Tag: challenges

Monthly Writing Challenges

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Several months ago I had this funny epiphany… I really like writing challenges. Challenges are really effective for me for some reason. Things like National Novel Writing Month and when I did weeklong goals for the new year. I don’t know if it’s because of the natural deadline that comes with it or it’s a good burst of dopamine when I win. I’m not a competitive person AT ALL. But I guess with myself I am? I don’t know.

So I thought, hey. I really should use this to further my writing. Just as an extra motivation. And I also noticed that month long challenges were really the most beneficial to myself. It’s a long enough time to get a serious amount done, but not so long that I get bored and want to give up.

And that’s how I came up with an annual schedule that I’m really REALLY excited about! I started piloting it last year and so far it’s going really well! Here are my challenges for each month, if you’re looking for motivation for yourself as well!

JANUARY – “Januwrimo” or “NaNoFinMo”

Kind of funny to start with the end, but I think it’s important. During the traditional NaNo, 50k typically doesn’t finish a standard novel, which is more around 80k. So, I would love to go ahead and do that after the holidays. Kick off the year with a 30k challenge and a finished draft. Um, yes please!

FEBRUARY – “Flash February”

It’s a short month for some short fiction! I have a bunch of short stories floating around in my mind and this is a perfect time to get those out. I could either chose to do something similar to The Ray Bradbury challenge (write one short story a week) or I could opt to comprise poems or flash fiction as well.

MARCH – “Spring Edit Blitz”  

Rather than a word goal, this could be a time goal, or a “to-do list of goals” centralized SOLELY on editing. This could be re-working an outline, writing a second or third draft, line edits. Anything.

APRIL & MAY – “Camp NaNoWriMo” / “NaNoSloMo”

“NaNoSloMo” is a challenge that I invented. It’s basically taking the traditional NaNo challenge, but instead of 50k in a single month, you give yourself two months to finish 50k. (25,000 words per month). As I mentioned earlier, I know the one-month challenge is very effective for me because I don’t get “bored” knowing that I change goals at the end of the month. So even though I like the idea of NaNoSloMo, I’m nervous to see how it might go for me this year.  

JUNE – “Summer Break”

In June, I take a break off of writing and focus solely on reading.

JULY – NaNoFreeMo

I’ve been doing this for a few years now and I love it. Every July for Camp NaNo I do a NaNoFreeMo (another NaNo challenge I made up). I set an achievable but challenging word goal (usually 20-40k) BUT I can write whatever I want. There are no rules. I can journal. I can write random scenes from projects that I haven’t even started. I can write ‘bla, bla, bla, bla’ a hundred times if I want to. It’s a total free for all based on how I happen to feel that day. No thinking of publishing, readers, industry trends, NONE OF IT. No one ever has to read what you write during NaNoFreeMo. I can write whatever thing I want to during July. And it’s so great.

AUGUST – “Summer Edit Blitz”

Back to the grind. Same as the spring edit blitz. Trying to get things ready for the following month.

SEPTEMBER – “Sendtember”

This is the month where I start submitting things. Usually, it’s a good month for agents and such as they’re also coming back from their summer breaks. I don’t have to send to lit agents though. I can send short stories or articles WHATEVER. But I must send something. Or as much as I have ready during the month of September.

OCTOBER – “Preptober”

Prepping for NaNo, obviously. But doesn’t have to be that exclusively. I think it would be really great to have a few outlines prepared for the following year if possible. And if that’s not really possible, I also feel like this is a good time to prep for Holidays as well as writing.

NOVEMBER – “NaNoWriMo”

National Novel Writing Month. 50k words in the month of November. I highly recommend this if you are just now stumbling onto monthly challenges or are looking for a way to further your book. It’s just a whole lot of fun!

DECEMBER – “Winter Break”

I’ve worked hard all year. It’s time for another writing break (with reading assignments).

When I had all the challenges written out, I sat back, looked at it and… felt GREAT. Like if a boss had handed me this annual work schedule, I would feel that boss was being very reasonable and kind but also productive. I was my best own boss!

If you end up trying any of these or have any other tips and ideas for months, please leave a comment as I would be really curious to see what other authors do as well!

