I knew February 24th was going to be a tough day.
Not only was I working on various projects back to back, I also had an important meeting scheduled and I was determined to impress.
So when I got home, with a bag of fast food, I was grateful that things were finally over for the day.
Then I realized that water was dripping out of one of my light fixtures.
I’ll spare you the details of all the things I screamed at my electrical system.
And the hoops I had to jump through to find a good handyman during a pandemic.
And the stuff that I’m still trying to get handled now.
But long story short, my internet and electrical access was limited for days. And even as things slowly got back online again, I was just grateful that this hadn’t happened during the challenge.
Then I started to wonder… what would have happened if it did?
If you watched any of the episodes from my Instagram’s 30-Day Livestream Writing Challenge, you’ll know that anything can go wrong very quickly in the middle of a long-haul writing challenge. During the first episode, my laptop was suddenly unable to connect to the charger. Then my laptop then started crashing multiple times, and I ended up having to finish more than one episode with paper and pencil.
Then wild animals started crawling through my walls. And I wasn’t exactly calm or reasonable in my attempts to get them out.
During the course of that challenge alone, I ended up having to upgrade my entire office – from getting a new tower and monitor to buying my first ever ring light.
I was fortunate that I had the time and money to do so. After all, outside of basic promotions and research, there was only one hour I had to devote to that challenge.
But with the Stephen King Writing Challenge, you don’t get that kind of leeway.
So as someone who has learned the value of considering worse-case scenarios this week, I’m reminding you to get your ducks in a row before March 15th.
Ask yourself:
- If my computer died tomorrow, how would I write and track my progress?
- If my power went out tomorrow, what resources would I need to have to get my life AND the challenge back on track?
- If my primary internet connection was gone tomorrow, how would I touch base with my social media support group?
Remember: having an answer for all these questions now means that you won’t have to come up with answers on the fly later.