Stephanie writes young adult novels and is the creator of GoTeenWriters.com. Her novels include The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series and the Ellie Sweet books. You can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and check out samples of her work on her author website including the free novella, Throwing Stones.
I don't know what life is like around your house during May, but it's a hectic time in the Morrill house. Mostly because school is wrapping up, so we're doing all those end-of-school and newly-summer things. When I was a teenager, I remember May being full of studying for finals, taking finals, and recovering from finals. So for a notoriously busy month—and because we'll soon be kicking off the 100-for-100 summer writing challenge (details coming May 23rd)—I wanted to host a writing challenge that wasn't as intense.
Similar to our February challenge where we tried to come up with a new story idea each day, in May the challenge is to find daily creative inspiration.
What does this mean?
It means you need to daily be on the watch for something that sparks your imagination, fuels your creative fire, and motivates you to write.
That could be but isn't limited to:
- Something wonderful you come across in nature. On a walk a few days ago, I happened to be underneath a maple tree when a gust of wind blew. About fifty seed pods helicoptered all around me. Amazing. Felt like something that might happen in a story.
- A bit of conversation you hear or are a part of that you are totally going to put in a book someday.
- An article or blog post you read that makes you excited to be a writer. A few that have hit my heart recently are Shan's Write Stories That Excite You and Three Rules For Surviving A Creative Life by Glennon Doyle Melton.
- A spark of a story idea or a thread for a story you're already working on.
- A real-life person who could totally be a character in a book.
- A piece of art or music that tugs at your writer's soul.
- A feature of someone's that you want to steal for a character. My friend Kelli has the most fabulous curly hair. Very main character worthy.
- A quote about writing or life that resonates. Our Pinterest board is full of these!
See how open-ended this is? The goal of this month's challenge is to be intentional about filling our creative cups. When we're engaged in the act of creating—whether it's stories, music, or visual art—we're pouring out. If we don't consistently cultivate inspiration from our day-to-day lives, we run the risk of drying up our creative cup.
How to take part:
This month will be different than previous monthly challenges where you've done the challenge on your own and then emailed me at the end.
This month you can share your inspiration using #GoTeenWriters on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram. If social media isn't your thing—or if you just don't want to share every bit of inspiration you get—then keep a private log of it to send to me at the end of the month. The challenge starts May 1st and runs through May 31st, so in the end you should be sending me a list of 31 things that filled your creative cup.
Those who participate in the challenge on social media AND/OR send me the email at the end of the month will be put in a drawing for a $20 Amazon.com gift card!
This challenge is for writers of all ages in all countries.
Again, if you're participating on social media make sure to use the hashtag #GoTeenWriters so that I'll see it! Here's how to find us on social media if you want to see what inspires us this May:
Jill Williamson
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest
Shannon Dittemore
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest
Stephanie Morrill
Jill Williamson
Shannon Dittemore
Stephanie Morrill
I don't think I'll be participating in this challenge, because May is going to be a very busy month for me, but I will share something I found a few days ago. This bit of poetry came from the Penslayer's blog, and I absolutely loved it. I have no idea who deserves the credit for it, but please enjoy.
ReplyDeleteYou could raise me like a banner in the battle,
Put victory like fire behind my shining eyes,
And I would drift like falling snow over the embers,
But for now just let me lie.
Thanks for sharing! Inspiration is such an interesting thing.
DeleteHow fun! I'll give it a shot. :) I'm going to Florida for a week in May, so I should find some extra inspiration there! ;)
ReplyDeleteFlorida is full of interesting things!
DeleteI'm not sure if I'll participate in this or not. On one hand, May is going to be poetry month for me, so in theory this should help with that, right? On the other hand . . . I don't know.
ReplyDeleteI've read biographies on several novelists who read poetry as part of their writing routine for that very reason!
DeleteI do this sort of thing ALL THE TIME, so it will be fun to keep a log! I'm not a social media person, so I'll opt for the email. By the by, I totally flopped on April's challenge. Anticipated accomplishments were way greater than reality :(
ReplyDeleteStory of my life, Rosie. I look forward to your email!
DeleteI flopped on April's challenge too, Rosie :). Oh well, at least we tried!
DeleteThat's the spirit, Savannah :)
DeleteThat's the spirit, Savannah :)
DeleteOooo this is a great idea! I may not take part in the challenge completely and on social media but I'll definitely be keeping my eyes peeled for inspiration. I have a few blank spots in my WIP plot so this will certainly help! Thanks for the post! :)
ReplyDeleteI'll probably do a mix of private journaling and social media too, Charlotte. Sometimes inspiration isn't something you want to have to explain to the world, you know?
DeleteCan't wait! Let's do this May! Also, Steph, Chrome works. 😄
ReplyDeleteCan't wait! Let's do this May! Also, Steph, Chrome works. 😄
ReplyDeleteLove it when I actually suggest something that works :)
DeleteSo excited to hear the 100-for-100 is coming back! Also, here's a challenge that I can actually do :). Sounds super fun.
ReplyDeleteOoo, this challenge sounds SO fun, I'm definitely doing it! I'm constantly finding inspiration through the strangest things, and it would be so fun to keep track of them for a month!
ReplyDelete(also, I'm really excited that there is going to be a 100-for-100 challenge this year!)
I would really like to do this challenge! Thank you so much for hosting! So, on the last day of the month we send you our lists?
ReplyDeleteOooh... So doing this
ReplyDeleteThis sounds awesome!! Can't wait...actually, I just wrote down a bit of inspiration a couple of days ago...hopefully my creative juices will still be flowing next week.
ReplyDeleteSo excited! My April challenge proved to be a little too much, so it'll be nice to do something simpler. :)
ReplyDeleteCount me in!
ReplyDeleteThis will be fun! Count me in. I'll be using Pinterest. I think I'll make a board full of my inspiration.
ReplyDelete