Hi! I'm barbex from the960writers and barbex and I want you to write your story. Masterposts. The Discord server. Check out the960writers for more writing advice.
Writing in the summer, with camaraderie, deadlines, and accountability.
June, July, and August
Announcement is here, first post here.
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Ongoing:
Planning all the plans!
Last day of the month we make writing plans for the coming month. Post is here.
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Ongoing:
SloMo WriNo, Write your novel in a year
Welcome to The Slower Moving way to Write a Novel! Or SloMoWrino for short.
This challenge doesn't focus on getting you to write faster, but on developing a solid writing habit, and writing your novel in a more relaxed way.
This project is run by Maree and the first post is here.
You can subscribe to the #slomowrino tag to make sure you see all the posts here, or subscribe to Maree's substack.
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The projects through the years:
2025:
May and June 2025:
Sunday, May 4 until Sunday, June 29 2025.
Daily writing, set your own goal, make a post about hitting your goal, get a star. Post is here.
Getting to know your story (through writing it)
A special writing event for discovery writers. Masterpost is here. Here is the last post with links to all the advice. You can still follow along with these posts at your own pace.
Write your novel in 2024 2025
Slow and steady, write and finish your novel this year.
The masterpost is here, or start here at the first post and go through the tag #slomowrino. Subscribe to the substack to get everything in one place
2024:
Write 40k in 42 days
Start: 4th of August 2024
End: 14th of September 2024
40k First post is here.
Write a short story in 60 days
Write and finish a short story to publish yourself or submit it to traditional publishers.
The start post is here and the tag is #60daysshortstory. this project is done, but you can still use the resources.
2023:
Fall of 2023, the begin of SloMoWriNo https://www.tumblr.com/the-wip-project/736076610461138944/slomo-wrino-master-post
Spring 2023, the start with a special writing docket to download: https://the-wip-project.tumblr.com/post/711609740849037313/the-wip-project-2023
2022:
Here’s the masterpost for 2022’s 90 days to first draft: https://the-wip-project.tumblr.com/post/676795295564234752/the-wip-project-2022-masterpost
2021:
100 days of writing. The tag is here, and here are four posts I find especially notable about The Heroine's Journey by Gail Carriger:
Two short projects in this year. https://the-wip-project.tumblr.com/post/190175623889/the-wip-project-2020 and https://the-wip-project.tumblr.com/post/627604336988618752/im-so-busy-are-you-busy-too-i-was-trying-to
Note how I keep pushing for accountability posts. I'm convinced that accountability posts are the key to getting shit done, but very few people actually do it.
2019:
Where it all started, complete with a sign-up form and prizes. The prizes made everything extremely stressful for me, so I'm not doing that again 😂😂😂. https://the-wip-project.tumblr.com/post/185566159309/the-wip-project-2019
I was just reminded of a lovely writing challenge I had said I was interested in taking part in earlier on. A set-your-own-goal deal for WIP writing or Wip finishing, @the-wip-project. For June, I'm going to start small and see whether I can revise it next month.
I'm gonna go for 15 minutes writing time per day, working on any of my Cowboy & Hellcat wips (with special attention given to chapter 10 of I Never Asked For Company, lol)
omg two days in a row idk I know two days in a row isn't much but I have been feeling so funky lately it feels like a win. Some of these 433 words were [brief reminders to expand on] like this but I feel like this is character growth for me. Usually I'd go research horse behaviour or whatever and run out of writing time (I only had 15 minutes but I made sure to write for most of them)
Is there anything I like in it? There's some Victorian Yearning ™ so that's a win
Well, it's not looking all that good on the writing front, does it?
As you can see, I changed my goal to a more realistic setting. I'm going on vacation soon, I'm packing, writing lists, crossing off things on the list, and I already have stress tension in my sides from all this shit. So I'm giving myself some grace.
