Over in the 2010 submissions thread, Alex Shvarstman pointed me towards a new challenge idea similar in premise to NaNoWriMo, but yearlong and revolving around short fiction.
That idea is Write 1 Sub 1.
In a nutshell, the challenge is to write one story every week, or month, next year and submit it (you don't have to sub it the same week or month, but it will need to be subbed at some stage in the year). So far 96 writers have officially signed up, some going for one story a week, some going for one story a month, and some, like me, going for two stories a month--which translates to the monthly challenge x2. Check this out for more details of what's involved.
ETA2: We now have our very own sub-forum! http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=221 w00t! Thanks, Mac!
37 AWers are definitely playing. Some of their blogs are linked to further down this post (if your blog's not in the list and it should be, please let me know and i'll add it quick-smart).
With the above in mind, this thread has two purposes:
1) To advertise Write1Sub1 and thus hopefully get a few more writers on the ride.
2) To act as a base of operations for AWers who have joined up.
Note: I am not involved in any way in organizing the Write1Sub1 challenge, and this is not intended to be an official representation of Write1Sub1. This thread is also not intended to take attention or traffic away from the official Write1Sub1 blog. It *is* meant to be a place where AWers who are joining in the challenge can hang out and encourage one another, and I'm hoping that it can in some small way contribute to the success and continuation of what i think is a really great idea.
With thread purpose #1 in mind: If you feel you need some extra motivation to write regularly, or sub regularly, then do think about entering the Write1Sub1 challenge. If nothing else, it will help you chart your writing limits and likely help you improve your writing scheduling. Also, there's shiny badges you can put up on your blog or website. Who doesn't love shiny badges? Oh, and you may sell some stories because of it.
If you feel you won't be able to write 52 stories in a year (that's a lot), or 12 stories (that's still quite a lot) and get them to sellable standard, why not tailor the challenge to suit your schedule? How about 1 story every 2 months, or 2 stories every 3 months? And even if you don't formally join the challenge, i'd sure love to have you hang out here with those of us who have.
And if you don't need the extra motivation ('52 stories a year? Easy') then join Write1Sub1 anyway. Might as well get a shiny badge for what you're already doing, right?
Thinking of thread purpose #2 now: If you've joined, let us know. Post here with your plan. Give us a link to your blog or website (or both) so we can cheer you on. Check in here regularly to tell us how you're going. If you're finding the going tough and need somebody to give you a hug or a kick, let us know. If you want to discuss a story problem, or a scheduling problem, or anything else, throw it into the thread (i'm thinking about creating a Write1Sub1 Social Group, but that's really dependent on how many participants we have here).
The folks at Write1Sub1 will be putting up weekly and monthly posts so people can provide updates on their progress. I'll link to those here so we don't miss any. If you want to twitter your Write1Sub1 achievements or disasters, the twitter hashtag is '#write1sub1'. If you're a Facebooker, here's the Write1Sub1 Facebook page.
Here are some blogs of AWers who've entered the challenge. I'm sure they'd love it if you popped in to cheer them on.
alexshvartsman
sisco
izanobu
Izz
Marvin Ghey
branchwag
NicoleMD
amkuska
soapdish
katsincommand
mfowler76
SimonKewin
bearilou
DaveK
GreenRoom
Tienci
Sagana
BriMaresh
pangalactic
JennyCP
Lyra Jean
misaditas
knotane
shelleyo
pamelam
The AW social group page for the Write1Sub1 challenge is here. If you're part of the challenge, but not in the group, please let me know, or if you want to be part of the group and the discussions, but are not involved in the challenge, let me know.
As you can probably tell, I'm really excited about this. The people behind Write1Sub1 (Stephen Ramey, Simon Kewin and Milo James Fowler) credit their major inspiration as Ray Bradbury, who diligently wrote and subbed a short story every week for decades. Here he is, talking about his approach. Here's hoping Write1Sub1 can unearth some more Bradburys.
ETA: If you're looking for someplace to sub your Write1Sub1 stories, check out the Write1Sub1: Short Fiction Market Listings page. As well as containing links to market list giants Ralan's and Duotrope, it has a link to a short story competition page (primarily UK markets, by the looks), the Preditors and Editors markets page and a flash fiction specific markets page.
