Day Seven of the 7 Day Writing Challenge

Today I'm posting day seven of the seven day writing challenge. Yep, it's done! It's the last day! Thank you so much for sticking with me during this challenge; I really appreciate it! It's January 7th, which means two things: 1.) We're one week into 2020 and, 2.) This writing challenge is finished! Woohoo!

Do you feel any different? Do you feel any more productive or more inspired? I feel more inspired, but I think this challenge would have been more efficient for me if I set aside a certain time for my writing. I need to tell myself, "Start writing at 1 pm." or something like that to feel that sense of productivity, so that I'll know when I need to write and get into a good habit of doing it.

Ready for today's prompt?

Write about your favorite person.

We all have a favorite person, right? Whether it be a significant other, best friend, or family friend, I think most of us do.

Write as much or as little as you please about your favorite person. You can write about what you like about them, or you can tell why they're so important to you. If you want to, you could show them what you've written to make their day, or you could keep it to yourself.

I hope you guys enjoyed the last prompt. ;) I'd love to hear if this inspired you or just your thoughts on today's prompt!

Day Six of the 7 Day Writing Challenge

Today is the sixth day of the 7 day writing challenge, and I have a very inspiring prompt for you all! If you're keeping up with the challenge, I hope it's going well for you. (I also hope that it's helping you overcome writer's block.)

I was sitting on my computer this afternoon when today's prompt finally came to me (yes, I was experiencing a bit of writer's block myself). It definitely inspired me to write--a lot more than I expected it to.

Shall I get to it?

Write a poem about a hard time in your life.

This should inspire you to get out your paper and start writing. We all go through hard times, right? It could be something you're going through right now, something that you just went through, or something that you went through three years ago.

Also, if you don't consider yourself poetic or if writing poetry just isn't your thing, don't be turned off. Remember: all poetry doesn't have to rhyme. You can write a poem as a long paragraph, or you can break it up with lines and stanzas. It's up to you. I actually prefer writing prose, poetry that's just a long paragraph without any rhyming.

Try to dig deep within yourself and write about something that's difficult to write about.

Were you inspired by this prompt? I'd love to hear your opinion in the comments below. 😃

Day Five of the 7 Day Writing Challenge

Day five of the 7 day writing challenge is up! How's it been going for you guys? Have you been keeping up with the challenge every day?

It's been pretty busy for me. I've been keeping up with this blog, a blog about my life you can find here, and a Tumblr blog that you can find here. I'm also thinking about rebooting an old blog I used to keep up with!

Are you ready for today's prompt?

Write about the weather.

This should really help your descriptive writing. Believe it or not, there are a lot of different ways to say, "It's raining" or "It's sunny". You can write about the way the sky looks, or the way the sun shines, or the way the stars twinkle, or the way the moon looks. Get creative and try to describe exactly how the weather is.

Personally, I think the sky is my favorite thing to describe about the weather. . . mainly because it's always different. Sometimes it looks sleepy, sometimes it looks ominous, sometimes it looks as if it's deep in thought.

Well, I hope you guys enjoy this prompt. I hope to make tomorrow's post a little lengthier--it's just that I'm in a bit of a hurry today, and I feel writer's block coming my way. 😐 If you enjoyed this prompt or felt inspired by it, I'd love to know!

Day Four of the 7 Day Writing Challenge

Today I'm posting the fourth day of the 7 day writing challenge. Have you been writing every day? What do you think of the prompts so far?

If you guys haven't been following each day, or if you missed a day, be sure to check out day one, day two, and day three.

It's one of those gloomy days today, where the sky is a dreary gray and the whole world seems to be shrouded in a rainy haze. I'm glad that I'm kept busy writing and blogging. Well, I'm sure you guys want me to get on with today's prompt:

Create a blog about your life.

I know, I know, I know what you're thinking: "But I don't have time to keep up with a blog!" But before you get turned off, let me explain something to you: of course I don't mean start a full time blog and blog every day. That would be asking way too much!

What I mean is create a blog--and you can keep it private so that only people you invite can read it--about your day-to-day experiences. It's nice to be able to express yourself through writing and blogging; also, there's something about seeing the words you've written on their very own website.

You can also create a micro blog on Tumblr if you aren't interested in creating a "big" blog. I made one yesterday called micahs_musings (you can check it out here), where I basically just talk about random stuff that's on my mind.

Before I leave you to it, I'd like to say a few things:

If you're blogging about your personal life, it's probably not a good idea to post things that you wouldn't want your mom to read. 😉 You also shouldn't use people's real names when writing about them, unless you have their permission. Lastly, don't post any personal information--stay safe, friends.

Have fun customizing your blog--oh, and feel free to drop the link in the comments so I can check it out. 😉

What are your thoughts on this post? Do you have anything to add to it? I know I always say it, but it's true: I love hearing what you guys have to say! See you tomorrow. 😃

Day Three of the 7 Day Writing Challenge

Day three of the 7 day writing challenge is here! Who's ready to write?

