Wednesday, June 7, 2017

IWSG: And . . . Done!


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Last month, I participated in the Story A Day challenge, where I set myself the goal of writing a story every Monday-Friday during May, hopefully ending up with a total of 23 stories.

I did it!

I set myself the task, and I saw it through to the end. I pushed myself creatively, emotionally and mentally, and I came out the other side stronger and more confident in my writing and in myself.

That is what I hope and want for you all!

Whether you try Story A Day, Camp NaNo, NaNo or a challenge you set for your writing and/or for yourself, go for it! You can do it. You are creative and persistent, smart and strong, and your IWSG family has your back. We are cheering you on!

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Please show my fellow co-hosts - JH Moncrieff, Jen ChandlerMegan MorganHeather Gardner - some IWSG love!

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Click here for more information
about the IWSG's new anthology

129 comments:

  1. Congrats!!!!

    Thank you for co-hosting Madeline!

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    1. Thank you!

      And you're welcome! I really enjoy co-hosting. :)

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  2. Congratulations!!!That's a marathon of an achievement!:-)

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    1. It's probably the only marathon I'll ever actually finish. Although, never say never.... :)

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  3. Congratulations! That was a tough assignment you gave yourself. You deserve to give yourself a reward.

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    1. I already bought myself some books and had some cake, so I think that's probably enough with the rewards.... :)

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  4. Congratulations!!! So happy that you made it through beautifully. Thank you also for being one of our co-host this month.
    Shalom aleichem,
    Patricia
    Everything Must Change

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    1. I'm not sure I've ever done anything "beautifully" but thank you! :)

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  5. Huge congrats!! Such an enormous accomplishment. Thanks for co-hosting this month.

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  6. Congrats on the awesome achievement, Madeleine!
    You have 23 new stories to add to your next collection, or maybe next two/three anthologies.
    Thanks for co-hosting the IWSG this month.

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    1. Oh, believe me, some of those stories are total clunkers and will not be seen by anyone else. :)

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  7. Hooray!! Such an amazing accomplishment. Woo-hoo!!

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  8. That's awesome! A goal like that can really motivate you.

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  9. Well done! I hope you've prepared yourself a nice reward - people-watching at a coffee shop with a notebook would be mine, to get started on the next project ;-)

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    1. See, that would've been a creative and productive reward. I bought books and ate cake. :)

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  10. Yippee! Way to go! I totally knew you could do it, and there you go, proving me right. =)

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  11. Congrats! and well done. Somehow I knew you would do it. :-)

    https://emaginette.wordpress.com/2017/06/06/iwsg-37-writing-is-a-lifeline/

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  12. Congratulations! So proud of you, Madeline. You said you were going to do it, and you did. Good for you!

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    1. That's probably one of the things I'm most proud of - setting out to do something then actually doing it. :)

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  13. Congratulations on winning your challenge!

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  14. Congrats - and THANK YOU for this post. It's exactly what I needed. :)

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  15. Wow, that's a huge accomplishment! It sounds like a loooot of writing. Congratulations!

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    1. It was a lot, but it was just what I needed to get my creative and writing groove back.

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  16. Excellent, Madeline! Way to go on finishing that challenge! Happy June writing!

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  17. Congrats on finishing the challenge. =)

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  18. Congratulations! That is so awesome! Good job!

    Do you think you'll build up a collection to release someday?

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    1. That's definitely a possibility, though I've already revised and subbed two of the stories and put a few away for good. A couple look like they might be part of a larger story/project. The rest, I'm not sure.... :)

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  19. I feel your sense of accomplishment and confidence oozing from this post. Well done!
    Mary at Play off the Page

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  20. That's a lot of stories! Tell us your secret, please!!! Congratulations on completing the challenge and on being an admin for #IWSG this month.

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    1. It was the Story A Day challenge that kept me on track. That accountability definitely helped. Kind of like NaNo. :)

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  21. Hurrah! What are you going to do with all those stories?

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    1. Not quite sure yet. Some have been revised and subbed, others put away. The rest are full of possibilities. :)

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  22. Ooh! Nice:) I bet you have a ton of new novel ideas!! I'm jealous.

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    1. I actually have a few stories that might be part of a really long short story and another batch that might be part of a novella/novel. We'll see what happens!

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  23. Congrats!!! That's amazing!!! I love it when a challenge works out like that—it's so inspiring!

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  24. Congratulations! I am duly impressed. As slowly as I write, the only way I could produce a story a day for a month would be if I gave up sleeping and eating. (Not gonna happen!) But I'm happy for you that you succeeded. (Cake and books sounds like the perfect reward to me...)

