FFxivWrite2018 – FFxiv 30 Day Writing Challenge!
Last year I ran what I thought was going to be a small writing challenge for the FFxiv community, but with 2,200+ submissions over the course of the 30 days, it didn’t end up being small at all! There was such an incredible outpouring of creativity and positivity in our community throughout the challenge and I was really blown away by the response.
So, let’s do it again! I know that November is high writing time for many of us with NaNoWriMo on the horizon, but for those of us who want to keep it a bit more simple – I propose this 30 day writing challenge.
What’s a 30 day writing challenge? :o
Why, it’s challenge in which you write in response to a daily prompt that I post here, of course! Songs, poems, limericks, short stories, etc. are perfectly acceptable. If it’s a thing you can write, then it counts.
Beginning Thursday November 1st, I, @sea-wolf-coast-to-coast, will post one new single word writing prompt daily at 12:00pm (noon) CST/CDT. Prompts can be interpreted in any way that you’d like. More about single word prompts here. Check back daily for the latest prompt!
Participants have until 12:00pm (noon) CST/CDT the following day (24 hours) to submit a written response, and tag it with #FFxivWrite2018 (don’t forget the tag!).
Each written response submitted within it’s 24 hour deadline will count as one entry toward a raffle for a participation prize at the end of the month.
Written responses submitted outside of the 24 hour deadline for a prompt are still welcome and will be thoroughly enjoyed! They simply won’t count as an entry toward the participation prize.
When you see a “Like” from sea-wolf-coast-to-coast you can rest assured that I’ve seen your response and have entered it into my master participation prize document. Please allow up to 48 hours for me to like your post before reaching out to check (but DO reach out to check if you don’t see one after 48 hours). More info about making sure people can find your posts here.
On Saturday, December 1st, I’ll count up all the participation tallies, each day counting as one entry per writer, and draw a winner!
The winner of the participation prize will receive a black & white drawing of their character from one of our volunteer artists. Please note that the number of prizes available at the end depend on how many artists would like to volunteer to illustrate a prize.
If you’re an artist and you would like to volunteer to do a simple black & white illustration as a participation prize at the end of this contest, please let me know!
You cannot submit things that you’ve already written – Even if the topic is the same. All entries must be new and freshly written for this challenge!
No rough drafts and no redos – Relax! Use this as a low pressure opportunity to loosen up and de-rust your writing chops. No one will be judging your work for quality or length. The purpose is to get into the habit of writing daily. Don’t overthink it, and don’t put too much pressure on yourself! It’s all for fun!
Tag all of your entries with #FFxivWrite2018 – Even if you’re late to the writing party. I’ll be using this tag to track daily participants, so if you don’t use it, I won’t find your entry! Please note that entries that include an external link (to a song, piece of art etc.) will not show up in the tag results. Tumblr hides all posts with external links from their tag feeds. :[
Include the prompt number in the title of your post – Example: “Prompt #10: Your Title.” This helps me keep track of participating entries.
You have until prompt #7 to back write for the participation prize – That means that if you discover the writing challenge a few days, or even a week after it’s started, you can still jump in and back write as many of the first 7 prompts as you want, and they’ll count as entries toward the participation prize! After day 8, however, no back writing will be counted towards the prize. That being said, it is totally possible for someone with only 1 participation entry for the duration of the contest to be drawn as the participation prize winner so don’t give up due to lack of participation overall!
Absolutely no griefing, harassing, or trolling other writers – This will earn you an automatic disqualification from the event.
Tag NSFW content with #NSFW and put it below a cut – Similarly, if your entry contains graphic or violent content that may be triggering to others, please include a brief trigger warning at the top of your post. Be considerate of your readers!
There will be two make-up days scheduled. On make-up days you’re permitted to select one prompt that you missed and submit it for full participation prize credit within the 24 hour deadline for the day. If you’ve already submitted all prompts so far within their 24 hour deadline, then you can make up your own prompt for yourself and submit it within the 24 hour make-up day deadline to count as an extra credit entry toward the participation prize.
There will be two Free/Extra Credit days scheduled. Free/Extra Credit days are days in which no prompt will be provided, and therefore no submission will be expected for the day. However, if you’re in the mood to write something anyway, you can create your own prompt for yourself and submit an entry within the 24 hour deadline for the day that will count as an extra credit entry toward the participation prize.
Election Day – Tuesday, 11/6
Thanksgiving Day – Thursday, 11/22
If you complete all prompts and all extra credit days within their 24 hour deadlines and properly tag the entries, it’s possible to achieve 30 entries toward the final participation prize at the end of the month.
What’s the purpose of this writing challenge?
First and foremost, the purpose of this challenge is to break the power of perfectionism over your personal creative process. Some folks frown on my 24-hour submission deadline but I think that it’s a critical part in getting people to just go ahead and submit something, even if it’s not perfect, and in doing so perfectionism begins to lose its power day by day.
If you’re someone who rarely creates because the fear of it not being perfect keeps you from starting, or finishing, then this challenge is designed for YOU!
Of course, connecting FFxiv writers, of all skill and experience levels, and sharing our work is also a perk!
Whether you’re participating or not, consider checking out the #FFxivWrite2018 tag periodically after November 1st and like/reblog your favorite pieces. Show the FFxiv writing community some love!
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