After recently participating in Bloggiesta (hosted by Natasha@Mawbooks) I realized how much motivation I gained by tweeting and visiting with other bloggers who were also working on blog related things. I found that, not only was I much more motivated, I met great new people and I learned a lot. I then started to think of other places I could apply this kind of motivation, and after seeing tons of #amwriting hashtags and planning to sign up for the BEA DIY Conference and Marketplace (not exactly sure what that means), I decided I need some of that motivation when it comes to my writing. I've tried getting up early (and staying up late) to write a bit everyday; but these are habits that I really struggle with, mostly for a lack of organization.
Thus — Just Write was born.
This Spring Break, T is on a Baseball trip to Arizona, all my residents and friends will be enjoying their time off, and I'll still be at school as I'll be student teaching (student teachers don't get Spring Break I guess). I want to use this time to really hash out some writing — good writing. While I plan on devoting much of March 5th — March 11th to this cause, I'd like to invite anyone and everyone to participate in Just Write from March 5th — 7th.
Much like my inspiration (Bloggiesta) , Just Write is a challenge to all writers (aspiring or published) to devote as much time as possible to your craft during this weekend. Whether it be actually writing a plot, working on characterization, editing, drafting, outlining, anything... Just Write. I'm not sure if I'll just start writing or if I'll decide to pick everything apart first by character and then plot (and so on and so forth). Of course, words written will be important as well as content. I'll be making a list of things I want to accomplish (it won't be as "crazy" as Bloggiesta) but it will include things such as outline the plot (Introduction, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Conclusion), back stories (when necessary) on characters, etc. Do with it what you will — Just Write.
How to play:
1. Just Write begins at 8am on Friday, March 5th and goes until 8am on Monday, March 8th. But, if you want to devote more time, I'll be working on Just Write when time allows until March 11th. Like Bloggiesta, aim for an hour amount — challenge youself. You can begin Just Write at anytime between March 5th and 8th — so if you work on Friday, don't let that scare you away.
2. When you start the challenge, come back to the "Starting Line Post" here and directly link it to your specific post about starting Just Write.
3. If you Twitter, use the hashtag #justwrite to join in on the chatter. This is important for continued motivation and support from other writers.
Will there be prizes?
Yes!
What can you do to help?
Spread the word! The more people we have join the challenge, the more moral support we’ll have during the challenge! From Bloggiesta, I know that this is key. Without moral support and motivation — it could be a very long weekend.
If you'd like to host a mini challenge — please email me at google (at) gmail (dot) com. Mini challenges can be (but are not limited to) anything to do with drafting, plot, character, introductions, conclusions, editing, etc. Hopefully we'll get some strong mini challenges going to really get the creative juices going.
Finally, please sign the Mr. Linky below if you intend to participate. If it's just me, I'm not going to be going full out and talking to publicists and authors etc, but if there are others who are interested I want to put the work in (obviously).
PS: Big thanks to Natasha@Maw Books and