Write for 15 minutes a day & sharpen your skills.
Create & maintain a writing streak & transform your work.
And you don’t have to do it alone.
There’s a secret to writing: the more you do it, the better you get.
Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Well, some days it is. Others…not so much.
- But what if you had a community of people pulling for you to get your butt in the chair and write something—anything—for at least 15 minutes a day?
- What if you had regular writing prompts to spark your creativity in new and unexpected ways?
- What if you had a safe space to post your work without worrying about whether it’s any good—because everybody in there understands that no one writes brilliantly all the time?
- What if you had a bi-weekly webinar hangout—a real writers’ group—so you can help each other puzzle out your writing challenges in real time?
- And what if you had a great incentive to keep going—something bigger than yourself, like a nice, fat donation to your favorite nonprofit?
- Could you do it then?
You could. You can.
Don’t you want to discover how good your writing can be?
“I very much enjoyed the daily practice of writing. I found the prompts very helpful and the 15-minute time limit even more so. Nothing seemed too hard or too daunting and there is nothing—well almost nothing—you can’t do for 15 minutes.”—previous Challenge participant
Maybe you’ve tested the waters in one of my 5×15 Writing Challenges. Or maybe you’re coming to this Challenge fresh—diving right in. Good for you!
My previous Challengers have
- found out how easy it is to carve 15 minutes out of your day to write.
- discovered how freeing it is to have a writing prompt to turn to when you’re fresh out of ideas.
- experienced the sense of accomplishment when they hit “post” each day.
- noticed just how much their skills improve with daily practice.
If you can write for 5 days in a row, you can do it for 15, 30, 60…Yes—even 90 days.
If writing for 90 days in a row feels too intimidating, you can elect to do a Monday through Friday challenge instead. You’ll get more than 60 days of writing under your belt. That’s transformative, too.
A prompt from our March 5×15 Writing Challenge
And every week, you’ll get a new email with two optional writing prompts.
Use them if you like—sometimes it’s nice to have a change of pace from what you’re working on. Or keep going on your own stuff. Your choice.
Here’s what one 5×15 Challenge participant wrote about the experience. By the way, this was also her response to one of the Challenge writing prompts: Close your eyes, face your keyboard, open your eyes and write using as many words as possible that begin with the first letter you see. (Can you guess which letter she chose?)
“My experience this week was Magnificent. I felt very Motivated to complete the challenge due to the prompts from Elaine and support from the other writers. I felt that my writing was Meaningful and Motivational.”—previous Challenge participant
Bigger Challenge -> More Support
It can be hard to look at your own work objectively. So the Challenge offers you three ways to get support and feedback—to get you unstuck, to help you solidify a new skill. And, if past experience is any guide, to find out that your work is really much better than you think it is.
First, everyone who registers for The Bennett Ink 90-Day Challenge can schedule one free 30-minute private coaching session (value: $187.50). If you’d like more time with me, you can choose a package of additional coaching time at a very steep discount.
Use the coaching for whatever you think would be most helpful to you. We can talk about what you’re planning to write, or how you can figure out what you want to write. We can examine work you’re doing. You can even ask me to edit a piece you’ve written.
Second, I’ve created an online writers’ group especially for The Bennett Ink 90-Day Challenge. We’ll set up a bi-weekly video conference on Zoom where you can drop in to read your work and get real-time reactions to it. One week it’s on Saturday at noon Eastern, two weeks later it’s Wednesday at noon Eastern—so you can work it in, whatever your schedule looks like.
Nothing beats hearing people laugh when you’ve written something you hoped would be funny. Share your successes and challenges, offer support and suggestions. Cheer each other on—literally. Only one difference between our Zoom hangout and a “real” writer’s group: you’ll have to supply your own snacks. I’ll join the group least once a month.
Third, I’ve created a publication on Medium to showcase your work. I named it after my writing philosophy. I’ll tap you on the shoulder (virtually) when I think you’ve got something ready to share. Or feel free to nominate your own work. Part of the point of the challenge is to build your self-confidence as a writer.
Finally, we have our own private Facebook group where you can post your work, ask questions, and get feedback. A writer might post a passage and ask, “Does this have too much description in it?” And other group members will weigh in with comments based on their particular strengths. In previous challenges, we’ve had poets, business people, scientists, artists—it’s an eclectic and creative community. And of course I’ll be popping into the Facebook group, too.
