Navigating the Writer’s Calendar: A Year of Writing Challenges

Kicking off the year with a bang, January brings us NaJoWriMo which stands for National Journal Writing Month. This challenge takes place on January 1st. The start of a new year is a great time to set new goals, build on previous successes and develop good habits for personal growth and enrichment. It is a simple challenge to write in your journal or diary everyday for 31 days straight.  

While there may not be any official writing challenge for the month of February, there are always a few writing challenges floating around. Continuing the journal writing challenge into February is encouraged. There is also the idea of February being the month of love which is the perfect time to embrace the art of letter writing. Challenge yourself to write a love letter, gratitude note, or even a heartfelt apology to someone you care about every day. This challenge not only improves your writing skills but also strengthens your relationships.

This writing challenge is for every type of writer. The challenge is simple: set a writing goal and work every day to achieve it. You get to set your own challenge this month but be sure to work on that goal every day in the month of March. Examples can be 20 newly drafted poems, or 200 revised pages of a novel, or 2-3 short stories you want to submit to a magazine. 

We talked about NaJoWriMo and April brings NaPoWriMo. You’ve guessed it, a month dedicated to all those poet enthusiasts. The challenge for this month is to write a poem every day. Challenge yourself to explore various forms and themes as well as experimenting with different poetic styles. There are daily prompts to help if you need a muse or not if you have your very own muse. 

Short stories also need a month. Story a day is a challenge you can do either in May or September (or really whenever you want). This challenge focuses on completing a short story every day, rather than finishing the month with a certain number of words or stories. Rules include just moving on from an uncompleted story. Starting and finishing a new story every day has its own set of challenges. 

While there are no official challenges for the month of June, there are plenty that can be found. Just Googling June writing challenges will bring up a myriad of options. Another idea is focusing on your existing characters or even developing a totally new character in the story you are creating. Explore their backstories, motivations, and personalities to breathe life into your narratives.

There are numerous writing contests available. Challenge yourself this month to locate a contest that might interest you. When you find the contest that fits your genre then work on writing for that specific contest. Each contest have different deadlines so pay attention to when your deadline is up. Curiosity Never Killed the Writer always posts about various contests each month. Canadian Authors is another resource to find great contests to participate in.

One challenge that is available during this month is AU-gust writing challenge. It stands for Alternate Universe. What is AU-gust? It stands for Alternate Universe August, and it is a creative challenge for everyone. There is a prompt list that is posted on their website. It can be a fun way to step out of your comfort zone and expand your creative writing genius. 

Writer’s Games is a free competition. Its goal is designed to help each writer improve his or her craft at an accelerated pace. It is a free six-week, multi-challenge competition. It comes with feedback for every entry, opportunities for publication, and the ability to use the feedback on previous submissions to improve them. This challenge starts in May and September. Sometimes there is also a surprise event and writers have 72 hours to create a short story or poem that fits the event requirements. Registration is limited and opens April 1st and August 1st.

With Halloween on the horizon, October is the perfect time for a horror story extravaganza. There are several challenges that focus on just that. Whumptober gives daily prompts that a writer must focus their stories in which characters go through a lot of pain either physically and or mentally. Whumping on your characters so to speak. On Twitter during the month of October there are daily word prompts to write a story using the tag #vssmurder. 

We’ve had journal writing and poetry writing, now during November we bring you blog posting month. While there is not an official website for NaBloPoMo the goal for is for participants to write a post a day for an entire month. As there is not an official host website for this challenge, individual bloggers attempt to join with other bloggers or host their own mini NaBloPloMo.

While no official challenge for the last month of the year, it is a great time to use it for reflection and planning. Evaluate your writing journey over the past year, set new goals, and making a writing plan for the upcoming year. It’s an opportunity to pause, appreciate your progress, and prepare for what’s to come.