I also slowed down the queue for the coming weeks, but I parked some fun posts in there. I'll be around, just not as much.
i hope to ease back into writing this summer, so i shall follow @the-wip-project 's call and set some goals!
mainly, i want to work on my main wip. it's about trauma and survival, about unrequited love bringing out the worst in people, about toxic family dynamics and a bit of murder.
secondly, i want to add a chapter or two to princess and/or to pet safety.
for this week, in particular, the goals are:
- write next chapter princess
- write a short text about pinkwashing for our queer network's newsletter (it's writing!!)
- write a scene or at least some lines of dialogue where katja from my main wip deals with her guilt and faces the woman she wronged
I didn't fail anyone (my colleague couldn't tell me more about that newsletter assignment and I'll do it once she comes back to me), just myself; and I guess it's okay.
What I did instead is:
I had a lovely long weekend off work and went to the library and read 1.2 books that could both entertain me and remind me why, what and how I want to write and that really inspired me.
I set a date to meet two writers I've met, who are entirely different from every writer around me (and like at least 20 years older than me), to do a little writing workshop next month. They are both really great with words and narrating stories, and I feel very honored that they seem to feel like that about my writing as well.
So, I still call this a win towards my goal of writing more, and the simple thing about setting this week's goals is: half of what I wanted to do last week.
Should anyone of my followers want to support me, you probably can, by telling me what you would want to see next in Pet Safety or in Dany's story! 💕
Week One: Three sessions of at least 20 minutes of writing / editing. Did some writing sprints with @/lalizah (which was so much fun!). Worked on something outside of my WIP list but an idea that’s been sitting in my head for a few years
Did not attend a SUAW (summer schedule is different and it’s hard to find a time that fits in with the online sessions). Did not share a WIP (yet!)
Week Two: Continue 20 minute sessions on at least three days. Continue writing sprints. Attend maybe one SUAW session. Aim to share a WIP snippet
(also i have an education presentation for work i need to put together. as well as complete some continuing education)
First week was ok. Obviously still not quite in the thousands range of words, but I set the goal that low for a reason. Still, I just wish I was a faster writer. I could have so many stories done by now!
Week 1 Recap
for @the-wip-project Summer Writing Challenge
The goals I set for myself are here. And I met them!
Words: 1,212 / 1,167
Minutes Outlining: 30 / 30
With that being said...
I would feel better about this if I actually liked any of the words I managed to get down. It's all very rough.
I think this is a good exercise though: I need to get better at writing badly to get through a block instead of just letting the bad writing defeat me (or relearn how to do this, because I swear I used to be able to). I can clean it up. I can let it show me what's not working and force me to find a better way, which is basically what's happening right now.
Also just to reflect on productivity over the week, I almost didn't meet the word count goal because I was getting a little mired down in not liking what I was writing. (I was also just way busier on Saturday than I expected to be.) I switched to a different scene and cranked out my highest word count of the week yesterday because I'm very goal-oriented and didn't want to stumble at the first hurdle.
I also didn't write any words on the day I did my outlining/scene sketching, because I'm writing one thing and plotting another and I found it hard to flip between the two. I got really into thinking about the fic I was plotting, and I wanted to keep doing that instead of switching gears and writing. Something to keep in mind.
On to week 2, where I'll hopefully feel better about the outcome!
And because I'm a data nerd, here's some charts and stuff.
I did well at hitting my word count goal Monday-Friday, but didn't write anything over the weekend. It's funny, because I've always thought of the weekends as when I have free time, and this weekend abruptly made me realize that's actually not true for me. Family obligations means my weekends right now are actually usually busier than my week days, so that's a good thing to actually realize!
Anyway I'm adjusting my goal this week, because I have a major exam on Friday and most of my attention will be going to that. My goal for Week 2 is 50 words a day, and 0 words Friday (because I'll be using them all on my exam).
I did finish the rough version of chapter 17 for LoMLoL ✅
I edited chapter 11 and posted it ✅
I did a ton of brainstorming and worldbuilding for my original idea ✅ (I gave my protagonist some personally very relatable trauma yay xD)
I did NOT find a working title, or write a drabble with the weekly prompt in that universe ❌
I simply think this idea is not in the writing stage yet and I just need to be patient with it. Oh, and I'm shit with titles lol
But tbh I'm fine with it if this month all I do is collect ideas for that story and write my fanfic ideas out of my head. For this week I'm trying to dial it back a smidge.