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    1. If they had to be pretty and perfect stories every day? No way! Mine were messy and rough but they all had a beginning, middle and end. That was the important part. :)

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  25. Wow! A story every day? I am really impressed! Thank you for cheering us all on and being a cool-host this month :)

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  26. Hi Madeline, you have 23 stories, wow dear, I am super envious but also very happy for you :)

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    1. You wouldn't be envious if you read some of those stories, believe me. :)

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  27. Hearty congrats on completing this. I've always thought it was just too difficult. Maybe for me--not for you!

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  28. Congrats on accomplishing your goal of writing a story every day in May!! Did you find you could write flash and longer stories too? I imagine one story would spark an idea for another. Thanks for co-hosting..Wait, is it admin now?
    JQ Rose

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    1. I mostly wrote flash because that's what I usually do, but I did write some longer stories and ones that might become part of something larger. The creator of Story A Day gave daily prompts, too, and I played some of those throughout the month.

      I believe it's still co-host....

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  29. Way to go, Madeline! You are amazing. I'm following your blog and will check that we are connected on Goodreads. Thanks for co-hosting the June question.

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    1. Thanks for following us here at TSR! And I know I've seen you over on Goodreads. :)

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  30. I have to give you kudos for writing a story a day. You should be proud! Is this an ongoing thing? I might have to check it out. Thanks for co-hosting this month's IWSG. Eva

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    1. Story A Day takes place in May and in September (I believe,) and I totally recommend checking it out. :)

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  31. Congrats on completing your goal! I may take this up next year, or NaMo - just for the experience. BTW, on my morning run in the park last weekend, I saw a turtle about the size of a manhole cover digging itself into the hillside. I immediately thought of you! Thanks for co-hosting today.

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    1. I believe Story A Day also runs in September if you're interested.

      I so hope our tortoises don't get to be that big! They're not supposed to, but Larry eats like an...animal. :)

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    2. Ok - I clearly told that wrong. Sewer drain cover size, not manhole cover size. Smaller than Larry, but bigger than most we see around here. S/he was beautiful!

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    3. No worries! I've seen some big turtles/tortoises so my mind always goes to those. :)

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  32. That's a great accomplishment! Congrats, and keep up the good work.
    —Rebecca
    My IWSG Post

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  33. Congratulations on achieving your goal, Madeline! And thanks for co-hosting the IWSG today! I'm afraid to set precise goals, because I always feel like the Universe is waiting to knock me down the moment I utter one. LOL I so appreciate the encouragement and support of the IWSG members! Happy writing to you in June!

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    1. I think we all have to set the kinds of goals that work for us. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to keep a story a day Mon-Fri up for long.

      Happy writing to you, too!

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  34. A big round of pats on the back for you! That's outstanding. Keep on rockin' and rollin'! Thank you for co-hosting today!

    Elsie

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    1. I'll take all the pats on the back I can get! I'll store them up for when I'm really feeling down. :)

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  35. I did a post a day on Medium in May with a group. I did it, but I admit I re-purposed a lot of old blog content to do it, so did not suffer as much stress, except the five days I had to schedule while I was offline.

    Juneta @ Writer's Gambit

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    1. It totally helped me to have a few story sparks/seeds in mind the night before. Or I used the daily prompts on the Story A Day site.

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  36. A story a day for a month - that is a tremendous accomplishment. I don't think I would ever be able to do it. I'm a slow writer. Each of my stories, published and unpublished, took weeks, sometimes years to complete.

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    1. Never say never, Olga! Some people wrote a story every single day in May, while I knew I needed some time off in between. Go ahead and set your own rules. :)

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  37. You did it! Now you know you can do anything you set your mind to. What an amazing gift ;)

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    1. Now if only I can apply the same strategy to weight loss. Somehow writing the stories is easier than running. :)

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  38. Thanks for the encouraging post ,Madeline. And thanks for co-hosting. I'm setting a goal to get back to writing in August.

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    1. You're very welcome! And good luck with your August plans. You can totally do it! :)

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  39. Woohoo! Congrats! And thanks for co-hosting!
    I really really really want to try NaNo this year (and not just for the first week like I have before) to get a first draft for Book 2 in my series. Hopefully it'll happen.

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    1. Don't forget Camp NaNo this July! If I remember correctly, the "rules" are a little looser in terms of working on different projects, like outlining etc. Maybe use that as a NaNo warm-up? :)

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  40. Congratulations! You made it through. Story A Day sounds intimidating. Thanks for co-hosting and the fantastic post! -Adrienne

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    1. Story a Day is so NOT intimidating! The only "rule" is to finish each story, and the community over there is wonderful.

