting this together!
You’re going to do great! Welcome!
I’ve done StoryADay in the past and got so much from it. Fast forward to today, and here I am, signing up again. Last time I ended up with so many short story starters. This time I have a draft romance novel that could use some TLC. I really like the idea of a fun-size challenge. Also, I look forward to meeting everyone.
I can’t wait to begin. I love your storyaday challenges
I convinced myself I wasn’t a writer and shut off that part of myself for the last year and a half. I was wrong. Now I need to take baby steps to get back into it. No ideas at the moment, which adds to the imposter syndrome. If I want to be a writer, I have to write. Even when I have no ideas.
I’ve been participating from the shadows for the last couple of years, because widow life got crazy (mostly in good ways)! But my youngest turned 18 in July, and my oldest turned 21 today (the 2nd), so life is settling into “Mom as backup plan” mode. I’ve also made some pivots in my business that will add income with less time and energy invested (yay, me!).
Since I’m working on self-publishing my first collection of short stories and poetry (out on Small Business Saturday), this fun-sized challenge feels perfect and fun and magical!
I might even get social (miracles CAN happen!).
Thank you, Julie, for always being here to help us create and challenge ourselves in new ways!
Shan! Lovely to know things are going well.
See you soon!
I’m taking a break before first revision of my sh**ty first draft of a 115,000 novel and need a distraction… and some structure
I am a fan of fun sized everything! Looking forward to this, thanks!
I’m stuck, trying to expand existing stories. I don’t have many. I need more drafts. I think this will help.
This will help you prove to yourself that you can write a story, in bite-sized chunks and give you a model for doing it over and over again!
I should’ve signed up for this the first time around. Not making that same mistake twice!
This might be the first thing you’ve ever missed. I’ll let it slide…
Hi, Julie!
I’m excited to be back in the saddle. I’m looking forward to getting into the writing groove again.
Yee-haw!
HI Julie, can’t wait to participate in your fun-size challenge StoryADay! Lord knows I need all the accountability support I can get! Thank you, Lori
Accountability is good. See you soon!
Hello! I’ve recently completed my PhD in contemporary opera and am looking for some inspiration and motivation to start writing stories and making work again. This looks like just the ticket!
Wow, congratulations!
I know that finishing a huge project like that can cause an eqaally-huge creative hangover. Our challenge will seem so teeny-tiny to you and I hope that’s just what you need to kickstart the creativity again!
Welcome!
I gave up writing recently as I have so little time, but I miss it and want to write for myself and for fun.
Jumping in a bit late, but I need fiction back in my life! So, here we go 🙂
Excellent! Glad you’re here!
Hello, I am a subscriber to your emails and I decided to try the fun size challenge for May 2022. I hope I do well at everything, but I will try my best!!! Thanks for the opportunity to get back into writing!!!
Welcome!
Hello. This is my first time participating in a story a day challenge, and I am actually doing the fun sized challenge. I have completed a first draft and I have lots of ideas, but work has kept me busy. This challenge is how I am holding myself responsible. Thank you to my friend Aya for letting me know about this challenge.
Doing the fun version this year. Since I have two very small kids time for writing is sparse. But I am itching to really write again and did one short story a month for three months now. With this challenge I hope I get useful tips to keep it up and get into the groove of a functioning practice again. And next year hopefully I have more time and headspace for the full challenge!
That’s great, especially with the Littles around. And consistency over 3-4 months is so valuable. You’re doing great!
I was SO EXCITED to find your challenge on Debbie Ridpath Ohi’s blog! This is JUST what I need to give me a MUCH-NEEDED KICK to make ALL my children’s picture book and middle grade stories COME TO LIFE ON THE PAGE, instead of just dreaming about them. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Ah, Debbie is a wonderful human.
I hope you’re enjoying the energy of the challenge!
I feel obliged that I am allowed to check in. I read a lot but have been rather shy of writing though it has been always my desire to right. I am positive that ‘story a day,
in the month of may’
will sort out my weakness. Thank you for helping me.
I’ve had a story idea on the back burner for over a year! I’m going to use the fun-size challenge to see whether the story is more than a vignette, and find out if I give it a compelling beginning, middle and end.
Julie, thank you for creating the fun-sized challenge. I’m so excited and looking forward to our daily tasks. I really want to stay consistent with my writing – I have so many great ideas, but I overwhelm myself and do nothing lol. I like the idea of bite-sized pieces that I know I can succeed at and build on from there.
I’ve been stuck with my novel and need a little nudge. I’m hoping this will get my creative juices flowing again. Thanks for creating this challenge!
I am really excited to participate in the funsize challenge and dust off my short story writing skills.
I got spooked last month because of three rejections (in the same week). Got serious impostor syndrome and had to stop writing for a few weeks. I’ve come back to it now and am excited about the coming month. This challenge came along just in time for me. Thank you so much for everything you do, Julie!
