What social media flair do we have?

This week, we are diving into What social media flair do we have, How to be bold, Tips- Getting through the mid-month slump, Prompts and more.

Coral Sands

Jessica

Melanie

, and 2 others

Nov 12, 2024

Writing Quests is a writing community that strives to connect writers with writing challenges to foster a continued flow of words for your preferred genre.

What Social Media Flair do we have?

In case you haven’t gotten our social media flair, we wanted to share all the goodies we made for you!

Here is a profile picture:

And for those who have already hit their goals, here are your winner’s flair.

Here is the profile picture for winners:

Volunteer Spotlight- Katie Lazicki

WQ: What is your writing background?

KL: I've participated in NaNoWriMo on and off since 2010. I only recently came out of a long-term break from writing when I joined the Writing Journey in 2023, and I've been working on an collection of short stories featuring fairy tale retellings ever since.

WQ: What are your hobbies when not writing?

KL: Crocheting, walking my dog, and reading (of course).

WQ: Time for your shameless plug. Promote anything you'd like including your writing group.

KL: I've gotta plug my writing group, The Writing Journey (

https://writingjourney.org/

)! They are the best!

WQ: What do you do to contribute to Writing Quests?

KL: I helped finalize the Writing Quests framework.

WQ: What is your Quest?

KL: This November, I'm going to attempt rewriting one of my previously written stories. I haven't seriously edited any longer fiction pieces before, but I love the story so I'm nervous but excited. I've also got some new ideas on the back burner, just in case of an emergency.

How to volunteer/contribute

We have three different ways to get involved:

Quest Guides- The people who host the Writing Quests are called Quest Guides. They help creatives through the process of setting goals, prepping for the quests, and providing encouragement during the event. Click on Get Involved> The Framework to get started.

Participants- Anyone can participate, even if you are not a writer. Visit our website to find a participating group near you.

Volunteers- Writing Quests is an all-volunteer organization. If you want to volunteer, please email info@writingquests.org and let us know your experience and if applicable, what you want to help with.

We actively need people with technical skills in website design/coding (our writingquests.org site is created with Hugo) and web application design/development (e.g., using Vue.js to create our rules generator or Laravel to work on a web-based progress tracker).

How to be Brave, Bold and Courageous as a Writer

When a person starts writing, there can be many daunting aspects. One can wonder how so many people publish books when you walk into bookstores. How does one build the courage to be a writer?

Let’s start by saying- everyone’s voice is important, powerful and matters! Take a look at historical text. If people from the past never wrote their stories, we wouldn’t know how they lived because we no longer live like that anymore. Today with all of the different people and backgrounds, sharing our stories helps us understand and empathize with people better. That’s what makes you as a writer so powerful. Your words as simple and unassuming as they may be will always be meaningful to someone in some way.

How do we become brave writers you might ask? Start by creating your routine. Find a physical space that helps you get in the mood and a time of day to write. You may not hit your exact goal for the day, but you’ve done something. Don’t be so rigid with yourself if you don’t hit your ideal goal. Release that preconceived idea and let your words flow. This will hopefully help you get past the writer’s block/paralysis that can come with making mistakes. Mistakes aren’t negative. Keep a positive mindset and use your mistakes to grow. When all else fails, recognize the uncertainty you are feeling and do it anyway. Others feel the same exact way as you do.

If you doubt yourself, remember why you write. Who has inspired you? They too doubted that their voice mattered at some stage. Believe that your voice matters. Your voice has power. Someone needs to hear your message. Take this journey one step at a time and before you know it, you will prevail.

Tips for Writers- Getting through the mid-month slump

So you started Novel Quest strong, and now, you’re struggling to get a couple hundred words on a page? Yeah, you are not alone. It happens to most of us, plotters and pantsers alike, around this mushy middle of the month. That creative burst we felt in those heady early days of week one (how long ago that was) has long since burned off, and now we’re left with what feels like too many words to write and not enough time. But no worries. Here are 5 simple tips to help keep you motivated and to shake up that story a little bit.

Tip 1: Before sitting down to write, take a small walk. Get in at least 250 steps, which take about 2 minutes. Walking meditation is a well-known way to juice up our creativity. Or, if you’re like I was the year I was recovering from major surgery, I did some chair exercises. Just do something for 5 to 15 minutes to wake up your brain.

Tip 2: Blow something up. We got This tip on our Writing Quest YouTube Channel from Catrina Taylor, The Lady Writes. Whenever she doesn’t know what to do, she blows something up and then has the characters deal with the fallout. Amazing tip. In my writing, sometimes I have the scene end the opposite way it was in the plan, just to shake things up. Remember, in fiction, it can always get worse for your MC; make sure that it does

Tip 3: Start your next scene from the POV of a pet dog, cat, fish, etc. It’s OK. This is a first draft. Maybe seeing the world from the inside of a fishbowl is the thing that does it. What does that fish see when the big bad villain is there to do the damage?

Tip 4: Kidnap the sidekick. I see this a lot in even bestselling fiction. If it’s good enough for James Patterson and Stephen King, it’s good enough for you.

Tip 5: Remember that every word counts. Sometimes, it’s just as simple as giving yourself some grace. We all have lives, and they go haywire from time to time. Just because you didn’t write as many words as you wanted to, doesn’t mean you’ve done it wrong. It just means taking some time to get back into the groove is okay. You can do this. And you’re doing fine. No worries; plenty of days are left to get back up there. It’s fine. This is your story, and you have everything you need to tell it.

This challenge is just for fun. We are having a blast bringing it to you. So enjoy the writing. It is more about the journey than anything else.