One Week Resolution Challenges

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So I decided to try something new this year for “Resolutions”. Instead of coming up with some radical change that I won’t keep up on throughout the year, why don’t I challenge myself to a radical change for one week in the month of January? For some reason it just works for my brain. I think it’s because the ending makes it “a fun challenge”? Like more of a game with less pressure?


So these are the week challenges that I came up with. (Also try to refrain from judging me too much. I just struggle with these specific things even when others don’t.)

Week One – January 1st – 7th: WAKE UP EVERYDAY AT SIX O’CLOCK


So, I’m a bit lucky. My children have been very well trained with this magic dog alarm clock (here is the link, I highly highly recommend this or it’s equivalent.) So they know not to come out of their room before seven o’clock. On the weekends after seven o’clock, they tend to cuddle in our beds and play on their tablets. So sleeping in isn’t totally unheard of at our house.
And I know you’re like wait, excuse me, don’t you have a five month old? Yes, I do. She’s a miraculous child who often sleeps in until nine or nine thirty. She really loves to sleep I don’t know. It’s incredible.
HOWEVER… I know I would be a lot more productive and get to spend better quality time with my children if I woke up earlier.
If I got up at six, I could potentially clean or write before my children even leave their rooms. (At first idea, I was going to challenge myself to wake up at six and ‘go for a run around the neighborhood’. But it’s winter. So it’s really cold and pitch black at six. Maybe I can do another challenge month in the summer… when my excuse for not doing it can be that it’s one hundred degrees outside haha!)
One of my biggest qualms for waking up early… okay, besides the fact that my natural rhythm seems to be that of a teenager… is that I would have to go to bed earlier. And that cuts into my best friend time with Dan. You know what I mean? Like after the kids go to sleep that’s OUR time.

Week Two – January 8th – 14th: NO SUGAR OR CHEESE


Not to sound so American, but I have no idea what I’m even going to eat haha! I’m just going to try my best with the no sugar thing. I know there’s added sugar in almost everything here like even milk. So I think that’s okay for this particular challenge. Like if I have some ketchup or whatever and that has sugar in it. That’s okay as long as I’m aware and trying NOT to eat sugar. I think if I meal plan this week. I’ll be okay. It’s just a week… right?

It’s going to really hard haha! I am legitimately addicted to sugar. So I’m going to plan on having a lot of natural sugars in the house like fruits I can snack on when I get those cravings. And healthy salty alternatives.
Just… pray for me. Hahaha

Week Three – January 15th – 21st: TAKE MY KIDS OUT EVERY SINGLE DAY


A lot of parents don’t seem to have this problem. But keep in mind that I am a hermit basement dweller writer type. I am such a homebody that maybe the home is actually my body and I’m just an organ of it (short story idea?!?!?). But I do see this as something that my kids would benefit a little bit from. Particularly my four-year-old who is not in school yet and gets REALLY BORED during the day. So I do aspire to give him more structure. I don’t know WHY taking little kids out and about gives me so much anxiety but dang it, I’m going to fight this. And I’m going to prove to myself after this week that I can TOTALLY DO IT!*
*Saying this now or forever hold my peace. If I or any of the kids get sick, this challenge will be rescheduled. We’re not spreading germs or forcing our bodies to overdo it.

Week Four – January 22nd – 28th: INCORPORATE A REGULAR READING (OR LISTENING) ROUTINE


This is most likely an ADHD disability. Which has been really painful for me, since stories are my greatest love in life. I either hyper focus and burst read or the most common problem for me is starting and not finishing a book. Of course, the horrific TBR pile, which for me is an entire bookcase. So I really WANT to overcome this problem in my life. It would improve my craft tremendously and I know that I would really enjoy being able to participate more as an audience in the written word.
So I’m planning on trying a routine. Every day for seven days. What that routine will look like, I’m not sure yet because I have teeny little kids at home, but I feel fairly confident that it might include Audio books. I’m hoping that whatever it is, I can prove to myself that it’s doable and incorporate more of it into my daily life.

These are all my challenges. I will check back in February to tell you how they went. And just in general, how week long challenges were vs. indefinite resolutions. Because I wasn’t totally kidding about a second summer challenge month IF this deems itself to be a successful venture.