A Fellow Medium Writer Who I Didn’t Know Invited Me To Join a Challenge

Here’s what happened.

I have seen a lot of posts on Medium lately about writers participating in challenges. I wasn’t really interested in that sort of thing.

Then, a week ago, I received a comment on my story about my fourth month writing on Medium. It was from Berna Tural.

In her comment, she shared that, like me, she was having some issues with publishing on Medium as frequently as she wanted to. Life is demanding, you know.

Berna said that she had started a challenge to help her with publishing more consistently. The challenge was nothing fancy; publish 30 stories in 30 days. It doesn’t matter where or how long. Just write. Berna invited me to join her in the challenge.

I figured it couldn’t hurt to at least try, so I accepted her invitation. I was not feeling very optimistic from the outset. But kind offers like this don’t come along every day, so I moved forward with a positive attitude.

Here are my suggestions for challenges, in general.

First, if you are going to participate in a challenge, do not commit to one that you have no chance of succeeding in. Why set yourself up for failure? No one needs to take a blow to their ego.

It would be unwise for me to agree to a challenge where I have to submit my work to many different publications. Having to submit to a different publication all the time would make me a nervous wreck. I am a creature of habit. Besides, I don’t like rejection. Also, I don’t like waiting a long time to receive a response from the publication regarding whether they accepted my story, or not.

But, mainly, I believe in loyalty. I consistently submit to just a few publications that were kind enough to give me a break when I needed it, and quickly publish my work.

Next, make sure you are in a challenge with a reasonable goal for you. Don’t agree to write three stories a day if you have a full-time job, six kids, and volunteer at a food bank. Writing that many stories is an unreasonable goal for you. Find a challenge that fits your personality and situation, or create your own.

The goal is to create a favorable situation that will make you want to write. You don’t want to feel like you are being pressured to do anything. The challenge should be a tool that brings out the best in you and helps you form good writing habits.

Third, reach out to a fellow writer on Medium. It could be someone who comments, or claps, or highlights one of your stories. You could reach out to a writer that you admire. The point is to reach out. And if someone reaches out to you, take the time to respond.

You can decline if the challenge isn’t right for you, if the timing is bad, or if you aren’t interested. You don’t need to explain.

The nice thing about reaching out/responding is that you can develop a friendship, network, learn some writing tips, help someone, but you are doing all of these things at a level that you feel comfortable with. Do whatever makes everyone involved comfortable.

Finally, the most important thing is not to pressure yourself. Don’t worry if you can’t finish the challenge, if something comes up, or if you don’t want to finish it. You can always start over another time, or not.

A challenge should be a positive experience, not a nightmare. If you aren’t enjoying the experience, don’t do it.

You might be wondering how I am progressing in this challenge so far. Well, this is day seven, and I have had nine stories published. This one is number nine.

For the first time, I had a couple of stories chosen for further distribution.

I am surprised that I’m doing this well. I keep going, one day at a time.

Remember, a writing challenge isn’t a competition with other writers. It’s a way to challenge yourself. But other writers can always be beneficial to have around for support and camaraderie.

Everyone has a different writing journey. We all progress at our own pace and in our own time.

If today doesn’t work out for you, tomorrow is a new day.

Happy writing.

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Linda Kowalchek is a work in progress and a member of the typewriter generation. She spends her time with her husband and her rescue cats waiting for golf balls to crash through their windows. PSA: Don’t live next to a golf course.