I am a big believer that to grow as a writer I need to have a consistent writing routine. It was a major step forward in my development when I got in the habit of writing a minimum of 300 words every day. Starting January 1st, 2021 I will be hosting the Book Club's first Writing Challenge. 31 prompts in 31 days. These prompts will be a mix of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry writing prompts. The idea is to get everyone writing and sharing their work on the forum. The new year is the perfect opportunity for us to build some good habits as well as hold each other accountable. We have a wide variety of different backgrounds and experience levels here. All are welcome to participate. The forum will allow us to engage with one another and discuss our work in a professional environment. Some of these prompts will focus on military service but we will also touch on broader subjects as well. Check back over the next few days for more details.
Please, feel free to share and get the word out! The more writers we have, the better.
Stay tuned!
Writing Challenge: Day 1
Happy New Year everyone. This is the perfect opportunity to get into the habit of a consistent writing routine. Today is the first day of our 31 Day Writing Challenge. I will post a writing prompt on the forum every day until the end of January. We are going to cover nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. Please share your work as a reply to this post. We encourage everyone to discuss each other's work as well. Feel free to get creative with the presentation of your posts. If you prefer posting a photo of a handwritten response or a video of yourself reading your work, that is fine with us. Here is the first prompt:
Born poor. Lived on a porch. In a motel. In other’s homes. Moved to grandma’s in another state. A trailer. Then into government housing. Four elementary schools, maybe more. A single mom, all sisters, no brothers. Fighting, lots of it. Food stamps and bad food, lots of it. Bad grades and bullying. Getting arrested stopped it. Sixth grade. Drinking, not going to school. Out of it by ninth. Sleeping at friend’s houses, in parks, in the woods. Cold Colorado nights. Made hot with booze and drugs and chicks. Made dangerous with guns and gangs and crime. Then pulled out of it. Saved. Back to school. Commitment to a new cause – a future. Summer school, lots of it. A diploma, eventually. The first of my family. Enlisted, thankfully. “Semper Fidelis” with chin high. Pride, for the first time. San Diego to Bangor to LeJeune to Ramadi to USS Wasp to 29 Palms to Sangin to Camp Pendleton then back to Afghanistan. The last pump. Goodbye to the guys. Hello to my family. Then a wife of eight years, married young; loyal, like a grunt, like I was. A daughter, a stranger; someone I needed to know. Discharged. Nine years, six months, two weeks. Staff sergeant. Honorable. A meritorious promotion along the way. An honor graduate. Athlete of the year. A powerlifter, record holder, and coach. Titles like Marine, though less prestigious. Supporting a family in the Rockies. To class then into a mine. An old one where gold was harvested. Decrepit and dangerous – thrills I like. More school and new work. Electricity. Hot and dangerous, such keeps me alive. The physicality of it all, brings meaning to life. No luck but grace. God kept me alive. Here I write at 10,000 feet high 296-words about my life.
@cody lefever I really admire how you developed a rhythm in this piece. Short, direct sentences as well as a strong use of repetition (“lots of it” worked particularly well). I could really feel the shifts, the highs and lows (“Goodbye to the guys. Hello to the family”) were both smooth and yet jarring. You packed so much into 296 words. Great job.
@Michael Plunkett Thank you for the kind words and direct comments on this piece. I look forward to the next 31 days. I am sure your guidance will improve my writing. Thanks for your efforts here.
@Jack Roche This is awesome. Love the word choice. Three words was all it took. Edit: Reading back over it and I wanted to also say I think your choice of the words "born" to "reborn" was especially powerful. The word itself has become larger and more complex. Pairs nicely with the meaning.
I directly echo Cody when I say I look forward to the next month, appreciate you taking the time to read what we bring to the table, and know in the end this will make us all better. Thank you.