Posts in October 2022
30-Day Writing Challenge
30-Day Writing Challenge
 
 
 

Here comes November, the month when writers around the world sharpen their pencils or fire up their computers and get ready to write – a lot. So it’s time for my annual 30-day Writing with Pleasure Challenge.

You can sign up for National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo, and pledge to write 50,ooo words in 30 days.  Or perhaps you'd rather hook up with one of NaNoWriMo's younger siblings, such as NaPoWriMo ("30 poems in 30 days") or AcWritMo (hashtag #acwrimo), an informal network of academic writers who adhere to these 6 rules:

  1. You have to decide on a goal where you count either words, hours or projects.

  2. You declare your goal by signing up on the ‘Accountability Spreadsheet’.

  3. You then draft your approach to the month, making sure you have done enough preparation to write a lot.

  4. You discuss your progress on social media like Twitter and Facebook.

  5. You have to work really hard and not get distracted.

  6. And at the end you must publicly declare your results on the spreadsheet or on social media.

If all this sounds appealing to you, then by all means go for it!  Write your entire novel or draft your PhD dissertation during a disciplined month of working "really hard" – and please don't forget to post about it on social media so that the rest of us can be reminded what lazy sluggards we are in comparison.

But if you'd prefer to take a more joyful and less punitive approach to daily writing, my free 30-day Writing with Pleasure Challenge offers a very different kind of writing challenge, prompting you to write with pleasure for at least 25 minutes a day every day for 30 days. 

If you make it through the full series of 30 daily prompts, you'll have a lot of fun along the way -- but if you miss a few days here and there, that's okay too.  This exercise is all about finding pleasure in writing, which sometimes means taking a day off from writing.

Please forward the registration link widely and encourage other writers to join the fun!  

I look forward (with pleasure!) to seeing you there.

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October 2022Helen SwordOctober 2022, writing challenge, pleasure
KISS don't TELL
KISS don't TELL
 
 
 

At some point in your writing life, you may have been given well-meaning advice spelled out via the acronym KISS:  

Keep It Simple, Stupid!

Personally, I refuse to dishonor intelligent, hardworking writers with such a mean-spirited harangue. Keep It Short and Simple – fair enough.  By why throw in that gratuitous Stupid?

As an alternative, I've come up with the formulation KISS don't TELL: 

Keep It Stylish, Sunshine!
don't
Turn Everything Long and Laborious

Earlier this week, as a writing warm-up at my weekly Virtual Writing Studio, I invited participants to spell out their own versions of KISS don't TELL – or, if they preferred, to propose creative variations. As usual, they came up with some wonderfully inventive and playful responses:

  • KISS don't TELL: Keep It Sharp and Simple; don't Take Enjoyment, Let the reader Live in the writing! (Jennifer, Australia)

  • KISS don't TELL: Kindle Inquiry, Suggest Satisfaction; don't Torture Everyone with Lengthy Lines (Anita, South Africa)

  • CRISP don't SPELL: Create, Return, Inspire, Shape, Play; don't be Serious, Prohibit, Evaluate, Lonely, Loathe (Nina, Australia)

  • KISS don't TELL: Keep It Short and Simple; don't use Tremendously Elegant Luxury Language (Hannah, UK)

  • KISS don't TELL:

    Keep
    In mind that you are
    Smart with your genuine creativity
    Start to write anytime anywhere

    do not

    T    hink too much but
    Enjoy your writing with your own
    Language and make your meaningful
    Legacy on earth

    (Grace, Texas, USA)


Excellent advice all round! 

However, I'm well aware that Keeping It Short, Sharp, Smart, and Simple is not such a simple matter — especially when we feel pressured to impress our peers by Turning Everything Long and Laborious and Torturing Everyone with Lengthy Lines.

That's why I've devoted much of my adult life to writing books, developing online tools, and facilitating workshops, courses, and retreats for academic and professional writers who want to let the sunshine in but can't quite figure out how. If you're ready for another shot at that elusive KISS, this website offers an array of targeted resources for you to try.

Writing clear, elegant, engaging prose is a craft that anyone can learn — and I'm here to help you. You may wish to start by taking my “What’s Your Writing Roadblock?” quiz.

Keep It Stylish, Sunshine!  

Subscribe here to Helen’s Word on Substack to access the full Substack archive and receive weekly subscriber-only newsletters (USD $5/month or $50/year).

WriteSPACE members enjoy a complimentary subscription to Helen’s Word as part of their membership plan (USD $15/month or $150/year). Not a member? Join the WriteSPACE now and get your first 30 days free.

 
October 2022Helen Swordstyle, Virtual Writing Studio, October 2022