And if you want to keep going after your first 90 days, I’ll be offering a discount for continuing Challenge participants. How long can you keep your streak alive? Mine hit 419 days on June 18th, 2017.
Do it for yourself—and for the nonprofit of your choice
This challenge is bigger than the others I’ve run, so of course the rewards are that much better.
You choose the nonprofit that receives your donation.
And as your writing streak grows, so does the amount your nonprofit receives.
Write for the full 90 days and your nonprofit gets the maximum: $150.
Fall off the wagon after 15 days, then climb back on and do another 60 in a row? I’ll send your nonprofit $15 for your first streak and $90 for your second, a total of $105. You get the idea.
Or choose the Weekday-Only option and earn $10 for your nonprofit for every Monday through Friday streak you complete.
The more you write, the more you change the world. And yourself, don’t forget that: You’re investing time and energy in your writing. You’re taking yourself and your passions seriously. You’re growing.
Questions about The Bennett Ink 90-Day Challenge? I have answers.
What do I have to do?
When you join the Challenge, you commit to writing for at least 15 minutes a day—ideally for the full 90 days. Writing for the full 90-Day Challenge begins on Saturday July 1st. Those of you choosing the Weekday-Only option start writing on Monday July 3rd. Everyone wraps up the Challenge on Friday September 29th.
Why should I do this?
Because writing every day is the single best thing you can do to make yourself a better writer. I’ve been a professional writer for over 25 years—I’ve won awards—but since I made a commitment to write for at least 15 minutes every day, my writing has gotten even better. No lie.
What if I don’t have 15 minutes?
Yes, we’re all busy. But come on: you spend more than 15 minutes going to Starbucks. Or surfing the web. A 2016 Nielsen survey found that between smart phones, tablets, computers, and TV, American adults log more than 10 hours a day of screen time. Shave 15 minutes off of that and you won’t even notice—but you will notice how your writing skills improve. Wouldn’t it be nice to be better at writing than at Candy Crush?
How will I know what to write?
I’ll send you an email each week with two writing prompts. You choose whether you’d like to continue with something you’re already writing, write to the prompts, or start something new. The prompts will guide you to a range of genres—fiction and nonfiction, from humorous to serious, poetry to prose. Who knows? I may even ask you to write something in crayon. (To be clear: on paper, not on your computer.)
Writing the same kinds of things all the time gets boring. And it’s also not the best way to grow. The more styles you can explore, the more tools you’ll have in the proverbial writing toolbox. And the more playful you can feel about writing, the more likely you are to keep doing it.
Does it have to be good writing?
Thanks for the laugh! Honey, nobody writes well all the time. Much of what I write is solidly mediocre. Sometimes I publish it anyway, sometimes I don’t. But I write for at least 15 minutes every day. Been doing it for the last 419 days (as of June 18th)—and while I still turn out the occasional clunker, my good stuff is getting even better.
Rules
- Register for the challenge.
- Click on the link to pay the registration fee.
- Tell me which nonprofit you’d like to fund.
- Commit to writing for 15 minutes every day starting Saturday July 1st or every weekday starting Monday July 3rd. The Challenge ends on Friday September 29th.
- Join The Bennett Ink 90-Day Challenge‘s Facebook group. You’ll find a thriving community ready to welcome you. And everyone agrees to keep it confidential.
- Visit the group every day to post your writing.
- Or just let us know you’ve written that day (you’re on the honor system).
- When you complete the Challenge I will make a donation of up to $150 to the nonprofit of your choice.
- You and your fellow Challenge participants celebrate a great success.
“I want to thank everyone for their generosity. I’ve learned from reading what you wrote and from having the courage and encouragement to write!”
What’s my investment?
The Challenge is a labor of love for me. I want you to grow and develop a discipline around your writing. So instead of charging you nearly $500.00 for the whole package…
…you can join The Bennett Ink 90-Day Writing Challenge for an investment of only:
That’s a discount of more than 70% off the Coaching Package—which drops from $337.50 to just $99.
People who re-enroll in subsequent 90-Day Challenges, get an additional bonus. And active Challenge participants will also be eligible for discounts on any other webinars I offer during the Challenge period.
Can 90 days really change anything?
The Challenge can change your mind; you may find ways around the limitations and roadblocks you’ve encountered before. You’ll gain new knowledge about your craft and about yourself.
And you’ll be proud to call yourself a writer.
Join the Challenge today.
Cheers,
Elaine Bennett
Business Storyteller, Writing Guide, Mets Fan