Are Challenges Good for Everyone?

Photo by Ed Yourdan

Challenges can be motivating, but they can also be a detriment if you take on more than you should.  Are you guilty of the latter?

Meeting a goal is a big deal, but if the carrot dangling in front of you isn't worth the effort expended, why are you doing it?  

If your goal is health and fitness, any step in the right direction is worth it, but don't set your goals too high right out of the gate or you risk disappointment and losing whatever ground you've gained right from the start.  

Taking on a challenge just for the sake of a challenge is fine for some who need the push to do a particular thing, and if you have lots of extra time on your hands, knock yourself out.  But if your challenge doesn't benefit you monetarily, physically, or psychologically, why are you doing it?

What prompted this post is the A-Z Blogging Challenge.  I did it one year with four blogs (including this one) and it about killed me. I did it because I wanted to be able to say I did.  Big deal.  It brought me no extra income, no long-term increase in readership, nothing tangible.  I got to display a badge on my blog.  Wow.  The challenge is designed to get people posting to their blog on a more consistent basis, and that works well for some, but it did nothing for me (but of course that doesn't mean it won't work for you).  All four of those blogs got 26 posts in the 30 days in April (every day except  Sunday), but have been all but dormant since.  

This year I signed up with just one blog, but decided last night that I was going to pull myself out of the challenge this morning.  I write articles for pay, and that's where my time needs to be devoted.  I only have so much in me each day to get things done, so I need to use that time wisely.

I am, however, going to be using the challenge in a different way.  My goal for April will be to write and publish an article each day for either Examiner or YCN, like I mentioned in this post.  I try to publish every day anyway, but some days it doesn't happen, whereas other days I might post two or more articles.  Taking up the A-Z Challenge for article writing just puts a different spin on it, striving to come up with an article topic that corresponds with a particular letter, rather than any old thing I pull out of the sky. My goal of writing every day really hasn't changed, but this small challenge will actually put money in my pocket.  Article writing is what pays the bills, so that's where I need to put my attention.  I won't get a shiny badge to display anywhere upon completion, but I will get the same satisfaction of having met a goal, and earn a few bucks to boot.

So don't give up on goals and challenges, but do look at why you're doing them and what you will gain from taking them on, and, more importantly, what you stand to lose.

~ Marie Anne

The AtoZ Challenge Can Benefit All Writers, Not Just Bloggers

(Photo by Muffet)

The AtoZ Blogging Challenge is set to kick off again on April 1, 2103 as a way to get bloggers everywhere thinking outside of the box by posting every day of the month (except Sunday) on a topic that corresponds with the letter of the day.  The challenge can take up a lot of time and you'll have to determine if it's worth it to you, but what if you're a writer, but not a blogger?  Can the AtoZ Challenge still be of benefit to you?


Yes!

Depending on how you tackle the challenge, it can still give you the nudge you need, no matter the writing venue.

If you're a writer who publishes on Examiner, YCN, or any one of the many other sites, use the basic idea of the challenge to get the creative juices flowing for article topics in the same manner.  You can't sign up for the official challenge if you don't have a blog, so just challenge yourself for the sheer benefit of seeing if you can do it, or work with a group of other writers and ask them to come along for the ride.  You might not get a special badge to display upon completion, but it can still be rewarding in other ways, either monetarily, or by helping you develop good writing habits.

I'm a member of a Facebook group for Examiners and I've thrown down the gauntlet there, and many of us will be trying to come up with an article topic to write about that corresponds to the daily A-Z Challenge.  There are no hard and fast rules and there will be no prize for those who complete, but we're using it as an exercise to help us publish more frequently.  The challenge can be adapted to other writing scenarios as well.

If you write content for other clients -- for their web site, pamphlets, etc. -- you can still use the A-Z idea when your list of ideas runs dry.

Do you write fiction?  Try to fit every letter of the alphabet into your novel or eBook in some way.  You don't have to devote an entire chapter to every letter, but it should be easy enough to incorporate the words apple, baby, and cat somewhere in your work.  Your main character could be seeking some quiet solitude on Q  day, washing their hands on W  day, have an X-ray on X  day, wearing a yellow shirt on Y  day, taking the kids to the zoo on Z  day.  Again, the modified challenge is just a tool to get the writing juices flowing, and who knows where M  day might take you?

So even if you don't have a blog, you can still enlist others to join you in a modified version that fits your particular scenario. Think of it as a sort of writing prompt and toss the idea out there to your writing group and see who bites.

Or simply go fishing alone.  On F day, of course.


~ Marie Anne

From A to Cra-Z

The gauntlet has been thrown.

I was on the fence about participating in the A-Z Blogging Challenge this year and even up until this morning as I was getting out of bed, I was still waffling.  Enter my friend Angie, who entered two of her blogs and challenged me to do the same.

So here I am, the morning of April 1, 2012, the first day of the challenge, and I haven't a clue what I'm going to write about for the next 26 letters.  But do it I shall, on this blog as well as my local blog, Ross County Roundup.

I hope you'll join me for the ride!

I’m a Millionaire – Now What?

I finally made my first million page views on YCN last Thursday.  I didn’t think I’d ever get there but now that I have, what next? I’ve kept track of my progress daily in a spreadsheet and it seems funny to no longer be fussing with the calculations every day.

