Challenge,  Fun Stuff,  On Writing

More On Dean Challenges

Some Great Questions This Weekend…

Main question is that if I go past a million words, does that mean anyone in the challenge must as well? Nope.

If I write past a million words (love how you guys are worried about that while I am worried with the eyes of just getting close to that number), the challenge is capped at one million. So the full folks need to write that much, the half need to write 500,000 words.

If I do 800,000 words, that is the mark for the full and 400,000 is for the half.

I will be reporting every week on both challenges with a video. Every week. So you will know where I am at.

You do not have to turn anything in and you can write what you want as long as it is consumable for readers. Fiction, nonfiction, scripts, comics, blogs, introductions, and so on. Emails and posts on social media do not count.

There is no publication requirement. This is for the writing.

Rewriting does not count. Finished draft only. (Back to the consumable words requirement.)

Here is the post I put up last week. Questions, feel free to ask.

Both a Full and a Half Challenge…

Challenge dates are from April 1st 2023 until December 31st, 2023.

Nine months.

I said what I hoped to hit, but of course that is just the plan and we all know how plans go. (grin)

But I also suggested that I would set up a challenge for anyone who wanted to try to match me. A challenge similar to the other challenges already there. And a couple people thought they could keep up or beat me, which is way cool.

But I got numbers of letters about how many of you were not to that word count yet and had day jobs and family stuff. So I talked with Kris and Allyson and we can up with a second challenge. The half challenge for half the cost. So say I managed to do the million words I hope to hit between now and December 31st, half would be 500,000 words.

Math breaks down to 56,000 per month or about 1,900 words a day.

And that is assuming I can hit the million words. Say I do 800,000 words total, meaning the half would be 400,000 or about 1,500 words a day. Most writers with day jobs can hit that pace. So that opens this up to those of you worried about making it through the time of great forgetting coming up.

So there are now two challenges posted on Teachable.

One is a full challenge, one is a half challenge. (They both have pictures with me holding Angel.) Challenge starts April 1st but you must sign up no later than the 5th of April.

Sorry, no sales or credits will apply.

What are “consumable” words?

— Any fiction of any type (no requirement to publish during the challenge time)

— Any nonfiction that others will consume such as blogs, introductions to collections, nonfiction books, things like that.

— emails and comments on Facebook or other social media sites or comments on blogs do NOT count. 

No genre limitations.

How do you report?

Simple… Every week or two you write me with your word total so far in the challenge.

How I report?  I will post my weekly word total here on the right and also on each challenge I will do a weekly video with my challenge total, talking about what I did, and sometimes (not every week, but regularly) adding in a motivational topic. So you will get nine months of videos from me in each challenge.

So you will know exactly how I am doing every week to know where you stand in the challenge and get some motivation from me to keep going.

All you have to do is email me your total every other week or so.

Here are the details…

Full… Price is $600. I write more consumable words in the nine months, you get $600 in credit on Teachable. If you write more words, you get your choice of a lifetime subscription.

Half… Price is $300. I write more than twice your amount of words, you get $300 in credit on Teachable. If you write more than half of the words I write, you get $900 in credit to use as you like on Teachable.

This starts April 1st and I will cut off sign-ups on April 5th.

Sign up soon on Teachable… Start getting ready.

Any questions, feel free to ask.

This is going to be great fun.

 

2 Comments

  • LynW

    Last time I took on one of your challenges (actually two at the same time: Novel & Publishing) on top of a day job that already has me writing a million words/quarter on a regular basis, I ended up with 14 published books (yay!) and tendonitis (not-so-much-yay). I don’t regret it, much, but it did put a near-halt to my fiction writing for close to a year afterward while I healed (still writing at the day job, so healing took a while).

    Thinking I might give the half-million words a go this time around (increased duties at the day job interfering a bit with brain-space), and use it as an opportunity to buckle down and stop noodling around with dictating and actually put in the time to get enough better at it that it becomes a viable way of creating words while saving my hands/arms.

    Have a few days yet to decide, but that’s the direction I’m leaning… 🙂

    • dwsmith

      I have managed 1.3 to 1.5 million words a year for decades and decades and never had arm or hand issues, but that is because I learned very early on to have my chair support my arms and back and feet flat on the floor and also I learned to get up and walk around and take a break every 45 minutes to an hour. Otherwise, folks, listen to what Lyn said. You do this wrong in any fashion, and real injury can take place, injury that requires surgery to fix.

      Hate to say this but if you are typing on a lap top and hold your hands up over the mouse pad, you are doomed if you write too much. Get a keyboard and your hands in the right position.