My goals for week 2:
write 500 words for chapter 18 of LoMLoL - this will be my last proper chapter, which feels super intimidating, so I'm going to keep my goal low here. (To those who might be wondering about the 21 chapter count on AO3: I have a prologue, I will have an epilogue, I will also separate out a particular smut scene into its own chapter bc that might squick people out, and depending on how long it will take to tie up all loose ends I might need to separate the last chapter into two, we'll see. So I'll probably reach 21 chapters by the time everything is said and done)
edit and post chapter 12 - this chapter also ended up being incredibly dialog-heavy in my first draft of it, so I'll need to polish that
continue rotating my original idea - I really want to focus on my main character and the antagonist and setting up a good dynamic. As a fanfic writer of mainly enemies to lovers (which this will also be if everyone cooperates lol) that is kind of my thing, and it has to be just right if I want this idea to work.
I would also like to give them names, and find that working title? (*cries because names are just as hard as titles*) Let's call that one a stretch goal lmao
I will also allow myself to work on some of my one-shot fanfic ideas IF I feel like it. (Like there is the arranged marriage Harry/Nic series that I have some ideas for, and two hot little threesome fic ideas that I would hate to never write)
I think that will keep me busy this week!
Thank you for @the-wip-project for setting up this event, I've been enjoying chatting to other people doing this challenge
Managed to write every day this week! (except for yesterday but there were Extenuating Circumstances) Making slow progress on the fic I'm writing, it's a good exercise on how to put things together and it's a sub goal to have at least the first chapter by the end of the summer.
We're officially a week into the Summer Challenge!
So time for a check in. How's the writing going?
I hope everything is going great, and you've accomplished a lot this week!
But, what if the results weren't great? What if didn't reach your weekly goal? What if you already feel like quitting?
But! This is why we sent up the challenge with fresh goal setting each week.
So, instead of quitting, use what you've learned this week to make next week better.
Think about what went well, and what didn't.
If you found that doing a daily writing sprint worked out great, but you didn't hit your word-count goal, then the answer is pretty simple, lower your word-count goal for this week.
If you felt too over extended, then set a lower target for this week.
On the opposite side of things, if reaching your goals felt very easy, try setting a goal that's a little more challenging.
Overall, don't treat a single week like it's the end all. Instead, use it as an exercise in figuring out your limits, and use that information to set better goals this week.
When it comes to writing goals, it's all a learning process.
And don't forget to put it in writing, or make a post about it.
And in the spirit of that? The word prompt for this week is Limit.
Use it however you want. Just make sure you keep writing!
We're officially a week into the Summer Challenge!
So time for a check in. How's the writing going?
I hope everything is going great, and you've accomplished a lot this week!
But, what if the results weren't great? What if didn't reach your weekly goal? What if you already feel like quitting?
But! This is why we sent up the challenge with fresh goal setting each week.
So, instead of quitting, use what you've learned this week to make next week better.
Think about what went well, and what didn't.
If you found that doing a daily writing sprint worked out great, but you didn't hit your word-count goal, then the answer is pretty simple, lower your word-count goal for this week.
If you felt too over extended, then set a lower target for this week.
On the opposite side of things, if reaching your goals felt very easy, try setting a goal that's a little more challenging.
Overall, don't treat a single week like it's the end all. Instead, use it as an exercise in figuring out your limits, and use that information to set better goals this week.
When it comes to writing goals, it's all a learning process.
And don't forget to put it in writing, or make a post about it.
And in the spirit of that? The word prompt for this week is Limit.
Use it however you want. Just make sure you keep writing!
Better late than never as it's already the 3rd (almost the 4th). But I'm participating in Summer Writing 2026 @the-wip-project and my goal for June is to finish Chapter 7 of my RDR2 long fic In Bud.
I'm hoping to work roughly 2-4 hours each week and that should set me up to easily finish by the end of the month. With the added support of @captastra I already worked a bit on it earlier in the week! So 20 minutes already complete!
