Need some crackling excitement? Everyone loves autumn.
Change is in the air—literally.
Can you see it?
Can you feel it?
Can you smell it?
Can you taste it?
Memories crackle and pop in my head during this magical time of year. A time of personal and environmental transformation. Much like nature when the temperatures drop and the leaves fall, people reflect inward and embrace change. And among all this abundance, Lioness Press presents the 30-Day Inspired Writing Challenge.
Thirty days to learn the craft of writing. Thirty days to become a more self-aware, reflective, and mindful writer. Thirty days to welcome in this new season by priming your writing chops. Like much in life, writing is a muscle that you must use continuously, or it atrophies and stagnates.
Autumn tends to be a season of labor. A time of harvest. So, let’s write for 30 days and learn how to harvest the voice within so you too can have an abundant crop. Your crop will contain story elements, literary devices, stylistic devices, mood, imagery, and more—all to create an effect for your reader.
By month’s end, your writing muscles will be tight (yeah, I’m full of puns this month), and you’ll have learned new skills to take your writing to the next level. For many, your crop will be a draft of a novel; for others numerous seeds planted, waiting to grow.
One question you may be asking yourself is: Why commit to a 30-day Inspired Writing Challenge?
The only way to become a better writer is to put your butt in the chair and write every day. Yes, it can be hard to put into practice, especially if writing isn’t your full-time job.
When you’re struggling to make writing a priority in your life, setting a goal to write every day for 30 days can help solidify your daily writing habit. It’s a major accomplishment, one you can feel proud of, and with the daily tips you’ll find on Instagram, you’ll build writing skills that will help you grow into a better, more prolific writer.
A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.
RICHARD BACH
You need to start somewhere, and Lioness Press will give you the tools and tips to guide you along your path, cheering you on with every step.
Why Inspired?
We all need inspiration to move forward, to push harder, to do better. No real recipe exists for writing. Yes, of course, there’s a formula for some genres—romance, mystery, etc.—but it’s not a do-this, then-this process and your story comes out perfect every time. You must make it your own.
Everyone learns at their own pace, in their own way. For me, writing is about discovery, not what you were taught in school about grammar and vocabulary. Yeah, that’s all necessary but that’s not really writing. That’s writing for academia. Writing for readers takes inspiration and perseverance.
Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.
GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
The Lioness Press 30-Day Inspired Writing Challenge is about the six senses—sight, sound, touch, smell, feel and proprioception (space perception: the idea of knowing where your body is)—and all the ideas of craft we can cram into 30 days. It’s opening your mind and letting it wander where it will, taking in all that glorious information along the journey and writing it down.
What are the rules?
Have you heard of the “10,000-hour rule,” that it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill? Realize you don’t need to master your writing (well, only if you want to—but that’s a goal for another blog), you just need to learn it enough to write stories that people will want to read. Any skill can be learned when you devote enough time to it.
Josh Kaufman, author of The Personal MBA and The First 20 Hours, says you can “learn any new skill in 20 hours.”
Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.
LOUIS L’AMOUR
So that’s your goal, 40 minutes per day for the next 30 days. Just start writing and the words will flow.
- Write for a minimum of 40 minutes every day. If you don’t have the time, MAKE THE TIME!!
- Make writing a priority. If you’re a morning lark, schedule it at the beginning of your day. If you’re a night owl, like me, schedule your time before bed. Did you know that practicing anything for 45 minutes before going to bed allows your brain to better consolidate the motor skills into long-term memory? See, you’re learning already.
- Use whatever tools you want. Indulge in a new journal, colored pencils, flowered stationery—whatever you want, just know you need something to put your musings down each day.
- FOCUS: Don’t let anything else interfere with your writing time. Turn off your phone, TV, don’t check your email, and tell the kids to entertain themselves—you go and write for 40 minutes.
- Stay connected via Social Media. We’ll be here with you all the way. Share your insights, words, musings, quotes, pics, what have you . . . just share and we’ll share with you. The writing community is amazing! Use the hashtags: #inspiredwritingchallenge #30daysofwriting #writeeverydamnday
5 Days of Prep Work Starts Sunday, September 26, 2021
Follow Lioness Press on Instagram and we’ll get you started with a tip each day to set you on the road to writing success in October.
