Webb Writing Challenge

Several years ago, my daughter introduced me to reading challenges and I have been loving them ever since. True, I don’t always complete them but I have fun trying. Reading challenges often led me to books, authors and genres I never would have chosen. Some I loved, some I didn’t but it did open me up to new things. And we all could use a little touch of the unexpected in our lives.

Instead of a reading challenge, I’m offering you a writing challenge. A list of writing suggestions and a year to complete 12 of them – one a month or all twelve in one month, whatever strikes your fancy. You can even do all 15! Don’t restrict yourself – if the challenge doesn’t specify, try fiction, nonfiction, memoir, essays, children’s, poetry. So, in the next year, whenever you’re feeling uninspired pull up this writing challenge and give one a try.

Let’s not tackle this writing challenge as a solitary endeavor. Feel free to share how you’re doing with the writing challenge in my future Muffin posts or on my blog Words by Webb. Did the writing challenge lead you to a new type of writing, publication, or maybe an idea for a longer piece? Let's begin the Webb Writing Challenge!

1. Write a poem. Rhyming not necessary. If poetry is a challenge for you, try a haiku.

2. Use your name as a writing prompt. My surname is Webb so I could write about spiderwebs, spiders, Spiderman or even weaving (webb means weaver). How about you?

3. Pen a flash fiction(1000 words or less) in a genre you don’t usually write.

4. Find inspiration in a favorite song – either the lyrics or memories connected to the song.

5. Everyone loves a surprise ending. Write something with a twist.

6. Try some epistolary writing – tell a story through other writing (letters, texts, emails, diary entries, police blotter, etc.)

7. Learn something new and use it in your writing. What plants are poisonous? Who created the first hot air balloon? How do you juggle? Here’s your chance to learn something you’ve always been curious about and use it to enrich your writing.

8. Write about a place you’ve never been – an actual place or an imaginary world you create.

9. Create a random question (or use a question generator) then answer it with a piece of writing. When did things go wrong? Why did she come to town? What happened to the missing shoe? The crazier the better.

10. Condense the time period of your piece – have it happen in 24 hours or less.

11. Be someone new! Write from a viewpoint different from yours – different age, gender, religion, politics, financial situation, time period, profession, etc.

12. Choose another piece of writing as your jumping off point, anything from a novel to a news story to a birthday card from your Aunt Marion.

13. Berkley researchers pinpointed 27 emotions: admiration, adoration, aesthetic appreciation, amusement, anger, anxiety, awe, awkwardness, boredom, calmness, confusion, craving, disgust, empathic pain, entrancement, excitement, fear, horror, interest, joy, nostalgia, relief, romance, sadness, satisfaction, sexual desire, surprise. Focus on one in your next writing.

14. Allow the next person you eat a meal with to suggest a writing topic.

15. Infuse an inherently unlikable character with traits that make your readers root for them.

Have fun and don't forget to let all your fellow writers know how you're doing with the challenge!

Jodi M. Webb writes from her home in the Pennsylvania mountains about everything from DIY projects to tea to butterflies.  She's also a blog tour manager for WOW-Women on Writing. Get to know her @jodiwebbwrites,  Facebook and blogging at Words by Webb. 

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