02 March 2012
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365 stories in a year
Could you write a story every day? That's the challenge WM subscriber Stephanie Mark has set herself. ...
‘It started off as a ten pence bet against a friend of mine: write a story every day for the next year,’ writes subscriber Stephanie Mark.
‘Ever since I could read, I’d always wanted to write. As a teenager I’d constantly be writing something, whether it was short stories, prose or bad attempts at novels. But as university and full time employment came along, I found less and less time for writing. I missed it.
‘On 7 October 2011, I wrote and published my first story on my website. Every day I have to write something of at least five hundred words in length. Sometimes it is a struggle – nights out, illness, fatigue. Most of the time it’s fun and even having spent the entire evening tapping my fingertips on the keyboard waiting for an idea to spring to life, knowing there’s a finished product out there in cyberspace is one of the best feelings there is.
‘My friends thought I was crazy to start it – so did I at first. Before, I used to find completing stories extremely difficult. I’d always want to go over and edit them – and nine times out of ten that resulted in deletion. Ideas were a bit tricky, too. This project not only means completing a new story every day, but expanding my imagination so that each and every story can be unique, exciting and intriguing.
‘In the first few days, I thought I’d be struggling on the imagination front. At work I’d be scribbling down ideas and characters on scrap paper. My brain would be saturated. Now, over a hundred days in, ideas come more naturally. Most are written and published within half an hour and I’ve explored avenues of imagination I’d never thought I’d wander down.
‘Yes, I am probably mad for starting this project, but I am loving every minute of it. What began as a bet in jest has morphed into a channel for my almost forgotten childhood dream to be an author and hopefully, when the day comes where I’m no longer bound to planning my days around a story, this project can be seen as a stepping stone for bigger things to come.’
Website: www.365stories.co.uk
‘Ever since I could read, I’d always wanted to write. As a teenager I’d constantly be writing something, whether it was short stories, prose or bad attempts at novels. But as university and full time employment came along, I found less and less time for writing. I missed it.
‘On 7 October 2011, I wrote and published my first story on my website. Every day I have to write something of at least five hundred words in length. Sometimes it is a struggle – nights out, illness, fatigue. Most of the time it’s fun and even having spent the entire evening tapping my fingertips on the keyboard waiting for an idea to spring to life, knowing there’s a finished product out there in cyberspace is one of the best feelings there is.
‘My friends thought I was crazy to start it – so did I at first. Before, I used to find completing stories extremely difficult. I’d always want to go over and edit them – and nine times out of ten that resulted in deletion. Ideas were a bit tricky, too. This project not only means completing a new story every day, but expanding my imagination so that each and every story can be unique, exciting and intriguing.
‘In the first few days, I thought I’d be struggling on the imagination front. At work I’d be scribbling down ideas and characters on scrap paper. My brain would be saturated. Now, over a hundred days in, ideas come more naturally. Most are written and published within half an hour and I’ve explored avenues of imagination I’d never thought I’d wander down.
‘Yes, I am probably mad for starting this project, but I am loving every minute of it. What began as a bet in jest has morphed into a channel for my almost forgotten childhood dream to be an author and hopefully, when the day comes where I’m no longer bound to planning my days around a story, this project can be seen as a stepping stone for bigger things to come.’
Website: www.365stories.co.uk
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