I’m really looking forward to participating in this challenge! Thank you for all of your hard work!
I just want to get started writing short stories on a regular basis. I want to get in the habit of writing just like I do my morning pages on most mornings. But I am excited to start this journey on this format.
I love my morning pages, but I also like crafting pieces that I can share.
It’s all easier with the habit in place, right?
I am so excited to start the fun sized challenge – and IMPRESSED with your creativity popping out in so many ways with this!
Eager to prove to myself that I can choose to prioritize my writing each day, so this challenge popped into my inbox at the perfect time. Love that it’s a bit-sized version so I can create realistic expectations. 🙂
Thanks for the fun size version. I tried story a day years ago, but was never able to write a story every day. I did write several on the blog you provided and have always wondered what happened to them. I’m looking forward to completing one good story with this challenge. Thank you!
Looking forward to the accountability with (also) realistic writing expectations for me next month. Thanks for the fun-size version!
I always look forward to Story ADayMay. This is a real bonus getting a different slant on it. I’m excited to recieve a new challenge. Our local writing group has suffered a huge shock and unimagineable loss when our amazing tutor passed away suddenly recently. It’s been hard to maintain my focus as every time I sit down to write the loss is staring at me. I know your bright emails will do the trick. Xx
I need some motivation to write — it’s hard to find the time but perhaps a daily reminder / task is what I need to actually get pen to paper (or keyboard stroke to computer). Thanks for putting this together, Julie!
I’m so glad you’ve included a fun-size challenge! It seems a lot more doable than a story a day, at this point in time, for me.
Thank you for this fun size challenge! It feels just about right for where I am now. I look forward to your creative daily tasks and hope I’ll be able to get my writing going somewhat consistently again…I’ve missed that part of my life, of myself.
Hi! I am participating in the fun size challenge. If my comment is redundant, please delete one of them. I hope the discipline and inspiration of seeing other writers stick with it help me push myself to show up and do the work. My follow through has always been a challenge, but this feels different. Thank you for doing this! ~ Deb H.
I’ve been in the position of letting myself down (writing is hard!) too many times. That’s the idea behind this fun-size challenge. Manageable, sociable, fun!
I’m really optimistic for this challenge because I don’t have much free time and struggle to complete large scale challenges — even though I repeatedly sign up for them with the best intentions! A task a day feels doable and like a great way to cement a writing habit. I’m also interested to see who else is in this community. 🙂
Fun-sized Challenge participant, here. I need to develop a show-up mindset to get my creative muscle on track. Exciting… thank you for doing this.
I wasn’t going to sign up this year, because my word of the year is “complete” which means I will definitely complete anything I start. It also means I’ll be more careful about what I start. So I’ve never completed 31 stories in 31 days even though I always try, but the fun-size challenge is just right for me. I can do tiny things each day and feel confident that I can complete it! Thanks for having this second type of challenge for people like me who are too good at starting things and too bad at finishing them!
Excellent. After all this time, I’ve learned a few things about the writer psyche and I’m excited to provide something for those of us who fancy lowering the bar a little (and clearing it)!
Looking forward to this challenge!
Glad you’re here!
Unfortunately, my writing died when my husband passed away a few months ago from lung cancer. He made me promise to carry on writing but I am struggling not to feel guilty for doing so – I’m getting there.
I am hoping a little ‘push’ each day will get me writing again and then I hope to pick up writing my first ever novel again after May.
It may not work out for me but I am going to give it my best shot.
Thank you ever so much for this opportunity Julie – I am anxious but excited by this.
I’m so sorry. That’s such a huge loss (the word doesn’t cover it).
It’s going to take time for you to find your footing, but if showing up for your writing even in a tiny way helps, I’ll be glad.
Be kind to yourself!
Thank you
x
I have signed up for both. I am doing the FUN size to help a friend who is struggling with her writing journey.
You’re a good friend!
I’m a little overwhelmed, tbh. But I always am lol. This year, I’ve finished my first ms and am just starting to throw myself into the query trenches, so that’s been consuming and soul-sucking. I’ve also been focusing on flash fiction contests/submissions, and I feel like doing StoryADay will continue to help me sit down, focus, and pump out new work…consistently. Looking forward to the challenge and meeting some writer friends <3
Oh, I hear you!
And yes, the query and submission process can be soul-sucking. Not to worry: we are firmly anti-suck, here at StoryADay! Hope to give you some fun, back!
I joined the fun-sized challenge because I need to build up my hand strength. 😉 Seriously, I need the hand strength and to work my creative muscles. Thanks for doing this!
That’s a great insight. Often wen want to plunge into something 1000%, but we do need to build up our strength.
(And for the hand muscles, I’m a big fan of fountain pens. You hold them lightly and they glide across the page. No hand-cramps or me — but I was forced to write with them as a child, so I have some practice…)
Glad you’re here!
