There’s nothing mystical about writing well. Anyone can do it, and anyone who does it long enough, meaningful enough, and public enough begins to influence others. All you have to do is put one word after the other. That’s it!
Writers aren’t necessarily gifted, and they certainly don’t always do well at school! They simply know how to line up words regularly enough they discover sentences that actually make sense, and resonate with others.
Many gifted, eloquent people never write because they fail to discipline themselves at the practice. That’s why I’m introducing a writing challenge. We need more excellent writers. But we won’t get any unless we start practicing.
You don’t control the outcome, just the process
As writers, we cannot control the outcome–whether what we write goes viral, becomes a best-seller, or changes lives. We simply control the process: whether or not we sit down and write.
I first discovered this when I took Jeff Goins’ 31-day writing challenge a few years ago. Until then, I fought to get posts published and hardly ever felt “inspired” to write. After taking on the challenge, I had developed the ability to write whenever I could, even when I didn’t feel inspired. What I learned was that “inspiration” came more often than before because I was actively practicing my writing.
I am now in the middle of my first real book project. Fifty-five thousand words are being assembled into better formation of paragraphs and sentence structures. But I didn’t get those fifty-five thousand words overnight. No one writes a book in one sitting. It happens in small bites, one word at a time.
Soon words turn into sentences and sentences into paragraphs. Those paragraphs become chapters and the chapters become a book. After a year of writing, I finally had a manuscript worth editing.
Join the 2-week challenge
I challenge you to take a few minutes every day for two weeks straight and write 500 words. That’s it! Five hundred words. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar, just write. If you can do that each day for two weeks, I guarantee you will be a much better writer than you were at first.
It takes me anywhere between a half-hour and an hour to write 500 words and on my best days I can do it in less than twenty minutes; but that’s not the point. The point is to write. The more you write, the more interesting your writing becomes and soon you can cut and place interesting words together and see a beautiful sketch come to life.
If you’ve ever wanted to test the waters of writing, or if you already are a writer and want to take it to the next level, I challenge you to practice this discipline. Because two weeks doesn’t feel as overwhelming of a commitment as thirty-one days, I’ve chosen to keep it short.
Write 500 Words is a 14-day challenge designed to help you develop a daily writing habit and become a better writer.*
Every day for 2 weeks, we’ll be writing 500 words a day. Again, we’re not looking for perfection. We’re just looking to get our thoughts put on paper.
The rules
- Write 500 words per day, every day for fourteen days
- You can write more if you want, but at least write 500 words.
- Write, don’t edit.
- Don’t try making up for days missed, just pick up where you left off when you miss one.
- Encourage other writers, don’t criticize (unless they ask you to).
- Blogging counts, but email does not.
- You do not have to be a blogger; but if you’re writing, why not?
How the challenge works
- Leave a comment at the end of this post saying you’re “in.”
- If you haven’t already, join the Facebook group for extra accountability and encouragement.
- You can also sign up via email and receive writing prompts and tips directly to your inbox.
- If you have a blog, add your blog to the linkup on the Write 500 Words Page.
- Write every day and record your progress.
Win Scary Close or Present Over Perfect if you
- Are apart of the Facebook group.
- Write every day and post your word amount.
- Live anywhere a package can be delivered.
For every day you post a word amount, I will write your name on a slip of paper and add it to the mix. The more you write, the greater your chance of winning (I trust you to be honest 🙂 ).
So, are you going to take on the challenge? What will you be writing about during these two weeks? Share in the comments.
*Adapted from Jeff Goins’ 31-day writing challenge, My 500 Words
