The writing challenge is a commitment to write each day.
A few years ago, I noticed that the writers in my workshops who were succeeding (i.e., growing as artists, developing their voice, and yes, getting published) weren’t necessarily the “most talented.” They were the ones who showed up regularly for their writing. This is the reason I created my annual writing challenge, made it free for anyone to participate, and offered lots of high value prizes including my 8-day Tuscany writing retreat as incentives.
The challenge fosters healthy competition, makes writing fun, and cuts through your resistance by connecting you to a community of like-minded artists who share the same goal. This creates an environment where creativity can blossom.
Waiting for inspiration is unreliable. The ability to persist is much more valuable than waiting for genius to arrive.
In this article, I’ll explore why writing challenges work, what they entail, and common mistakes writers make in approaching them. Lastly, I’ll give you a Story Weapon to complete writing challenges successfully.
Writing challenges succeed where inspiration fails because they replace the unreliable condition of feeling ready with the reliable practice of showing up and separates writers who finish manuscripts from writers who wait. A daily commitment as small as 100 words eliminates decision fatigue, lowers the perfectionism threshold, and builds the self-trust that compounds over time into real creative momentum.
Why writing challenges work
They eliminate decision fatigue
Every day you’re making hundreds of decisions. When it comes to writing, you have to consider:
- What should I write?
- When should I write?
- How much should I write?
Getting started is the hardest part. A writing challenge cuts your resistance in half. It can help you focus and quiet the noise.
My daily writing challenge has you write 100 words a day for a year, and offers a multitude of prizes. The goal is simple. Writing 100 words takes only about five or ten minutes.
Once you get those words down, you are far more likely to continue writing. Even if you don’t, writing just 100 words a day for a year amounts to 36,500 words!
Having a regular writing ritual creates habit
Writing on Day 22, Day 135, Day 201, and so on becomes much less daunting than it was on Day 1. This is not because you wake up every day automatically inspired. It’s because you’ve built a habit.
When you commit to a small daily goal in this way, your writing overall is strengthened by showing yourself that you can follow through.
Lowering the stakes
Many writers get stuck on the blank page, thinking every word of their manuscript must be perfect from the start. A writing challenge takes the stress off and can help rewire your approach to writing. Your goal is not perfection here. It’s just to get the creative juices flowing.
The focus shifts from concern over quality, to simply getting words on the page.
Always give yourself permission to write poorly in your first draft. Even successfully published writers do this. You’ll have time to polish the prose later. First you need something to work with.
Brilliant writing often happens when you are less concerned about the quality of the prose, and you allow yourself to become a channel for the story that wants to come through you.
Building self-trust
When you get involved in a writing challenge, you build self-trust. Each completed session builds confidence, and that can translate into longer writing sessions as you work on your manuscript.
This constant input really does count. It teaches your subconscious that the act of writing is significant and helps invoke your muse.
There is no secret ingredient to this. Incredible things can be accomplished by being creative on a frequent basis. Consistent effort results in amazing outcomes.
Different aspects of a writing challenge
There are lots of different challenge types out there. (Ours here at alanwatt.com ticks multiple boxes!)
Daily writing challenges
It’s not really about the number of words; it’s about maintaining consistency. If you can put in ten minutes or even if you only have time to write a few sentences, it all counts towards developing that all-important habit.
Word count challenges
These types of challenges require writers to hit a daily target. Examples include:
- 100 words per day
- 500 words per day
- 1,000 words per day
Word count challenges provide clear metrics and measurable progress. For some writers, numbers create great motivation.
We keep the initial goal small to give you a kickstart into writing for the day.
Community challenges
When you observe other writers challenging themselves and see their progress on a leaderboard, you are more inclined to do it as well. Plus, there’s accountability and support to help make it easier.
Our writing challenge is free to join and participate in each day as you mark your daily progress for the chance to win great prizes!
Prompt-based challenges
Daily prompts are inspirational and great to have when you’re lacking in ideas or motivation. They help quiet your inner critic since coming up with topics isn’t your concern.
In our challenge, you’ll get writing prompts as an extra boost for free in the first 14 days, then if you’d like you can subscribe for more.
Why I created the writing challenge
A lot of writers fall into canyons of self-doubt, and it’s hard to climb back out. The worst outcome is when you just give up. You stop showing up to the page. Life goes on, schedules fill up, and your manuscript sits in a drawer or pushed away in a sub folder-on your computer.
My advice is to keep at it in any way you can. Set small goals to get out of the rut. Taking part in a writing challenge is an easy concept and a great warmup. You can use it to get your head in the right space, then keep going to write the next scene in your story. It’s all about showing up to the page consistently.
The more you challenge yourself, the better you become as a writer. And that’s the real prize you should seek.
Common mistakes writers make during writing challenges
Missing a day and giving up
When people miss a day in the challenge, they often freak out. That’s not a bad thing. But the meaning you make out of it can be. The truth is we’re human, and life is always in session. You are going to miss a day. Don’t make missing a day or even several a crisis.
You don’t need to have a perfect score. That’s resistance knocking again. It’s giving up altogether that does the real damage.
Measuring quality instead of consistency
You can take the time to edit and refine your prose later. Right now, focus on forming the habit of showing up every day.
Comparing yourself to other writers
Someone will always write more or write faster. But none of that matters.
Your goal is just to show up. If you really want to work against a “competitor” for extra motivation, strive to be better than the version of yourself from yesterday.
Your story weapon: How to successfully complete a writing challenge
- Make it ridiculously easy to start. Cut down on friction by leaving your notebook out or keeping your a .doc file open so that you see it when you first turn on your computer. Make your writing time easy to start. Consistency in a routine saves a lot of energy.
- Check in each day on the leaderboard. Having a visible streak helps boost your motivation. Maybe you won’t write brilliantly every day, but you can ensure you show up. Just trust the process, and the results will come.
- Focus on process, not results. Each session counts towards your goal. Even if you really don’t feel inspired on some days, let your thoughts flow in stream-of- consciousness. Get the muck out of your head so that you can focus on what needs to happen next in your story.
- Celebrate small wins. Every writing session counts. Every day matters. Creative success is rarely built through dramatic breakthroughs. It’s built through thousands of ordinary writing sessions.
If you can do this, you start trusting yourself more, and that blank page won’t scare you nearly as much. Dive right in without asking for permission or arguing with self-doubt.
If you’re not sure whether you can stick it out for a full year, set a smaller goal for yourself. Make a commitment to stick to that promise for the next 30 days. Then the next 30 days, then the next.
Building this small habit will show you that you can trust yourself to come back to writing. Writing doesn’t all happen in big writing bursts; it comes from tiny, consistent efforts.
Take it one day at a time. Before you know it, you’ll have created something amazing. Consistently showing up for writing challenges like this is a great place to start.
Extraordinary writing careers are built through small, consistent acts of commitment rather than occasional bursts of inspiration. If you’re ready to establish a lasting writing practice and become part of a supportive community of writers, join the writing challenge today.
