Time of Great Forgetting
To Get Though the Coming Months…
Most writers need a focus of some sort. Today is a great restart date if you had a rough start to the year, or if you are just ready to go.
But this month is the start of the time of great forgetting for writers. It lasts from the middle end of this month until July when writers surface and wonder what happened to the last few months. Spring, great weather outside, vacations, graduations, gardens, and a billion other things happened.
I talk about this every year and some writers are managing to get through it and still focus on the writing. For me it tends to be a very productive time, so I hope to keep my challenge up and catch up a little on the stories I missed in March.
What helps more than anything is some sort of focus or challenge. We have the 2025 words restart challenge, or four others. Or set up something with another writer.
If every year you look back at April, May, June from the wake-up call in July and wonder why you didn’t write much and no publishing got done, then this is something you need to pay attention to and try to solve now. Once in the middle, you won’t remember what the problem was.
2025 Challenge RESTART
Challenge yourself to average 2,025 words per day from April 1st to the end of 2025. These would need to be consumable words.
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, things like that.
— emails and comments on Facebook or blogs DO NOT COUNT.
No genre limitations.
Rules of Turn-In
1… Every month you must send me an email giving me your word count. I do not want to know what you are writing, just how much.
The cost is $450.
(No credit from anything, I am afraid. Can’t buy in with credit to get more credit.)
If you miss and give up at any point, you get $450 credit toward any online teaching, such as Pop-Up series or lectures or classics or lifetime workshops. Can be used on around 600 different classes and workshops.
So in essence, you are buying at least $450 credit.
If you average 2,025 words per day by the end of the year you get the following nifty awards.
- You get your choice of any Lifetime Subscription WMG Publishing has to offer. (except the Everything Subscription.
- You also get a BEAUTIFUL TROPHY AWARD. This trophy is a hand-blown glass float from the Oregon Coast. (Photo by Travel Oregon.) (Last Year’s trophies are coming.)
So, in Summary…
Challenge Yourself to Write, on Average, 2,025 Words Per Day from April 1st to the end of 2025.
— Cost is $450. (The $450 gets you that much credit for anything on Teachable if you don’t hit. If you win, you get a Lifetime Subscription of your choice and a beautiful hand-blown glass float we call the BEAUTIFUL TROPHY AWARD.
This is a win/win/win challenge. Jump in, should be great fun!
Questions, write me. Sign up on WMG Teachable.
Lifetime Everything Subscribers you would still get the Beautiful Trophy Award. The code was sent to you through Teachable email.
One Comment
Kate Pavelle
Yes, it has begun! Dean, thank you for reminding us. For the gardeners and outdoorsy writers out there, I’d like to share a few strategies that have been working for me:
– get your morning sunlight. It will let your body know it’s action time. This is a great time to spend outside, doing a bit of gardening or exercise.
– Have an ice plunge or a cold shower to boost your concentration, then do your focused time at the computer.
– Try dictation – decent ear buds will let you walk or weed while racking up 2,000 words.
– Try setting up an outside writing spot. I often write on the front porch, using a folding table and chair. It’s tranquil and easier to get into the zone, probably because it’s a different environment. (You’d want a laptop or a tablet with a keyboard, and an app that saves as Docx while off-line.)
– Pack your writing stuff, a picnic, and your bike (or swim stuff or walking shoes). Head out to the park, do some fun movement. Then write at a picnic table (I always pick one near the bathrooms). Rinse and repeat. I had even joined our mushroom club on faraway expeditions and wrote like this as we were all camping in tents. I missed the morning walk in favor of writing, and I socialized later. (A portable rechargeable battery is your friend here.)
– When you’re outside, put yourself into your character’s head. Collect all those sensory details. Then it’s easier to get to writing when you get back.
– take road trips, go to art festivals, outdoor concerts, and other places where you can people-watch and soak up the vibes. The change of scenery will come through in your writing.
– get your evening sunlight so your body knows it’s time to wind down. For optimal sleep, try to stay away from blue light and avoid screens 2 hours before bedtime (paper books and hands-on house chores help me stay away from my devices, but I admit it’s a struggle half the time.) If you write after dark, a blue light filter will help you get better sleep.
Some of these schemes will change with the weather and the quality of your AC. But with a bit of imagination we can enjoy both our writing, our challenges, as well as the outdoors!