I hope yesterday's prompt really got you writing--it inspired me for sure. I felt like it brought out a part of me that I didn't know was there. It's weird how writing can do that, isn't it? If you missed yesterday's prompt, you can find the link here.

How is the fresh month of January going for you? I hope the year of 2020 is starting off great for you; I have plenty of goals, and I planned to write 1000 words in Moss the Archer on the first day of January. However (due to either laziness or a tinge of writer's block), I ended up staying up late and watching an episode of Downton Abbey. Kind of a bad time to rewatch one of my favorite tv series, right?

Especially because I was in one of those moods where I didn't really feel like writing, but I knew that if I sat down at my computer, I could get a lot of revising done. Oh, well.

Anyway, are you guys ready for the prompt?

Write a letter to your future self.

This is another deep prompt that will hopefully inspire you to write. Yesterday for the second day of the 7 day writing challenge, we wrote a letter to our ten-year-old self. Now we have the chance to write a letter to our future self--and it can be as many years in the future as you wish. I think I'm going to write mine to my eighteen-year-old self.

Well, the best of luck to you! 😊 I'd love to hear what you think of this prompt and whether or not it inspired you to start writing.

Are you participating in the 7 day writing challenge? Are you ready to become a better writer this year? Have you completed day three of the 7 day writing challenge? I'd be glad to hear what you have to say in the comments below. 😊

Day Two of the 7 Day Writing Challenge

Day two of the 7 day writing challenge is here! I hope you guys enjoyed yesterday's prompt. 😊 I know it was a deep one, so I really hope that it actually inspired you to start writing. If you missed day one of the 7 day writing challenge, it isn't too late to participate: you can find the link here.

Today's writing prompt is:

Write a letter to your ten-year-old self.

This one really got me thinking. I hadn't decided what day two's prompt was going to be, and last night I was writing in my journal when it came to me. I just started writing a letter to my ten-year-old self. I thought about how young and careless I was; I thought about all of the pain, tears, and struggles that I've been through. I thought about what I would say to a ten-year-old me if I could go back in time.

I don't think I would tell her about all of the trials that she would be facing in just a couple of years. I think I'd let her enjoy her childhood and just be a kid. After all, knowing about all the mistakes she'd make, the pain she'd feel, and the regret she'd have wouldn't change anything.

What would you say to your ten-year-old self? What would you say to them? Would you tell them about the struggles they would face, or would you let them enjoy their childhood?

Anyway, this prompt is pretty deep, and I hope it will get you guys writing. 😉

Thank you so much for participating in this writing challenge; I really appreciate your interest! Don't forget to check in tomorrow for day three of the 7 day writing challenge.

How are you guys doing with this challenge? Do you feel more inspired by the prompts? Is writing every day getting any easier?

I'd love to hear what you think of this challenge. 😃 Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow!

Day One of the 7 Day Writing Challenge

Ready for day one of the 7 day writing challenge? It's finally here, and I'm very excited to share it with you guys. 😃

Happy new year to everyone! I'm so glad that you've decided to join me for my 7 day writing challenge, and I hope that this year is starting off great for you. 2020. . . there's something about it. It feels special, and I think it's a great year to start a writing challenge. What better time than now to start a good habit of writing every day?

Anyway, this prompt is perfect for the first day of a new year:

Write ten things about yourself that you like, then write ten things about yourself that you don't like.

Let's be completely honest on this one--and it might take a bit of thought. The ten things about yourself that you like shouldn't be too difficult to write. These things should keep you inspired all year round, so that when you're feeling down you can look at them and remember what you like about yourself.

As for the ten things you don't like about yourself, well. . . be honest, and remember that you have the entire year that you can spend working on those things. This prompt should get you writing, but it might even help you dig deep within yourself and try to bring out the best you.

Well, what are you waiting for? I want to hear those pens scratching, those fingers hammering the keyboard.

If you'd like to share your results, go right ahead, but I don't expect you to ;) This is a more personal challenge for all of us.

Are you participating in this challenge? Have you completed day one? I'd love to hear what you have to say! 😃

How to Put Together a Writer's Notebook in 4 Steps

Happy New Year's Eve!

Today I just wanted to post about putting together a writer's notebook. A writer's notebook is incredibly helpful for those of you who like to stay organized (I'm definitely one of those people, although that doesn't apply to my room). It basically organizes all of your thoughts, ideas, and notes so that whenever you want to go back to them later, you don't have to turn your house upside down searching for a pile of index cards.

Also, if you don't have a writer's notebook yet, now is a great time to start one. That way you can start the new year off with a better way to stay organized.

I put my writer's notebook together earlier this year--and expected it to last until next year. I was wrong. The notebook I had been using contained 300 pages (it was even college ruled!), but just last month I had to buy a new one. I think it lasted only six months or so.

