Here’s a live video I did earlier to address this question. If you don’t like video, there’s a written answer below.
Also, I’m around all weekend, answering questions and soothing nerves. Just post questions in the comments here or in the community (or at Facebook) and I’ll get to them on and off over the weekend. Consider this my “Office Hours”!!
The Short Answer
In brief: you don’t submit stories to me, you just write them.
The Slightly-Longer Answer
If you want to post them somewhere, you can do so at your own blog and post links to those in the forums, or post directly in the forums.
BUT I would encourage you to consider keeping them private for now, and just engaging with people about the writing process.
Two reasons: one is that if you post something online, it is considered ‘published’ and if you ever want to publish it somewhere else, many markets won’t accept something that has been available online.
But also, everything we write this month will be very first draft-y, and that’s no necessarily how you want to share your work.
I’m working on a critique session to follow this up, in the summer, so you might want to watch for that announcement if you’re interested in feedback.
Dear Jully,
Thanks for your valuable opinion. I needed to listen to the video once more before deciding on what to do. I have been taking part in StoryADay since 2022, if my memory serves me right, and I have always posted complete stories.
One of the reasons why I did so was the feedback I received from my fellow writers. I know, I made innumerable mistakes while posting the first drafts on this platform but when I sent them to a publishing house later, I made sure that the stories were error-free.
Now, if I have to post a link to my story from tomorrow on, my creativity (you may not agree with me on this), as a writer will be somehow curtailed. When I write, I want the whole world to be aware of my writings and help me get better at writing. The urge to write a story within an hour of receiving the prompt, that excitement will be somehow constricted.
Anyway, please be kind enough to send me the prompts but I am not sure if I will be sharing much this time as this will be a novel experience for me. I can only tell you after the Challenge comes to an end, if I really enjoyed writing stories in this kind of secretive way!
Thanks for all your help and kindness, Jully. Stay safe and keep inspiring a million aspiring writers. God bless.
P.S: If I made some mistakes, I just want you to ignore them. I wanted to respond ad hoc to the video by writing what came straight out of my heart.
That so awesome, Carolyn. Thanks for sharing!
Julia,
I did Storyaday back in 2012. Several of the stories I wrote that month were used later as part of my memoir Snakes in the Kitchen, or my mystery novel, Tangled Roots. The challenge of writing every day was good for me because I am a master procrastinator. I’m so glad my login still works, and I will be writing with you starting tomorrow.
How will I get your prompts for May 2017?
Great question!
You can either come to the site every day, or get on the mailing list. Make sure you check the “daily prompt” email option.
If you’re already on the list, just look out any email I’ve sent you and scroll to the bottom. Click on “update your preferences” and it’ll let you add yourself to the “Daily prompts” list.
Or you can subscribe to the podcast
Thank you.