      Glad you enjoyed the post! :)

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  41. A big congrats on achieving your goal! I hope there were big celebrations.

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    1. Books and cake! That's how we celebrate here at TSR. Okay, only I do that. The tortoises have banana. :)

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  42. Thanks for co-hosting this month. I hadn't heard of the story a day challenge. Seems really cool. Congratulations.

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  43. I finished my latest novel because of a writing challenge with my local writing group. Yippee for us both.

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    1. Was that the 50/50 challenge you mentioned on your blog? Awesome, Susan! Congrats!

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  44. Impressive. I don't think I'd be able to keep up with that many story ideas. Every day, a new one? Wow. I'm all about the Nanowrimo though. I did it November and again in April. I won't be taking part in the camp this July, but hopefully again this coming November. :) Thanks for co-hosting! http://www.raimeygallant.com

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    1. It was definitely work, but good, creative, stretch-that-writing-muscle work. :)

      Excellent on all those NaNo/Camp NaNo experiences! Good luck with the next one!

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  45. Isn't the feeling you get when you achieve amazing! Any goal, big or small, feeds that fire to create more. Congrats, and thanks for co-hosting!!

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  46. Congratulations on meeting your challenge. Your success encourages all of us. I'm working on getting back to my personal goal: carve time for my creative writing. Thank you for co-hosting June's IWSG.

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    1. That was what I was hoping would happen with this post, that it would encourage all of you to set goals and go after them. If I can do it, you all can, too! Good luck with your personal goal!

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  47. I'm still working on finishing my very first story, so I don't know how you managed the feat. Congratulations and thanks for co-hosting this month's IWSG post.

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    1. I've been at this writing gig a long, long, long time.... :)

      You will finish that story! Right? Right!

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  48. Congratulations to you! That's a great accomplishment and a confidence-booster for sure. I set quiet goals for myself, and they really help.

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    1. I really needed that boost of confidence, believe me. I think we should set quiet goals then when we achieve them, shout it from the rooftops. :)

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  49. That's so cool! I've done Poetry-A-Day and struggled through A-to-Z a couple of times (though last year was my easiest time), but I don't know if I could do short stories daily!

    Thanks for co-hosting!

    P.S. I love the new pictures of your tortoises. I also discovered there's a tortoise shop in NJ, and I really want to goooo..

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  50. Good for you for doing those challenges! I've done A-Z a few times and it is not easy.

    We did a lot of research before getting our tortoises. We even waited awhile before bringing them home to make sure they were healthy and safe.

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  51. Well done, Madeline! Setting goals and then achieving them has to be one of the most rewarding pursuits in life. Kudos to your determination and success. Thanks for co-hosting!

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  52. Congrats on challenging yourself. It's good for us to push ourselves creatively. Thanks for co-hosting this month.

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    1. I need to push myself creatively a lot more than I do now. And I will!

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  53. Congratulations, Madeline! That's an amazing accomplishment. Some times these challenges really give us the kick in the pants that we need. Hope you have more motivation planned for yourself!

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    1. It really was the kick I needed. I am flailing a little bit now, but will get back on a good track soon. :)

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  54. I agree with Jenni! What a fantastic accomplishment. No way I'd even undertake that. Thanks for being a co-host too.

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    1. You can totally do it, too! I have faith in all of you. :)

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  55. A story a day is fantastic. That sounds like a compilation a month. Good for you!


    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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  56. Hurray for you! That was quite a challenge and you did it!

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  57. Wonderful accomplishment! Congratulations!

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  58. Congrats Madeline. That was an awesome goal, and greater achievement.

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  59. What a great idea - to post a Story a Day. I love the A-Z challenge but there's no reason why I need to wait until that "formal" event to challenge myself. I'm so grateful to this group of writers who are encouraging and a good reality-check for those of us that need a bit more discipline. Thanks! http://www.dianeweidenbenner.com/iwsg-how-to-find-blogging-topics/

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    1. I know what you mean about not waiting for "official" events to challenge ourselves. It does seem to make it easier though sometimes, doesn't it? :)

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  60. Congrats! What an awesome accomplishment.

    After some grumbling, I have become a loyal NaNoWriMo-er.

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    1. I usually grumble before, during and after NaNo - what was I thinning?! - but then the fun, the joy and the sense of accomplishment win out. :)

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    2. Yeah, getting that winning video at the end feels like a huge accomplishment every time.

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  61. That's great that you were able to pull that off!

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