However, it didn't run out because there weren't enough pages: it was because of a lack of organization. Even though I had started out by separating my information into five different sections, I got a little lazy and before I knew it, I was scribbling my ideas on any random page I could find. After a while I noticed that I only had a couple of empty pages, surrounded by pages filled with hastily-written ideas. I had no more room for a five-page synopsis or a freewriting entry.

If only I had stuck to my original plan!

So last month I bought a new notebook and started afresh. This one is much more organized, and there is room for me to write all that I want.

Anyway, in this post I'm going to take you through the process of putting together your writer's notebook. Remember: this notebook is completely customizable, so if you don't like the way I do it, feel free to change it up. 😉


Step 1. Buy the Notebook

Buy a five-subject college ruled notebook. These usually contain 300 pages, which is plenty of room for your ideas, and you can fit a large amount of words on a college ruled page.


Step 2. Buy the Pens

I think I've bought nearly every brand of pen at our local Dollar General and tried them out. Most of them, as you can imagine, were complete garbage, but there are a few that work well.

Pilot pens are the very best that a writer can get, in my opinion--but at $1.25 apiece, they don't exactly fit a tight budget. PaperMate pens are pretty decent, and the InkJoy ones last for awhile. They're cheaper than Pilot pens but they last for a good while. If you're not interested in buying expensive pens and don't mind replacing them often, I suggest BIC Round Stic pens. They're $1 for ten pens, and they last for about a week  for me (I do write a lot, though). I have a couple of emergency packs, but I'm definitely spoiled to my ballpoint pens. 😊


Step 3. Label the Dividers

If you bought a five-subject notebook, it should come with four dividers (the first section doesn't have its own divider) and five total sections. Now it's the time to label the dividers (and here's where you can customize it the way you like). I labelled mine as follows (but you can do yours however you'd like):


Writing Ideas--

The first section in my notebook is devoted to my ideas. In this section I write any idea that I think of, along with notes, character ideas, etc.

Writing Log--

This section is where I keep my writing log (I'll write a post about that pretty soon). My writing log is where I try to track my progress when I get into my writing moods, like how many words I wrote in a day, how my revising is going, etc. I don't write in it every day, but every once in a while I'll add an entry when I feel like I've got a lot done.

Writing Tips--

Here I jot down any good writing tips that seem to help me, like good ways to get rid of writer's block (you can read my post on that here). Any tips that I find on the Internet, read in books, or hear from a fellow writer typically go in that section.

Words/Descriptions--

I write a lot of different words in this section. I love words (the more elegant, the better), so here's where I jot down words that I like, synonyms for a commonly used word, and things like that. I also write down random descriptions here as I think of them.

Freewriting--

This is different from a writing log (I'll be making a post about it shortly). Here is where I try to write whatever I want as often as I can. It helps me feel inspired, and it's a great but simple way to get those words flowing! I had this section in my old writing notebook, but in my new notebook, I've replaced it with a section for blogging ideas. I now have a separate notebook for freewriting.


Step 4. Start Writing

Now that you have all of your sections labelled, what are you waiting for? All that's left to do is start writing.

Congratulations: in four steps, your writing ideas are now organized and you're that much more prepared for the new year!

I hope that this blog post was helpful to you guys. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them! 😊

7 Day Writing Challenge

New year, new you. Who's ready to start a 7 day writing challenge? Writing every day will help you improve, and in my opinion, starting this challenge is a great way to spend January. Everybody has goals for the new year, right? Well, one of my biggest ones is to start trying to write every day, and I think that this challenge is going to help me build a habit of writing more often.

If you want to make a goal of writing more often but haven't started any sort of challenge yet, I strongly advise you to do so! It's so much easier whenever you have fellow writers holding you accountable. I would be so happy to have you join this challenge! 😊

So here's how it's going to work.

I'm going to post a prompt or question every day for a week, and all you have to do is write something in response to that prompt. No word counts, no time limits (unless you just want to set one). Now that doesn't sound so hard, right?

When you've written something, you don't have to share it with anybody, but I'd really love to see what my fellow writers are doing with this challenge. 😉 If you'd like, you can share what you've written in the comments of each daily post, but you certainly don't have to.

I'm going to post the first day on January 1st, of course. I'm really excited for this challenge, and I'd love to know who else is on board with me! 😊

Ready for the New Year?

Are you guys ready for the new year? Rather, the new decade. For me it already feels like 2020, and I'm looking forward to it. 😃 I have some writing goals for this coming year, too. I'm planning on being more organized, writing every day, and keeping up with my freewriting journal. Do you have any writing goals for 2020? Now is a pretty good time to start preparing them.

I want January to be a month of productivity and success. I definitely want to reach a word count of 50,000 in my second novel, Moss the Archer. Also, I want to participate in a 7 day writing challenge (which I will be posting about in a few days), which will hopefully keep me motivated and inspired all throughout January.

Who else is participating in a 7 (or 30) day writing challenge? And what are your writing goals for the new year? Feel free to share them in the comments below.