Goodbye, Summer...Hello, Fall!
Okay, I'll give Summer this - 2018 is the first year in forever that I've actually been hesitant to see Summer leave. (And with moving to hot 'n crispy Texas, I thought I shouldn't expect much for Fall anyway...so far I'm right.) But the first week after we moved here, we had a short spell of chilly mornings. And I suddenly wasn't worried about losing Summer after all.
One of my favorite parts about fall and early winter is that it's CROWDED with awesome holiday. You've got Christmas and Thanksgiving. And Halloween has honestly been treating me good these last few years. So how do we in the writing community celebrate holidays? We write, of course! And challenge others to join us in our crazy attempts to outdo past performances.
So here's the deal - I am creating a fun fall challenge for all you fellow story-a-holics out there for the entire month of October. Every Monday evening, I'll be posting a story prompt that has to do with fall, cold weather, spookiness, family time, etc. And I will be writing a short story to accompany it.
The challenge will be - for you to join me! Write one short story a week leading up to October 31st. Then post that short story on social media - your blog, Instagram, Facebook (Twitter if you're good at writing two-sentence stories:) End it with the hashtag #FallWritingChallenge2018. Then feel free to find other authors' stories and comment, share writing advice, commiserate over writer's block and the need for caffeine, whatever. Not that bad, right?
Now I know all of us are busting our butts getting ready for NaNoWritMo. But consider this good practice. If you're anything like me, I tend to wait around until NaNoWriMo to actually do any real writing. Which is NOT a good habit. Writing a short story a week is a great exercise leading up to the biggest month of the year for us Wrimos.
This will ALSO give you the chance to MEET OTHER WRITERS. Everyone knows that most of us writers aren't surrounded by others who understand the whole midnight muse thing, let alone understand why we talk dialogue OUT LOUD while walking or doing laundry. So finding other writers is key to keeping up morale when things just aren't going well in our projects, or even for sharing our victories with. (I mean, if a writer finishes their first draft on time in a forest but no one is around to read it, how will they celebrate?!)
Alright, so there is the challenge. I'm off to get the first of my short stories done.
Remember - writing is a journey. Every word counts. YOU CAN DO THIS!
NOTE: You can keep up with the challenge as well as my entries on the Short Story category of my blog.