It’s March 5th, which means we only have 10 days left until the Stephen King Writing Challenge starts!
This writing challenge is a particularly tough one, and I want to make sure you’re prepared before we get started. So I’ve created a checklist to help you get ready.
It’s grouped by categories because, yes, I am that much of a dork.
Personal Life
- Figure out what times you’re going to block out for writing. You’re going to need at least an hour a day, unless you’re a world champion speed typist.
- Practice being unavailable during those times. It’s one thing to say you’re going to be alone in a room from 4-5pm. It’s another to actually do it when your friends and family are trying to hang out.
- Let your loved ones know that you’re doing the challenge, and what that means for your schedule. If they haven’t heard of the challenge, point them to this page.
- Identify any upcoming projects or obligations that you might have to focus on between March 15th and March 31st. Taxes, March Madness, Grandma’s 70th birthday, etc.
- Whenever possible, take care of those obligations early or get them rescheduled for April.
Writing Prep
- Outline the stories and creative projects you’re planning on working on. Not trying to start a war between the planners and the pantsers here, but I know from experience that a good outline will save your bacon in this challenge.
- Make sure all project and story outlines have a general beginning, middle, and end. Nothing worse than having the time and space to work on a creative writing project, then realizing you don’t know how it ends!
- Make sure that you have more stories/projects on the docket than you can possibly work on. For example, I’m going to be working on my short stories for all 14 days, so I have 20 short story ideas planned.
Social Media Prep
- Start posting the goals you hope to hit during the challenge on Twitter and Instagram using #StephenKingWritingChallenge
- Review the social media platforms of writers who are also doing the challenge.
- Send a DM to me (@LioFromOhio or @LeighWillWriteThat) or Tina Capricorn (@tinasammich or @tinacapricornwrites) to confirm you’re ready to go!
Need extra help? Just let me or Tina know.