I’m sure you’ve all heard of the National Novel Writing Month where the goal of the participants is to write 50,000 words during the month of November. You’ve probably also heard of the Book-in-a-Week first draft blast, and may have heard of the Book in a Year challenge at eHarlequin, or simply the One Page A Day method to getting a book written in 365. How ’bout a book in seventy days? Doable? You betcha.
Say you’re writing a 100,000 word single title. 70 days at 1500 words per day (approx 6 pages) is 98,000 words total. Say you’re writing a 60,000 word series romance. 70 days at 900 words per day (approx 4 pages) is 63,000 words total. Writing 4 – 6 pages every day for 70 days is a schedule anyone who calls themselves a pro can handle easily!
So . . . along with Larissa Ione and Stephanie Tyler and Jo Leigh and HelenKay Dimon, I hereby challenge any of you who are interested to sign up for our Seventy Days of Sweat. The challenge begins on Sunday, July 8 and runs through Thursday, September 20. (Yes, that’s 75 days, but we’re giving you off July 11 – 15 if you need it for conference. That said, ask yourself, “What Would Nora Do?” Yes, Nora writes at conference. I’ve witnessed it with my own eyes.)
The rules are simple. You agree to write 4 – 6 pages a day (depending on the length of your book) every day between the dates listed above. If you need to take off a day, you make up the pages another. If you don’t like to write 7 days a week, too bad. This challenge lasts for only 10 weeks, and if you have to get up early on the weekends to get the pages done, you do it. (Hey, we all do it! You can, too!)
You don’t have to have a blog to participate, but we do want you to sign up below so everyone involved can get to know one another. And if you do have a blog, you can post the information there. Going public with your commitment is about owning it. As far as reporting your progress, you’ll come back here each Wednesday and Sunday and post your total word count. (We’ll expect the first reports at LEAST by the 18th, the Wednesday following conference, though for those of you not attending, your first report is due on the 11th!) And those of us sponsoring the challenge will be dropping by your blog (if you have one) and egging you on! AND, we may be adding more sponsors!
The challenge is open to anyone writing in any genre, published and aspiring authors both. Oh, and did we mention there will be prizes? Yes, there will be prizes. Critiques, RT subscriptions, memberships to RWA, gift certificates to B&N – who knows WHAT we’ll come up with! More info on the prizes to come. We’ll also be providing a logo if you’d like to put one on your blog. For now, let’s see a show of hands.
Who’s not afraid to sweat? Sign up below, and tell us:
1) Book Title
2) Hero Name / Occupation
3) Heroine Name / Occupation
4) Setting
5) Length
My book?
SIZZLE, 100K word single title featuring private investigator Finn McLain and boutique owner Olivia Hammond, set in hot Miami! Your turn!
Remember: In the end, we’re looking for between 60K and 100K words!
360 comments to “Seventy Days of Sweat – The Writing Challenge Sign-Up”
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I only have a vague idea at this point, but it’s probably going to be a fantasy novel centered on a young woman who must complete a journey before her arranged marriage. I also have several short stories to work on…
by Suzi July 13th, 2007 at 6:52 pmBook Title: Mills Crossing (temporary working title)
by Jeanne Vincent July 13th, 2007 at 8:39 pmHero name/occupation: Jack/not yet determined
Heroine name/occupation: Nancy/not yet determined
Setting: fictional county in New York
Length: 80-100K word single title
My first big decision is to choose a planned work to concentrate on. My general goal is to a 90,000 word first draft of a contemporary novel set in the San Francisco Bay Area. Splitting my time on two of my favored wips would result in solid progress on both.
by Tina July 13th, 2007 at 9:11 pm[...] Alison Kent is challenging writers to whip out a full draft of a novel in the next 70 days. She’s giving prizes, too. Now you’d think that would be awesome motivation and I’d just jump right in and say “Count me in!” But prizes weren’t enough to overcome my negative self-talk. I learned about the challenge last Friday, but have shucking and jiving with myself for this entire week. What if I signed up and couldn’t write 4–6 pages a day? What if I signed up and couldn’t write for 70 days in a row? Oh, believe me, the “what-ifs” can drive a body crazy. And it’s not like I haven’t been there/done that in the past. I have a friend who’s convinced I could start an excuse factory and make a fortune. LOL [...]
by Write it down! July 13th, 2007 at 9:36 pm[...] they’re worth anything to the story. [...]
by Write it down! July 13th, 2007 at 11:20 pmSign-ups for the challenge are now closed!
by Alison July 14th, 2007 at 7:54 amI’m working on two books – finishing up one and starting another.
1) Blood Sword
2) Sir Conor Ashwood / Curator of cursed weapons, grimoires and hexed trinkets
3) Xenia Ivanova Petrova / Princess of the Saint Petersburgh tribe of Quasi-vampires/vampire hunter
4) Regency-era Ireland
5) 70,000
After Blood Sword I’m doing the sequel Bloodline and I have a few contemporaries but haven’t decided which one to work on first :-)
by Angelique Armae July 14th, 2007 at 10:13 amHopefully I wont embarrass myself!
1) Title: Forbidden
by Cece Stuart July 15th, 2007 at 5:20 pm2) Hero: Rafe – Prostitute
3) Heroine: Ameda – None
4) Setting: Montana in the future
5) Word Count: 90k ( I actually have 25k done)
I’d like to start with saying that I had really good intentions, but you know what they say good intentions paves the road to!
With the first 7 of 70 days under my belt I’m already falling behind. I’ve only managed 3700 words but I’m looking at this as a challenge to do better this week.
by Carol Ward July 15th, 2007 at 7:14 pmI’m closing comments to this entry. Please go to the main blog page for updates!
by Alison July 15th, 2007 at 7:17 pm