I Was in a 30 Stories in 30 Days Challenge

I wrote 26 stories in 23 days and quit. Here’s why.

Writing challenges aren’t for everyone.

About a month ago, I was invited to join a writing challenge by Ms. Berna Tural. She told me about the challenge in a comment to a story. It sounded like it would help get me to write and publish more consistently, so I accepted Berna’s invitation.

Overall, the challenge was a wonderful experience. It was a challenge, not a competition against other writers, so I found it a positive activity. I was writing to prove to myself that I could be consistent and committed in my writing.

I fell in love with the challenge during the first week. I absolutely loved it. I felt invigorated and filled with writing ideas. The more I wrote, the more energy I had to keep going. I wished I had tried a challenge like this sooner.

I had such a positive experience initially that I wrote and publish at least 30 stories every 30 days, every month — forever. I had found what worked for me. Eureka! This would be the formula for my future success.

Around day 15, I hit the wall. I was tired, physically and mentally.

I only had a few things left I wanted to write about for the remainder of the 30 days; my creative well was dry. I had no idea what I would write about, and frankly, I didn’t care.

I managed to pull myself together and get a bit of a second wind. I able to put out a couple of good stories, but then I fizzled again.

By day 23 of the challenge, I had written and published 26 stories. For me, that’s a lot of stories; pretty prolific.

But this whole challenge thing just wasn’t fun anymore.

The 30 stories in 30 days challenge was supposed to challenge me. It wasn’t about impressing anyone else or competing with other writers. It was about me.

I had impressed myself by being consistent. I proved to myself that I could make a commitment and follow through. In addition, most of my stories were chosen for further distribution, something that had never happened before, so I was thrilled with that.

That was all great, but some not-so-great things were happening, too.

First, I stopped enjoying myself. I felt like I was working at a content mill. That is the last thing that I wanted to be feeling.

Second, I didn’t feel challenged anymore. All I needed to do was publish four more stories during the following week. I knew that I could do that if I had to.

I had already proven everything else to myself that I had set out to, so what was the point in continuing?

We are all taught the importance of finishing what we start. I understand that, but that usually pertains to when others depend on us to follow through with something that we promised them. I promised nothing to anyone other than myself.

I set out to work on my discipline and dedication for 30 days for me. The measurement of my success was to be 30 stories.

Instead, sooner than expected, in 23 days and 26 stories, I learned that I could be dedicated and disciplined, and I can write some decent stories. As far as I am concerned, the challenge was complete.

I had a wonderful time for about two weeks, and the rest became a chore. A challenge is not supposed to be a chore, punishment, or burden. Participating in a challenge should fill us with increasing energy as we learn new things about ourselves and grow as a person.

That all stopped for me after about two weeks. So, I officially stopped the challenge at 23 days.

Yes, that’s right, I’m a quitter. But I’m okay with that.

Quitting simply means that you changed your mind. And there’s nothing wrong with changing your mind, especially if it’s the result of learning and growing. That’s a good thing, not a character defect.

You can’t measure success and motivation by publishing a specific number of stories in a set number of days. That’s just too simple to be true.

But challenges can be a great tool to help to motivate you toward having a successful career as a writer. The key is to find a challenge that fits you.

Writing challenges have become extremely popular lately. I never thought that I would participate in one, but I’m glad that I did. I will forever appreciate the kind invitation that I received. I learned so much about myself during the challenge.

I don’t expect to participate in another challenge like the one I was in anytime in the future. I’m not ruling it out entirely, but I think it isn’t very likely. I believe that challenges to publish a set number of stories in a specific period of time are more appropriate for writers who consider themselves content creators. I’m not sure that I am one of those people.

Writing about many different things in a short time is not my strong suit, nor is it something that I enjoy. I am more likely to participate in a challenge to write a 50,000-word book in six months or something like that. I learned this about myself by participating in the recent challenge.

I now know who I am, and who I am not as a writer.

For that, I am grateful.

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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.

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