Every December, agent Nephele Tempest challenges her blog readers to write every day for a month.  She adds mini challenges to make it more exciting, more creative, and to get the words flowing.  When I ran an online writing group, I also ran a challenge.  I called it the NILE – the Noveling In Limited Epic.  It was essentially NaNoWriMo a month or two later, except participants could usually choose their own end goal.  That writing group is now defunct (though I’m proud and elated to say that three of us have begun to craft careers out of writing – yay us!), so I can’t rightly run the NILE anymore.  But I still like to refocus my efforts in the cold, dark months of our Northern Hemisphere year.  All the cold and snow generally makes me more productive.  So I should just batten down the hatches, close up all the windows, and get to it, right?

: /

I’m a Virgo.  I like structure.  Just snuggling into my chair with a cold keyboard and a hot cup of cocoa isn’t enough.  I need boundaries, guidelines, goals.  These are my writer quirks, and I’ve learned that the best way to boost productivity (and my chances at success) are playing to them, not against them.

I don’t want to write 50,000 words this month (well, of course I want to, but I don’t want that to be my goal).  Rather than the NILE, I give you:

The Best Effort Given Grants Achievement Rewards (B.E.G.G.A.R.) Challenge

The BEGGAR’s purpose is to create a habit.  It can be any habit, really.  All you have to do is set aside 30 minutes each day this month (including and especially Christmas!) to focus on your chosen habit.  It doesn’t have to be in a single chunk.  You can break it down wherever it fits into your day.  Have five minutes sitting in the drive-thru at Starbucks every morning?  Use it to think about your writing.  Finish your lunch early?  Take ten minutes to stretch out your muscles.  Whatever your chosen goal area is, find or make 30 minutes across each day to work on it.

Before you begin, you also need to set a reward at the finish line.  I’m not really achievement-oriented, so I can’t say whether it’s better to pick something related to your new habit, or if it’s better to be something you really want.  I suspect it varies from person to person.  Whatever it is, set it down in writing.  Post it where you will see it.  Like this:

Today, I will spend 30 minutes on _____.
On January 6th, I win _____!

That’s it!  I will come back with a couple focus challenges throughout the month.  You can join me in them or not, that’s up to you.

30 minutes.  30 days.  1 new habit and a prize!

For me, I’m going to be working on my writing for 30 minutes each day.  Writing new words, editing old ones, brainstorming, plotting, and all the wonders and marvels of being a writer.  One day each week I will dedicate to the publishing side – marketing, research, blogs (both reading and updating), social media, etc.  When I complete the month, I will post an excerpt of my next novella, The Shot Heard ‘Round the Planet.  I get to share, you get to read, everybody wins!

If you choose to join in, please feel free to comment along the way.  Writing is a lonely business, and I like the company!

Good luck!