I’m a counselor, and I’m reading a book for work called Intuitive Eating about using inner wisdom to combat the dangers of diet culture. This doesn’t sound related to writing, but it is, so please bear with me.
I signed up for the Fun-Sized Challenge. I’ve had success with the Classic Challenge in the past, though I’ve always kept it to myself, but I decided I wanted to see some new ideas, concepts, and exercises. I like learning new things. But once I’d made my decision I started feeling anxious, and even a little bit guilty. “The other idea worked, what if this one doesn’t?” “What if my expedctations aren’t met and i’m disappointed in myself?” “What if this style doesn’t work for me, and I end up wasting itme insteaed of furthering my writing in a tried-and-true method?” “I’ve tried so many other schedules and habit-builders and exercises before and none of them have gotten me where I wanted to be with my writing…”
I recognized the thoughts and feelings instantly from the book! I was reacting to the new writing potential as if it were a new diet! I’m beginning to wonder if there are external messages messing with my intuitive writing style now, and looking forward to testing this theory by using these exercises to help me discover my intuitive writing connection. Do I maybe see a nonfiction writing project in my future? Possibly. It was just such an interesting juxtaposition of experiences that I had to share it. Anyone else relate?
DEFINITELY!
Creating habits is hard, even when they are good for us. There’s a discomfort that comes from being in the no-man’s land between ‘wanting the new habit to be in place’ and ‘leaving the old ways behind’ and it sabotages us all the time.
That’s why I talk so much about mindset and attitude on the podcast, in particular. That work never ends. Best-selling authors have confessed to me their ongoing imposter syndrome, and their frustration that there isn’t a single way to be a writer that works for every stage or ilfe (and for each project).
I guess it’s true what they say: if it was easy, everyone would be doing it 😉
Call me crazy, but I’ve signed up for both versions. I like the idea of the slower version, but I didn’t want to miss out on the truly delirious excitement of the full challenge. I’ll gear up and start my finger yoga so they’ll be limber enough to tackle both! I’m laughing with joy at my own folly!
I may be crying by midMay, or laying passed out over the keyboard. Or, more realistically, I may resort to picking only one activity from the two challenges each day. But I crave the push right now and am thrilled for it all to begin!
Thank you Julie for all you do to help us put pen to paper!!
You know I love an ambitious writer!
I’m finishing up a family history writing course and I want to keep my momentum going. I enjoy writing but find I don’t make time for it without an external push.
It’s hard to keep going without those external pushes.
I always say “Writing can be a solitary activity, but being a writer, can’t”. I mean, obviously it can, but it’s just so much easier with people and structure and deadlines… 😉
Great idea to do a fun-sized challenge. Looking forward to it x
Thanks! I think it’s going to be just what a lot of people need, this year (me included!)
I’m joining this challenge for the challenge itself but also… for the community. I hope to connect with other writers this upcoming month!
Welcome!
The blog comments can get pretty busy in the first few days, but then it calms down a bit. Do keep posting though. The people who are still commenting at the end of the month usually end up as new writing buddies 🙂
I suffer from depression and have found that participating in writing challenges helps keep me from zombie-esque zero-word days spent on the couch. The more interaction and accountability, the better.
Depression is a monster and I’m glad you’re finding ways to keep writing. Honored to be among them.
See you in the comments!
I’m working on one story as well and hoping I can do it all for May. Looking forward this fun challenge 🙂
Excellent. Good luck!
I signed up for the fun-sized challenge and this will be challenging to me–to write every day. I’m looking forward to it! (And I REALLY hope I’ll do it.)
Is there a website where we can get together?
Thanks.
I’ll send you a link to a new post every day, here at StoryADay, and invite everyone to comment on it, to say how they’re getting on.
I signed up for the fun size challenge this time since I wanted to just write and revise my stories as part of the May story a day challenge 🙂 looking forward to this Julie!
Prachi! Good to ‘see’ you here.
Work the challenge your way, of course!
I need some focus right now. Very glad you have this project set up.
I do hope I’ll be able to navigate this and keep focus through the month.
Glad you’re here.
Remember that our focus often ebbs and flows (especially as creatives: we crave novelty!) but if you keep coming back until the end of the month I’m sure you’ll learn some things about your own habits and practice.
I completed successfully completed Story-a-Day May a few years ago. I find myself having a lot of free time, especially in the evening, so I decided to try to complete the challenge again.
Evan! Good to see you here. I look forward to hearing some of your StoryADay output at an open mic soon!
Thanks for the new Fun Size Challenge! I’m hoping that this will be the boost I need to finally finish a story without feeling overwhelmed. At the moment I am cautiously optimistic.
Cautiously optimistic is good, and I’m definitely designing this to get people to The End, with some wind left in their sails.
(Hope it works out! This is the first time I’m trying it. You’ll need to let me know…)
I’m anxious that I won’t stick with it because I already have a poetry series lined up for May and I don’t know if I can do them both— but I really want to try!!