Announcing: The 100-Word Challenge
Start the new year with a goal to write 100 words a day
The first hundred words of any given writing session are always the hardest for me to write. Some days, it feels impossible to start.
A year ago, I wrote about the Two Minute Rule, which I learned from James Clear’s Atomic Habits: “When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.”
When I’m having a hard time getting back to my writing routine, I tell myself I don’t have to write much today—just a few paragraphs, and then I can call it quits. Inevitably, I get into a writing groove and write quite a lot after all.
And, look. I’ve just written one hundred words of this post.
The challenge in writing a whole novel, or even just a whole short story, is in building a habit. Once I’m used to sitting down and writing every day, I find that my brain expects to work. Creative ideas flow more regularly. Words come more easily.
So I’m inviting you to join me in starting your writing habit for the year. I’ll send you 100 words of writing inspiration every day in January, and you’ll write 100 words of anything you want. 100 words of a novel, or a story, or brainstorming, or a writing exercise.
And if you find you’re itching to keep going, you can write more than 100 words. If not, you can stop there and feel great about the fact that you’re building a writing habit.
Here’s how it works:
Every day in January (except Sundays, because it’s nice to have a day off), I’ll send you a 100-word newsletter from The Writer’s Attic. It might be a quick look at the craft of writing or a writing prompt or something else inspiring.
You’ll take this as your cue to write 100 words of anything at all. You might continue working on a project you’ve already started, or you might start something new. You might write unconnected, quick sketches each day.
The hope is that at some point, you’ll feel like writing more than 100 words at a time. But even if you don’t, you’ll end up with almost 3,000 words by the end of the month.
Paid subscribers will receive these emails every day in January, six days a week. You’ll also receive a downloadable pdf with all of the week’s prompts.
Free subscribers will receive four of these 100-word newsletters, one on each Saturday in January.
You can comment on each post letting us know that you’ve completed your 100 words for the day. You can even share your 100 words if you’re up for it! I’d love to see what you’re writing.
I hope you’ll join my 100-word challenge! It’ll be a great way to get back to writing after the holidays. I’m excited for you to see what I have planned for our daily newsletters, and I hope you’ll find them motivating and inspiring.
Remember, if you want to receive the 100-Word Challenge every day in January, along with downloadable pdf versions, you’ll need to be a paid subscriber. That means you’ll pay $5 for the whole month of prompts.
Survey Results
Thank you to everyone who took my survey about The Writer’s Attic! Here are the results so far:
What do you like most about The Writer’s Attic?
“Analysis of specific examples from stories.” This was the most common answer by far! I will definitely continue to be very specific.
“Worksheets.” I’ve been providing paid subscribers with pdf downloads, and I plan to keep making more.
“Unique writing advice.” I know there are a lot of newsletters and websites that provide writing advice. I try to focus on what I’m personally working through in my own writing so that I can give my best insights.
What would make The Writer’s Attic even better?
“Query letter critiques.” I’m not sure how to do these on The Writer’s Attic. I really enjoyed Query Club, in which I gave a lot of free critiques on query letters, but few people participated. I’ll think more on this!
“Resources for debut authors.” This might be partially outdated by now, but several years ago, I actually created an entire website of info for debut authors.
“Writing courses.” A lot of interest in this, so I will work on hosting a class right here on The Writer’s Attic soon!
“More 5-Page Book Club.” I plan to send these to paid subscribers every month. In fact, I have one coming your way next week.
“Book breakdowns.” I’m thinking up a feature where I pick a novel and go through four or five things it does well. Not a book review, in which I evaluate the merits of the book; just a look at what makes the book work.
“More from your personal experiences.” I’m pretty shy about talking about myself, but I’ll occasionally write more posts like the one about my worst public speaking experiences.
Amazing notes people left in the survey (thank you!!):
“You're an excellent teacher.”
“The Writer’s Attic is one of the few newsletters I receive that I open immediately and always find value in its content.”
“You are one of the few newsletters I read all of.”
“This is the only newsletter I have not unsubscribed from due to its useful content that is actually applicable.”
If you’d like to take the 4-question survey, I’d love to hear your thoughts! Thank you so much to everyone who gave me feedback.