The 10K Challenge by Mandi Lynn has been a popular competition going around the online writing community, and for great reason. The challenge asks writers to write 10,000 words in a single day. The truth is, I've been doing these challenges before it became viral. I love 10K days during the drafting process because it provides me with the ability to progress quicker in my manuscript. For those of you who haven't watched my writing process video or read the blog post, I write the first draft of my projects in one to two months. I wrote the YA contemporary project over January and May of last year (odd time gap, I know) and I'm looking to finish this YA thriller over May and June of this year. So what's the big secret to getting a first draft done so quickly? 10K days. Think about it. If the minimum a novel needs to be is 50k, 10k is one fifth a novel written in a day. If you're like me and your novels are a bit larger, it's still a decent chunk. My projects are around 80,000 words so a 10K day means I wrote over 12% of my novel in one day. Wow. That's still pretty darn impressive. Plus, 10K days can be really fun when done right. During my latest 10K day, I filmed the entire process as well as thought of a couple tips and tricks to conquer a 10K writing day. 1. Chose a day where you don't have a lot going on I know. I know. Life is crazy and there's all some obligation or responsibility but when planning 10K writing days, plans ahead so you can schedule one on a day where you have little to no other responsibilities. For me, I usually schedule mine for Saturdays because I am off work and can do any weekend homework on Sundays. I also schedule them a month out so I know not to make any plans with friends on those days. However, sometimes I will use plans with friends as reward. For the 10K day where I ended up writing 15,000 words last year, I had planned on hanging out with friends after finishing (even if I did end up bailing for an introvert night). This time around, my 9am break was a run with one of my old cross country friends. The day doesn't have to be completely clear, but planning a 10K day sometime when a lot is happening might not be the smartest idea. 2. Have productive and fun rewards I try to brainstorm 5-10 rewards before each 10K day. Usually, one of my favorite rewards is going to a coffeeshop to write for a portion of the day but with all the craziness which is 2020, I wasn't able to do that this. However, one of my rewards was still going through the Dunkin Drive Through for a latte. Another productive reward was writing outside once I hit 5,000 words. I also try to make sure at least one of my rewards is some form of exercise (yoga, running, Just Dance videos, etc.) because moving my body helps re-engerize me throughout the day. Other than that, my other rewards can vary greatly. I do always have one big final reward...which usually involves pizza, ice cream, and binge watching Netflix. Having a big reward to look forward to can help up your writing progress. 3. Track your progress During 10K days, I track my progress in my journal and up on my white board. On my white board, I have little squares to fill in for each 500 words. To be honest, filling in the squares is a reward in and of itself! In my journal, I write down the time stamps of each word sprint as well as the word count for that sprint and the total word count. No matter how good you are at math, make sure to keep diligent records so you know when you hit 10,000 words. 3. Start early Set your alarm for a little earlier. Make some coffee. And get some words written. 4. But don't be deterred if the day doesn't start as planned In this last 10K challenge, I only wrote 1,000 words before 10:30am...yikes, especially since I'm a morning writer. Yet, just like NaNoWriMo, a bad start doesn't have to determine if you reach your goal or not. I kept pushing harder as the day went on (and made myself some coffee which admittedly helped). Don't let a bad beginning determine your end, even if, like me, you hoped to get a lot written early in the day. 5. Don't let past failures define your current 10K challenge Last November, I tried to do a 10K challenge and failed. Epically. As in, I think I only wrote 4,000 words that day. Going into this 10K challenge, I was nervous, especially after such a dismal start. However, I got into the mindset that I could do this. Lots of people do 10K challenges and I even completed one a year ago. Who cares if the last time I tried this, I failed? Last time does not equal this time. No matter what happened in the past or earlier the day of your 10K challenge, don't let it define the outcome. Keep going and believe you can do it! Also, life hack: everything is easier if you believe you can do it, no matter the odds or your history.
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AuthorI'm Angela Anne, a Young Adult contemporary writer committed to helping you achieve your writing goals + giving you writing inspiration. ArchivesCategories
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