Some Questions About the Great Challenge

Got Some Good Questions Today…

So let me try to answer them quickly tonight.

— First of all, if you are taking another workshop such as the short story workshop, those stories would count. If you are coming to the Anthology workshop, or one of Kris’s Vegas craft workshops, those stories you write for the workshop would count. Just write one story per week and turn them in to me (or Kris, if in one of her workshops.)

— Yes, this challenge will go longer than 52 weeks if writers are still writing. The first week to start is April 14th, when the first prompt will appear. And first deadline is Sunday April 21st. But you don’t have to start on the 14th. You could sign up and then tell me you are going to start on May 5th. No problem at all.

— This is very limited because of my time and eyesight. So even if I have closed it and you miss and get the $600 workshop credit, but want to pay again and jump back in, you can. Once you have a spot, you are in.

— This will end when no one is writing for it. Might be next fall, might be two years from now.

— Once you have paid the $600 to get in, even if you miss, you will still have access to the prompts each week. You just won’t be turning in a story to me unless you sign back up again. But you will still have access to the story prompts for as long as one writer is writing and I keep putting them up.

— This a motivation challenge. The story prompts can be used if you want, don’t have to be. You must write original stories each week. The goal is to give you a deadline to write and finish and mail.

— My feedback will be as a reader and an editor. If I liked it and it kept me reading, I will tell you. If you lost me, I will tell you that as well. But keep in mind you should put all these stories out no matter my opinion. My suggestion is to set up a mailing schedule to magazines and such. Or a publication schedule like I am going to do with my Make 100 Paperbacks.

— And yes, after a few stories, if I see something in your writing you need to work on, I will tell you. Remember, you will be getting my feedback every week on these unlike my old challenges where I waited until the end. There is no end to this and I have no intention of getting behind. (grin)

I am so looking forward to this. Going to be fantastic fun for me except, maybe, when I am reading all those billion stories for the Anthology workshop next February. (grin) Deal with that when the time comes, but I expect many of you signing up now to still be writing next February. Or at least I hope you will be.

I will be your biggest cheerleader on this. As we get closer to the start of the story prompts, I will do a blog about how to get ready for this.