26 Day of Writing

I have said before that I want to become a published author.  Whether that comes true with a picture book or a novel, it doesn't matter, I just want to write something.  Becoming published is even on my Bucket List!

I have been reading various blogs about writing and they all say that in order to become a writer, you must write! Duh!  I think they meant that you should spend the majority of your time writing, not going from website to website looking for the 'next big thing' to write about or worrying about finding an agent.  Find an agent and craft a query letter after you write your story.  All the lists you make and the mental notes you have in your head will not matter unless you have a story to tell.  Multiple stories too!  A lot of the times, agents want to see several things you have written, especially if it is just 1 picture book you are submitting (so I have heard from all my procrastinating 'research').

So, stop googling 'the art of writing' and start actually writing! You have been saying for years that writing is your dream, but what have you done to make that dream into a  reality???????  BTW, I am telling this to myself just as much as to anyone who finds themselves reading this post.

Got writers block?  Let's do this challenge for the month of June (or whenever you read this).  Write down all the letters from A-Z on a piece of paper, each of them on their own line.  Pick a letter, find a topic that starts with that letter and write a story about it, or maybe an idea that starts with that letter.  WRITE THE STORY!  Once it is done (or an outline of it if it is a novel), you can write the topic next to the corresponding letter.  For instance, say that C is about Cats or T is about Timezones, etc.

Note:  These are NOT some of my topics, but feel free to use them. ;)
A
B
C-Cat
D
E
F
G
H
I--Igloos in Iceland
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T-Timezones
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

Overwhelmed?  Don't be!  Take each letter, one day at a time.  Eat that elephant! By the end of the month, you will either have 26 short stories or novel outlines to expand from.  Or perhaps your short stories can be picture books.  I think it might be hard to write a novel in a day (LOL), so plot outlines would work too.  Adjust this challenge to your situation.

Be creative and think outside the box.  Writing about Igloos in Iceland that are afraid of global warming and what they are doing about it, told from the igloos point of view?  Weird?  Yes!  It's outside the box.

At the end of this, your stories might be crazy and you might only like a few of them, but at least you wrote 26 stories and/or novel outlines.

Have FUN and tell me how it goes!  I am taking this challenge myself, so I will be in the trenches with you. :)