A Round of Words in 80 Days: The Writing Challenge That Knows You Have A Life
The Writing Challenge That Knows You Have A Life
And we reach yet another Sunday… How has your Round 1 been going for you? Do you feel like you’re making solid forward momentum? Do you feel you need to make a few adjustments? Let us know in your post on the linky.
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(Please note, this is a repost from our very first sponsor posts of the challenge, Sustainable Change, from January 3, 2011.)
It’s Monday. I know, I know. Here, have some caffeine.
:passes beverage:
Buck up. It’s a new week, a new year, and the start of a new writing challenge.
I wanted to do something different with A Round of Words in 80 Days. None of this frantic scramble to cram in high word counts in ridiculously short periods of time. Just like crash dieting, that kind of challenge cannot be sustained for the long haul by most people.
I know a great deal about goal setting and behavior modification. See, my stock and trade is clinical psychology. So I know how to analyze and change behavior for a living. Don’t worry, I won’t be analyzing you. But I will help give you some insight into what will actually work.
See people are really bad about setting ridiculous goals. ESPECIALLY when it comes to New Year’s Resolutions. Don’t tell me you haven’t said “I’m gonna lose 20 pounds by the end of January!” or “I’m going to get an agent by the end of the year!” Do you see a problem with these kinds of goals?
Well, apart from the fact that they’re big, they’re all or nothing, and to an extent, they aren’t in your control. See, these aren’t goals, they’re end results. They say nothing about action. Nothing about what you specifically will do to acheive these ends.
Instead of “I’m gonna lose 20 pounds by the end of January,” (which is, of course, a pretty enormous amount of weight to drop in a month), you could say, “I am going to exercise for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. I am going to track my caloric intake and be sure to stay within my daily recommended value.” Instead of, “I’m gonna get an agent by the end of the year,” you can say, “I’m going to send out ten queries a month.” Do you see how these are different? These give regular, measurable steps that you can follow. They aren’t all or nothing.
Writing goals should be the same way. And this is why challenges like NaNo are inherently flawed. It requires a short, intense burst of activity. A sprint. But writing a novel isn’t the 100 yard (100k?) dash. It’s a marathon. A sprint like NaNo can burn you out and leave you panting. But our goal isn’t to just write a novel. It’s to be a writer. And that means developing consistent, long-standing writing habits that will make writing a priority in your life all the time, not just for one month.
So while there’s nothing wrong with saying, “I want to finish 2 novels this year,” you’ll get a whole lot further by saying, “I’m going to write 750 words a day and spend at least 30 minutes a day alone and unplugged.” (Yeah, those are my goals this round). Those are things directly in my control, each and every day. Things that I can monitor and modify as life throws challenges my way. Because goals don’t have to be static either. Life certainly isn’t. So feel free to tweak your goals as necessary. This is about making writing an effective part of your life. Make a sustainable change.
To sign up, just add your goals below:
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Here we are, just peeping into a New Year, new goals, new projects, new ideas….
Are you ready?
On January 9th, the ROW80 challenge A Round of Words in 80 Days starts ROCing. The ROC80, a Round of Creativity welcoming wordsmiths and artists of all types is an 8- day challenge to offer that little extra connection in these socially disconnected times while challenging its participants to make real progress toward their creative goals.
You need a goal, a measurable goal (you can change it later if you find it doesn’t serve your long term needs), and you need to let us know what that goal is (as well as any others).
So tell us about it! And then, on Wednesdays and Sundays for our check-ins, let us know how you’re progressing. Visit others in the challenge. Support them, get support, maybe even make connections for future projects… Get involved, make friends, and create!
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Those of you following our Facebook page have already read the notice, but I feel I should have posted here sooner…. I was just that little bit too raw to write this post then.
Yesterday, one of our ROW80 community, Elizabeth Anne Mitchell passed away from complication of cancer… which I guess is complication enough. I’m still processing the loss of this lovely woman who welcomed me into the ROW80. Since my joining the challenge in 2012, we shared hours of discussion on the joys of medieval history, teas, Gilded Age Mansions, and so much more She shared herself with our creative community as a sponsor regularly…. To quote another member of the group , Mike Young: “She certainly made the world a better place.”
She did. And she is sorely missed.
Yes, that capitalization is intentional.
As we drift into a new year and a new Round of Words in 80 Days, we’ve been talking (in the group Facebook Chat) about what we really need to help get ourselves through the rocky periods as well as those fountains of creativity. And so, may we introduce…
Like the original ROW80 created by Kait Nolan, the ROC is an 80 challenge for writers (though anyone with a creative bent is welcome to peek in and join, we really like to promote writers). Also like the original ROW80, we will do 4 ROWnds per year starting on the first Monday in January. We’ll request you have a blog, but you can post your links to other social media check-ins as well. But most of all, like the original ROW80, you will need to have measurable goals, and you will need to be able to make a goal post articulating them so that your fellow ROCers can cheer you on.
Since the 2nd of January would be our first Monday of 2023, I’m exercising my “administrator privileges” here and declaring that the first Round of Creativity in 80 Days starts officially on January 9th.
After Christmas I will post updated details on how we will be handling our check-ins and adding any changes to the actual page that I can. Right now, I am looking for feedback as to what worked (or didn’t) in the original ROW80, and what you’d like to see instituted in our challenge. The ROW80 ROCs will work best if we support each other and share the connections and visits. So please feel free to leave a comment about what would make this challenge better.
Thank you. 
Round 2 is drawing to a close. This round officially ends on Thursday, June 25 (so we’ve got a bit more time to finish off those last-minute writing sprints and what-not).
Remember to celebrate your successes, big and small! Share your final goals’ check-in with us on Facebook or Discord or in the comments below. And remember to share the love!
We’ll see you next round! Stay safe, be kind, and happy writing!
Round 2 is almost at an end–just a few more days before we officially wrap things up on Thursday, June 26. What a strange (and sometimes sad) 80 days it’s been.
It’s okay to be gentle on ourselves if we found our energies drawn to other areas of our lives. It’s also okay to celebrate successes, big or small.
Remember not to compare yourself or your achievements to anyone else’s. After all, the only writer you should compare yourself to is the one you were yesterday!
So, share away–either in the comments below, in the Facebook group, or on Discord!
Stay safe, and happy writing!
The year is almost halfway through (though in some ways, it feels like way longer), and we’re just one week away from the end of Round 2. How are those goals coming along? Let us know in the comments or in the Facebook group!
Are you getting ready to celebrate the sweet taste of success this round? Remember to celebrate, no matter how small the steps taken forward.
Share your goals below, in the Facebook group, or with us on our Discord server. Stay safe, be kind, and happy writing!
First of all, thanks to all of you who chimed in during the Facebook Group discussion about A Round of Words in 80 Days. Shan and I are dedicated to making sure this group serves as many writers as possible. To do that, we want to keep up with the changing ways technology is a part of our daily lives.
After much discussion, we’re moving away from blogging as our primary update tool. So, starting in Round 3, if the whole biweekly check-in post thing was overwhelming for you, never fear: you’ll be able to join us on Facebook or Discord for your check-ins (details pending).
We’re also toying with the possibility of doing monthly themed writing chats via Zoom or a similar platform, and hosting weekly writing sprints as well. Stay tuned!
Thanks for being part of the ROW80 community! I’ll be continuing these posts through the end of Round 2, on June 25! So, as always, share your posts and updates below!
A Round of Words in 80 Days: The Writing Challenge That Knows You Have A Life 