Prose on Fire

This entry is part 9 of 9 in the series The 8×8 Challenge, LIVE!Ending of our Challenge, Beginning a Habit! Today is the last day of the challenge! You made it! In honor of the last day I want to talk about something really important in this challenge—your results! When you are done with your 8-minute writing session today, take an extra few minutes to evaluate what you’ve accomplished on your writing goals this week. How many words did you get? How many wacky places did you write? How can…read more

This entry is part 8 of 9 in the series The 8×8 Challenge, LIVE!Go Figure! Today’s challenge requires a bit of math. You now have at least seven 8-minute sessions in the bank—hooray! I want you to write down those word count totals and figure out the average number of words you’re getting per session. This doesn’t have to be 100% accurate, we just need a ballpark figure. Now, I want you to figure out how many 8-minute writing sessions it will take you to finish the first draft of…read more

This entry is part 7 of 9 in the series The 8×8 Challenge, LIVE!How do we establish the 8-minute a day habit? Day 6—only two more to go after this. You can do it, especially because today’s challenge is easy! Throughout this challenge I’ve been asking you to post your results on social media, and you’ve maybe or maybe not been doing it. Today, aside from your 8-minute writing session, this is the ONLY other thing you need to do. Why? Because accountability is incredibly important for establishing any type…read more

This entry is part 6 of 9 in the series The 8×8 Challenge, LIVE!We’re Upping our Game! Today’s challenge is twofold: First, do your 8-minute writing habit with your morning routine today. Make a note of where it fits in—before shower, after shower, before kids wake up, etc. This will come in handy when the challenge is over. Next, I want you to spend the rest of the day finding little pockets of time in which you can add a bit more to the word counts you already got this…read more

This entry is part 5 of 9 in the series The 8×8 Challenge, LIVE!Good Morning! Good morning, good morning! How is your scavenger hunt coming? I hope you’re having fun trying to hit all the different locations that I gave you! Today’s challenge is simple but important. I want you to do your 8-minute writing habit as part of your morning routine either today (if still possible) or tomorrow morning. All you have to do is wake up 15 minutes earlier. You can do your 8-minute writing habit right when…read more

This entry is part 4 of 9 in the series The 8×8 Challenge, LIVE! It’s day three, and we’re going mobile! What you see below is not just a list, but rather an 8×8 Scavenger Hunt. How do you play? All you have to do is find some way—any way of your choosing—to get some extra words in at any one of (or each!) of these different locations: •    At the grocery store, standing in the produce aisle •    Sitting on your couch •    Sitting at a nearby park •    Sitting in…read more

This entry is part 3 of 9 in the series The 8×8 Challenge, LIVE!What did you think of yesterday’s exercise? Did you accomplish something?Did you make it all the way through? Did you get words that you think you could use for your book? If all has gone well in the 8×8 Challenge, you’ve shown yourself that you can fit writing into your current schedule, no big deal. So if you completed yesterday’s exercise, you’ve proven to yourself that you have the time, energy, and resources to write for at least…read more

This entry is part 2 of 9 in the series The 8×8 Challenge, LIVE!  Welcome! Here’s how it works. I’ll send you an email every morning and give you a task for the day. These are pulled directly from The 8-Minute Writing Habit, so they may look familiar! I also try to personalize each day with a special anecdote to add a bit of flavor, so look for that too. Plus, I like to include motivational quotes that I love and use as my screensavers, phone wallpaper, and more. We are…read more