I got an e-mail from author Fiona Robyn earlier today. I am subscribed to one of her blogs, Planting Words. She made an announcement that in January, she will be holding a month long writing challenge called NaSmaStoMo (National Small Stones Writing Month). This means that everyday for the month of January, you would write a 'small stone'. A small stone is a small, poetic observation. You can read more about small stones on her blog. I even have one published on her online lit zine, a handful of stones.
I started thinking about how often I push myself to write everyday. Since 2009, I have done NaPoWriMo, also known as a 30/30 challenge in April, which is writing a poem everyday in April for National Poetry Month. Last December, I did another 30/30 (or 31/31 since it's December) for the end of the year. Of course I write throughout the year, but there are times where I am uninspired or extremely stressed out to write.
When I was younger, I wrote several times a week. Now I'm lucky if I write a few times a month. I need to push myself and challenge myself more. I used to before I became reliant on school to help me with my writing life. Goodness, I was writing long before I decided this should be a career, I shouldn't be a slave to learning from academia! I taught myself a lot of stuff before college. And I was writing more too.
So I have decided to do more month long writing challenges. I'm not going to do it every month, but there will be more months of challenges (which means more action on this blog). I'm also going to do shorter two week challenges between breaks. I am going to list my schedule right now as a matter of fact!
2011:
January - NaSmaStoMo at a river a stones via the Write Queen blog
February - break
March - March 7 - 20, Haiku Madness
April - NaPoWriMo via the Write Queen
May - break
June - June 6 - 19, Tanka Marathon
July - Discover Me - 31/31 of Self Discovery Poetry
August - break
September - Spell It Out - 30/30 of Acrostic Poetry
October - break
November - November 7 - 20, Haibun Runs
December - 31/31 for the end of the year
Whew, just looking at it scares me, but it's exciting at the same time. Now that everyone knows my writing schedule, don't be afraid to push me if you see me slacking. Encouragement is the best medicine for a writer. Makes us feel loved!