Ok, new goal.

I started publishing on AC in June 2008 but only wrote a few articles before going into hiding for about a year, so I figure it took me just over two years for my first million page views (PVs).

End of My First Weekly Challenge - How Did I Do?

I challenged myself to earn at least $60 by writing four or more articles this week.  Did I make it? You betcha!

I wrote and submitted five targeted assignment articles for $10 each and they were all published either the same day or the next morning. I submitted a beat assignment article this morning for $8, making six articles written this week.  I'm counting that as earnings for this week since I did the work during this challenge.

I also wrote two blog posts for $15 each.

$10 x 5 = $50
$8 x 1 = $8
$15 x 2 = $30

Total earnings this week = $88

Many of you can write and earn more than that in a day, but it was a real accomplishment for me.  It helped that I received a number of targeted assignments on similar topics that I could do fairly easily, but unfortunately, that's not likely to be consistent.

I'm going to ponder another challenge for this week and will likely post about that tomorrow.

My Writing Goal - Success!

I challenged myself to write enough this week to earn a minimum of $60 with at least four articles published - peanuts for many of  you but a considerable amount for me.  I posted yesterday that I had reached half of my goal so far and didn't think I'd have trouble making up the rest.

I did it, and then some!

My fourth article published this morning for an additional $10 and I'd forgotten about two sponsored blog posts that were due by noon today.  I whipped both of them out this morning and submitted them, so that will be another $15 each, bringing my total so far this week to $70. I won't get paid for the blog posts until next month, but since I earned the money during my personal challenge this week, I'm counting it.

I've got several other assignments left to write over the next week or two, so my total may still go higher before the week is done.  I'm enjoying the assignments that have been coming my way and hope they continue, and also that my mind and fingers will cooperate in getting them done.

Thanks to  my pups for providing some of the fodder (and all of the cut pics) for my most recent articles.

Halfway to My Earnings Goal

I posted my personal writing challenge the other day, coaxing myself to shoot for earnings of at least $60 this week with a minimum of four articles written and published.  So far I'm well on track.

I started my challenge on Sunday, so I'm not counting the article that I wrote on Saturday that was paid for and published on Monday.  I wrote and submitted two articles yesterday and one so far this morning and all three have been published (in record time!), netting me $30 in earnings -  halfway to my monetary goal.

I've got several other assignments due in the next few days so as long as I can keep my thoughts and fingers moving at all, I should have no problem meeting my goal.

Have you set goals for yourself this week?  How are you doing?

Writing Goal - My Personal Challenge

I've been in a serious writing slump lately.  Between personal issues and the stifling heat (in a home without air conditioning), I've just not been able to get it together.  That stops here.  Time to set a goal for myself with a writing challenge.


I was able to get a few articles written last week and while not nearly where I should be, it still left me with a feeling of accomplishment to get anything done at all.  I'm going to capitalize on this new-found motivation and push myself to continue that momentum into this week.

In between needy dogs, flower beds in dire need of attention and tending to the 15 chickens that think the grass seed I just planted in bare spots is a real treat, my goal is to write a minimum of five articles this week and shoot for $60 in earnings.

There it is, in writing.  That may be peanuts to many of you who can do more than that in a day, but while certainly not impossible, it's a good enough challenge for me.  The task may not be so difficult if the assignments come in like I hope, but it may be more challenging if the beat assignments at YCN are still not cooperating.  I lost out on a few articles last week because the system is shaky, and it's my hope that it's straightened out and doesn't cause me more grief this week.

$60 and/or five articles.   I'm flying home to NH next month and want to pay for the entire trip with what I earn at YCN.  I can do this.

Z to A in May: Blog Challenge With a Twist

So many of my blogging and freelancing friends and peers had fun with the A-Z Blogging Challenge that we decided to do one of our own on a much smaller scale for May.  The twist is that we're going to do it backwards.

A is for Accountability

As a freelance writer, you probably have deadlines for specific jobs, but you undoubtedly work on your own schedule as well.  If you don't have a client cracking the whip, how do you keep yourself motivated to write and submit for publication?  Who are you accountable to?

A-Z Blogging Challenge - Visiting Other Blogs

Many of you have signed up for the A-Z Blogging Challenge that I've posted about and from scuttelbutt I'm hearing, you're as excited as I am for this thing to kick off tomorrow.  Some of you are preparing your posts ahead of time, while others will be posting off the cuff.  I'll be doing a mix of both, but probably more of the latter.

A-Z Blogging Challenge - Still Time to Join

Last week I posted about a blogging challenge that I ran across and put the call out to my fellow freelance writers at YCN (Yahoo Contributor Network) to come along for the ride.  I tossed it out on Facebook and in the YCN (formerly Associated  Content/AC) forum and a few of my peers signed up and blogged about it and shared on their own Facebook wall.

A-Z Blogging Challenge - What Was I Thinking?

Why would someone in the middle of a major writing slump take on a writing challenge?   Good question, but I never claimed to be the brightest crayon in the box.

Angie's Writing Challenge

Friend and fellow writer Angie Mohr is pushing herself to write 100 articles this week and has challenged the rest of us to join in.  The writing challenge started at midnight last night and will continue through midnight next Sunday.  If you're a member of Associated Content, you can find the forum thread here.  If you write elsewhere besides AC, those articles can count too.