From mid November of 2017 to late May, 2018, my writing had fallen to the wayside. It wasn't that I didn't want to write, or didn't necessarily have the time, it was more that I didn't know what to write and didn't have the drive. None of the stories I was working on at the time were quite matching my mood, so I simply stopped writing. I recognize it seems contradictory to say I missed writing but also didn't feel like it, still, for whatever reason I didn't write for nearly six months.
Then . . . the 100 for 100 Challenge hosted by Go Teen Writers started, and I jumped on the bandwagon, wondering whether I would even survive writing 100 words a day for the first two weeks. Long story short, last Friday was day 100 of the challenge and I made it! The premise of the challenge was to write at least 100 words a day for 100 days to total 10,000 words by August 31. The exceptions: you got one "grace week," and one day off a week if you chose. In all, I had to take off 10 days combined from when I was attending camps. For the other 90 days though, I wrote consistently! This was both a massive battle and blessing for me. Some days my eyes kept drooping closed and I was writing at midnight to squeeze in my 100 words to barely scrape by. At times I just didn't feel like writing but I had to push through anyway. On occasion I couldn't decide where to go with my story, and had to force myself not to quit.
But other times, I woke up eager to write and determined to continue through the challenge. Sometimes I would write 500 words a day or more. Honestly, I had no idea that I had it in me to push through the difficulties and remain steadfast over that length of time. At the start, I wasn't sure how to manage writing when I would be gone so much over the summer, but somehow I managed. And not only did I make 10K, but I ended up with a grand total of 26,543 words! :) Though that's not much to some, it was a huge accomplishment for me. I started and completed a short story For Better or for Worse (22,760 words), and began another to finish the final days.
A hearty thanks to all who urged me on through this challenge, and encouraged me to write every day. It's only because of your consistent prodding that I managed some days. Thank you to those who are eager to read For Better or for Worse—it's encouraging to have people want to read my writing! And thank you bloggers at Go Teen Writers for hosting and providing me an opportunity to test my limits and come through victoriously!
To read the synopsis and an excerpt from For Better or for Worse, click on the story title anywhere it appears in the post. Let me know what you think!
That so cool that you got to do that! And the story sounds like a great one from the little we have gotten to read. Great work its so cool and I know we are all Barry impressed and id say even proud. Keep up the great work! Can't wait to see the next post!
ReplyDeleteOh thank you! Your enthusiasm is a blessing. :)
DeleteWow, congratulations on completing the challenge, Bethany!! That is so awesome. :D I actually didn't finish this year. I crashed into bed one night (after midnight) before realizing that I hadn't written that day and that I'd already taken my grace day for that week. Ah well, it was still fun. ;) I read the synopsis and excerpt of your story—looks absolutely amazing! <3
ReplyDeleteAh! I almost did that several times! I think that's how I didn't make it very far last year when I tried the challenge. Oh well, there's always next year. :)
DeleteThanks so much! <3
Great job on making it all the way through to the end of the challenge! That's quite a feat! Way to go, Bethany! :D
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bridget! I had so much fun doing Camp NaNo with you! :)
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