 Noticing Newbies: March 06, 2024 Issue [#12453] |
This week: Long-form Activities Edited by: Jeff  
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"You never know what you can do until you try,
and very few try unless they have to."
-- C.S. Lewis
About The Editor: Greetings! My name is Jeff and I'm one of your regular editors for the Noticing Newbies Official Newsletter! I've been a member of Writing.com since 2003, and have edited more than 400 newsletters across the site during that time. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me via email or the handy feedback field at the bottom of this newsletter! 
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Long-form Activities
By far, the most popular duration for activities on Writing.com is daily, weekly, or monthly. There are places where you can participate daily like "Question of the Day!" , "Habit Heroes " , "Daily Flash Fiction Challenge" , or "The Writer's Cramp" . There are regular contests like "The Weekly Quickie Contest" that have deadlines every week, and a whole bunch of contests that run monthly, including "The Bard's Hall Contest" , "The Lighthouse Short Story Contest" , "Fox's Socks Newbie Short Story Contest" , and "Hook of the Book" .
But even when it comes to annual or other standalone activities, they rarely last more than a month. "The Soundtrack of Your Life" is a blogging challenge that takes place every year during the month of February. The "NaNoWriMo Write-A-Thon" runs only during the month of November. The "Annual Wdc Birthday Masquerade Party" runs for a few weeks every September. What about events that last even longer than that?
In April, "Musicology Anthology" will kick off, which is an annual challenge to select a musical album of choice and then write a short story for each track on the album. Depending on the album chosen, it very likely means than the challenge is to write at least five or six, and probably more likely ten-plus short stories, which is why the contest runs for nearly three months. That's a long time for a contest to be open, and it can be really easy to procrastinate until later in the entry window and then suddenly realize you don't have enough time to finish. Heck, that can even happen in monthly contests, as several participants of "The Soundtrack of Your Life" can attest (myself included!), when we were all rushing to get last-minute entries in prior to the deadline.
The best way to tackle these long-form activities to plan ahead. Early on in the contest, look at what you're trying to accomplish and make a specific plan for how to achieve it. Three months is approximately twelve weeks... so if you're planning on selecting Carole King's album "Tapestry," there are twelve songs on the original release, so you're looking at needing to write about one short story a week to finish on time. If you've selected Michael Jackson's "HIStory" album, there are thirty songs on that album, which means you're going to have to write an average of more than two stories per week in order to meet the deadline. Thirty stories is a lofty goal, but it might seem almost achievable when you're thinking that you have three months to get it all done.
If you're able to plan out your efforts over the course of a long-form activity and pace yourself, you're more likely to meet with success toward the end of the activity.
The same is true of very involved activities like "Wonderland" and "Game of Thrones" where, even though they take place over a limited amount of time (in those cases a month), there are many different parts and the activities are quite involved. As a participant, you stand the best chances of success when you take some time at the beginning of the activity to plan out your efforts and accomplish your goals with consistent participation throughout the duration of the activity.
Until next time,
Jeff
If you're interested in checking out my work:
"New & Noteworthy Things" | "Blogocentric Formulations"
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This month's official Writing.com writing contest is:
I also encourage you to check out the following items:
EXCERPT: I watch the news on the three main over the air television networks, we do not have cable. I also listen to news on Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) and I read a lot of reporting on the internet by trusted reporters. I have yet to hear, see, or read one analyst talk about the dangers that the Religious far right pose to the United States; which by the way I no longer see as united. We are at least two nations living under the same set of laws and interpreting those laws as each sees appropriate.
EXCERPT: I was always fascinated and felt drawn to the occult, the paranormal, anything that is dark, macabre, disturbing, creepy, unexplained. I always believed that it was real, but I still wanted proof, to prove to myself with 100 & certainty that it is real. I am respectful to the dead, to spirits, entities, demons, Deities, it's never been my intention to dabble with witchcraft, or with divination/communication with spirits for a disrespectful, or negative purpose, spirits, entities, demons, Deities and other type of beings have free will, they should be treated with respect. I don't mock them, underestimate them or what they are capable of.
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Feedback from "Noticing Newbies Newsletter (February 7, 2024)" about the (recursive) writing process:
While some of my flash fiction or poetry just "falls into place", I definitely prefer to invest more time in the prewriting phase because it suits my personality. Shopping's a necessary evil, but my absolute least favorite part of the whole shopping experience is having to return something. My motto is, "Get the right thing the first time - if at all possible - or don't get it at all."
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