That idea is Write 1 Sub 1.
In a nutshell, the challenge is to write one story every week, or month, next year and submit it (you don't have to sub it the same week or month, but it will need to be subbed at some stage in the year). So far 96 writers have officially signed up, some going for one story a week, some going for one story a month, and some, like me, going for two stories a month--which translates to the monthly challenge x2. Check this out for more details of what's involved.
ETA2: We now have our very own sub-forum! http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=221 w00t! Thanks, Mac!
37 AWers are definitely playing. Some of their blogs are linked to further down this post (if your blog's not in the list and it should be, please let me know and i'll add it quick-smart).
With the above in mind, this thread has two purposes:
1) To advertise Write1Sub1 and thus hopefully get a few more writers on the ride.
2) To act as a base of operations for AWers who have joined up.
Note: I am not involved in any way in organizing the Write1Sub1 challenge, and this is not intended to be an official representation of Write1Sub1. This thread is also not intended to take attention or traffic away from the official Write1Sub1 blog. It *is* meant to be a place where AWers who are joining in the challenge can hang out and encourage one another, and I'm hoping that it can in some small way contribute to the success and continuation of what i think is a really great idea.
With thread purpose #1 in mind: If you feel you need some extra motivation to write regularly, or sub regularly, then do think about entering the Write1Sub1 challenge. If nothing else, it will help you chart your writing limits and likely help you improve your writing scheduling. Also, there's shiny badges you can put up on your blog or website. Who doesn't love shiny badges? Oh, and you may sell some stories because of it.
If you feel you won't be able to write 52 stories in a year (that's a lot), or 12 stories (that's still quite a lot) and get them to sellable standard, why not tailor the challenge to suit your schedule? How about 1 story every 2 months, or 2 stories every 3 months? And even if you don't formally join the challenge, i'd sure love to have you hang out here with those of us who have.
And if you don't need the extra motivation ('52 stories a year? Easy') then join Write1Sub1 anyway. Might as well get a shiny badge for what you're already doing, right?
Thinking of thread purpose #2 now: If you've joined, let us know. Post here with your plan. Give us a link to your blog or website (or both) so we can cheer you on. Check in here regularly to tell us how you're going. If you're finding the going tough and need somebody to give you a hug or a kick, let us know. If you want to discuss a story problem, or a scheduling problem, or anything else, throw it into the thread (i'm thinking about creating a Write1Sub1 Social Group, but that's really dependent on how many participants we have here).
The folks at Write1Sub1 will be putting up weekly and monthly posts so people can provide updates on their progress. I'll link to those here so we don't miss any. If you want to twitter your Write1Sub1 achievements or disasters, the twitter hashtag is '#write1sub1'. If you're a Facebooker, here's the Write1Sub1 Facebook page.
Here are some blogs of AWers who've entered the challenge. I'm sure they'd love it if you popped in to cheer them on.
alexshvartsman
sisco
izanobu
Izz
Marvin Ghey
branchwag
NicoleMD
amkuska
soapdish
katsincommand
mfowler76
SimonKewin
bearilou
DaveK
GreenRoom
Tienci
Sagana
BriMaresh
pangalactic
JennyCP
Lyra Jean
misaditas
knotane
shelleyo
pamelam
The AW social group page for the Write1Sub1 challenge is here. If you're part of the challenge, but not in the group, please let me know, or if you want to be part of the group and the discussions, but are not involved in the challenge, let me know.
As you can probably tell, I'm really excited about this. The people behind Write1Sub1 (Stephen Ramey, Simon Kewin and Milo James Fowler) credit their major inspiration as Ray Bradbury, who diligently wrote and subbed a short story every week for decades. Here he is, talking about his approach. Here's hoping Write1Sub1 can unearth some more Bradburys.
ETA: If you're looking for someplace to sub your Write1Sub1 stories, check out the Write1Sub1: Short Fiction Market Listings page. As well as containing links to market list giants Ralan's and Duotrope, it has a link to a short story competition page (primarily UK markets, by the looks), the Preditors and Editors markets page and a flash fiction specific markets page.
Last edited: