My Personal Writing Challenge

Doing something to get myself motivated

I am NOT very good at reaching major goals. I try, but I usually end up bombing somewhere in the middle. I come out swinging, I dance around and look all cool, then BOOM, I drop the ball. This is the case with the May writing challenge I started working on thanks to the awesome Amy Marley, who went all the way. Good for you, my dear. I am so very proud of you and everyone else who took part in her event.

Now, I could sit around and wallow in self-pity, but no. I actually was writing, but I was doing much more than that. I was enjoying what I was writing.

I wrote for this publication, as well as a couple others throughout our beloved platform. I was also working on updating an old blog of mine from back in the day. It’s nothing fancy, one of those Blogger.com blogs, but I’ve had it for almost 10 years and I thought it would be a good place for me to have some fun.

Well, thanks to Amy, I’m working on a challenge of my own. Now mind you, I’m doing this primarily for me. I’m not trying to be selfish or anything like that. I’m trying to see if I can give myself a month-long challenge and see it through. I’m going to do a 30-day writing challenge and see if I can create something each and every day of the month of June. If anyone else wants to play along, COOL!!! I’d love to see the way everyone else’s minds work.

So, here’s my challenge to myself (and anyone else who wants to play). Below are 29 sets of 3 items. The trick is to pick one set of items and create a story/poem/article/whatever and use each one somewhere within. They don’t have to work together, they don’t have to be the main focus, they don’t have to be anywhere near each other. Simply make sure each one is mentioned within the work somewhere. I’ve only had one fictional piece curated on this platform and it came from this technique.

“Wait”, I heard someone say, “why only 29 and not 30?” Good question. This post right here is actually the first post. It’s not from the list below, but I just came up with this idea and I’m trying to make sure I’ve got something done today. It may not get published on the 1st, but it was written on the 1st and that’s my goal. Write something every, single day.

I’m already making myself very nervous just putting this piece together. I know that once it goes out into the world, I’ve made it official. That freaks me out. However, I have to do this…for me. I may not have each piece published here or even on this platform, but I have to get myself to a place where this type of thing becomes natural. I’m almost there, but sometimes life gets in the way and I end up getting distracted by….oooo look shiny stuff.

So everyone, please be patient with me. I’m about to put myself out there for the masses and hope that I don’t let myself down. I know that even if I don’t publish something every day, the goal is to WRITE something every day (grocery lists don’t count, Christine). If you do end up playing along — whether you write each day or only use a couple of the prompts below — please let me know so I can come see how awesome you are.

And thank you ILLUMINATION community. You guys are the best!!!

A motorcycle, 3 grapefruit, an arrowhead A crystal candelabra, a mountain bike, a crochet hook A world atlas, a Persian carpet, a lace bookmark A burnt tree trunk, half a painting, a frayed dog collar An umbrella, a spool of kite string, an antique ink well A flower garden, a stack of letters, a single earring A broken mirror, a jackhammer, a magnifying glass 4 pearl buttons, a missing bullet, a garage door opener A blue sweatshirt, an empty soda can, a set of fake fingernails A classic car, a bottle of champagne, a fake ID

A jar of pickles, a pair of wool socks, a baseball glove An ancient manuscript, a birdcage, a lockbox A white feather, a teddy bear, a leather vest A handmade quilt, a bottle of pills, a broken pencil A torn page out of a diary, a silver brooch, a skeleton key A cassette tape, a movie poster, a book bag A trophy, a can of beans, a dead plant A flashlight, a toy dinosaur, a hot air balloon A music box, a silver tea set, a bouquet of dried roses A docked boat, a single boot, a razor knife

A set of wind chimes, a box of dishes, a stack of firewood A puppet, a wicker basket, a pile of comic books A library card, a tape recorder, a decorative pillow A cup of coffee, a curtain rod, a sandbox A travel brochure, a wedding ring, a faded picture A concert ticket, a brick wall, a fishing net A smashed cell phone, an old snow globe, an autograph book A birthday card, a candy dish, a baby blanket

Thank you Amy Marley for being the inspiration for this quest.

© Christine Graves 2020