Only 27 people have earned the right to post this link. They found 15 minutes in their busy schedules to write every day for five days in a row (December 26th-30th, 2016). Award-winning writer Elaine Bennett designed the Jumpstart 2017 challenge to encourage writers to practice their craft regularly—the surest way to improve. Complete the challenge and your entire $15 registration fee would go to Room to Read, a global nonprofit spreading literacy, with a special focus on young girls.
“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.”
And those who wished to share their work could post it in our private Facebook group:
“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!”
Forty-five people signed up for the challenge; 27 dedicated writers braved flu, family visits, procrastination, and holiday travel to post each day and complete it. We donated over $400 to Room to Read (which matched end-of-year contributions, giving us more than $800 worth of impact).
“I really enjoyed the Jumpstart—love ending the year on such a productive note.”
So what’s next?
One Jumpstarter summed up her takeaways from the week:
“Write scared.
Write every week.
Write because in a world of 7.5 billion people, there is one person somewhere who is waiting to hear what I have to say…”
Like this writer, a number of participants plan to keep their writing streaks alive. And many will continue working with Elaine, building their writing skills in a slightly more structured way through the Writing Unbound program beginning in February 2017.
Why Writing Unbound?
People enroll in Writing Unbound for a host of reasons. Do any of these sound familiar?
“I would like to improve how I communicate in conflict situations. I would like to be more assertive. I would like to become more confident in my writing.”
“I would like to be less wordy, right from the beginning of my writing. I always write too much.”
“Precision. Alignment of words with the ideas I want to communicate.”
“In no particular order: confidence, good story selection, keeping things moving, how to start and finish well. I have these skills in some small measure, but I would really like to take my skills up several notches.”
“I love words. I have difficulty making time to write and believing that I have something to say, but once I actually start, writing comes easily.”
Click on the image below for more information.
It’s time to unleash the power of your words.
