#DECEMBER WINNERS POST-Sonia Gives Us Tips to Avoid Procrastination

Laura here once again!

The December prompt saw a lot of wonderful entries! Choosing a winner was no easy task, but Sonia prevailed with a beautiful and heart-wrenching tale.

Judge Nick Wilford said:

"A beautiful evocation of loss. This was really touching."

If you haven't yet read the previous post listing our winners, please do so.

Now it is our pleasure to host a guest post from our winner Sonia. In addition to this guest post, she also won a critique from J.L. Campbell and a guest post in the IWSG newsletter.

Have you as a writer ever struggled with procrastination? Sonia has some useful tips to help you avoid it and get words on the page.

The Art of Not Procrastinating

Finally, I am at my desk doing the WEP Post. It’s taken me some time with the New Year and all the travelling. But more than that, I think procrastinating has been my biggest enemy when it comes to writing. The temptation to write on another day, when the sun is out and the bees make enough honey or when God himself decides to send the right signal, is so strong that today just doesn’t seem enough! So, I decided to talk about the art of “not procrastinating” when it comes to writing.

The famous Indian saint and mystic poet, Kabir Das says in his oft-quoted couplet,

‘ काल करे सो आज कर, आज करे सो अब

पल में परलय होएगी बहुरि करेगा कब !’

Simply translated, what you intend to do tomorrow, do it today and what you intend doing today, do it right away because the world might end in the blink of an eye leaving you with no time at all!

On the flip side, I am also someone who believes in writing ONLY when my heart calls and when words flow ceaselessly. Yet, sometimes, this belief can turn out to be the most incredible impediment.

The ‘Art of Not Procrastinating’, I think, can help writers a great deal. Here are a few pointers I made for myself and which might help my writer friends:

Have a personal almanac   Assign yourself a task for every single date on the calendar. The same piece may spill over to another date but just be clear about what you want to write about on a particular day.

Smaller Goals   Just ensure to spend fifteen minutes writing. Do not think that you shall sit at the table only when you have enough. Fifteen minutes should help you start.

Perfection is a Myth   We often postpone work because we want to do it near perfect. On the contrary, remember that action is far more important than perfection, which is subjective and only a state of mind.

One Goal at a Time   Do not think of achieving too many targets together. If you are looking at writing a book, it is better to focus on it than fill your time with several small pieces to attain temporary gratification.

If you must write gibberish, so be it   Stop waiting for the muse to come to you, for the perfect word to hit your mind. Write whatever you can, even if it’s not the best version. It is way better than not writing at all!

There are, way many points to add to the list above, but for now, I guess I can just ask you to get to your desk. I just did that and finished this piece. Yay!

About the Author-Sonia Dogra is a blogger and writer, who is trying to play with words in the hope that they may convey what her heart wishes to say! She may be read here: A HundredQuills

Thank you Sonia! I'll have to try these out for myself. I'm already following one of these as part of my goals for the new year. I'm writing so much gibberish right now, but I'm meeting my word count goals.

Please join us for the first challenge of 2020 in February as we begin a new year at Write...Edit...Publish. I have the feeling this one is going to be special and filled with wonderful stories.

Feel free to check out ideas from the WEP 2020 Challenges Page for the next prompt ..or not. It's up to you!

More details are coming in Denise's post on February 1st. See you there!

Until then, happy writing!

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We'd love if you'd Tweet one of these:

The WEP 2019 December Challenge Footprints Winner's Post - @TheIWSG @DeniseCCovey #amwriting #flashfiction https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2020/01/december-winners-post-sonia-gives-us.html #WEPFF

Do you struggle with procrastination? December Challenge Winner's Post @TheIWSG @DeniseCCovey  https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2020/01/december-winners-post-sonia-gives-us.html #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction

Join @TheIWSG @DeniseCCovey for the Winner's Post Footprints  https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2020/01/december-winners-post-sonia-gives-us.html  #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction

Will you follow the footprints of advice? Join @TheIWSG @DeniseCCovey for the winner's post https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2020/01/december-winners-post-sonia-gives-us.html #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction

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#WEP/IWSG...The December Challenge is Open! #FOOTPRINTS

Hello writers! Laura here! The December challenge, FOOTPRINTS, is now open, and we're looking forward to reading your entries! Thank you to Tyrean Martinson from the IWSG for coming up with this month's prompt!


Before we get started, the WEP team would like to give a shout out to two of our regular participants. Roland Clarke and Rebecca M. Douglass will both have stories appearing in the latest IWSG anthology Voyagers: The Third Ghost. Congratulations to both of you! Read more HERE. 

Now on to the challenge!

How to sign up:

Add your name to the list with your Direct Link! Direct link only! So there's no confusion, add your WRITER NAME (not the name of the prompt, please), your email, and your URL that leads directly to your entry.

Prizes:

Nick Wilford continues as judge for the WEP contest.

And we continue with our CRITIQUE prize for December. We've approached several editors/published authors/critiquers to line them up to reward you for your efforts! The writer of the winning entry will be the lucky recipient of a critique. Check out the list in our sidebar to which more editors will be added as and when confirmed.

Our critiquer for December is J.L. Campbell. She's offering a critique of the first three chapters to the lucky winner. Refer to previous post for more details.

We still need someone to count the comments for the Best Commenter badge. 

If you'd like to volunteer, please let us know in the comments below! Comment counting will cease at midnight on Friday, December 20th NY time, which gives you a week to read/comment. Remember, you need to make an effort to read and comment on as many entries as you can to be in the running for ANY of the prizes! When you've finished reading, it would be helpful if you left a comment on the sign up post to tell us you're done. PLEASE everyone, make sure comments are allowed on your blog. And most importantly, make sure you read the updated CRITIQUE PAGE  before commenting.

If you'd like to help in this or a later challenge, or for any other query you might have this month, please email : cc or leave a comment below.

Now let's get started:

Don't forget to share the Challenge

Here is the HTML:

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<script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.inlinkz.com/cs.php?id=822617"></script>

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We'd love if you'd Tweet one of these:

Come and add your footprint to the December challenge - @TheIWSG @DeniseCCovey https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2019/12/wepiwsgthe-december-challenge-is-open.html #amwriting #flashfiction #WEPFF

Are you ready to leave your footprint on our December challenge? @TheIWSG @DeniseCCovey https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2019/12/wepiwsgthe-december-challenge-is-open.html #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction

Join @TheIWSG @DeniseCCovey and add your direct link to the December challenge https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2019/12/wepiwsgthe-december-challenge-is-open.html #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction

The December challenge is now open. Come leave your footprint today. @TheIWSG @DeniseCCovey https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2019/12/wepiwsgthe-december-challenge-is-open.html #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction

December 1st - Follow Those Footprints of Thought

Hello fellow writers! Laura here! 

Can you believe it's December 1st already? Where in the world has 2019 gone? Pretty soon we're going to be tracing the footprints the year has left behind in our lives and reflecting on where we've been and where we'd like to go from here.

Okay, that introduction contained some not-so-subtle hints about what this month's challenge has in store. Put on your thinking caps and get ready for . . . FOOTPRINTS! I'd like to offer a huge shout out to the wonderful Tyrean Martinson from the IWSG for coming up with this prompt!

Please note that we're posting earlier this month. December tends to be a busy month full of holidays, festivals, family and fun, and we're hoping that by posting a week earlier, everyone will be able to enjoy the challenge and the festivities.

Since December is a holiday-rich month, you may feel the urge to go in that direction with your entry. Or you may decide to do something completely different. Whatever you choose to write will be welcome, as long as it isn't erotica.

If this is your first time posting, or if you've forgotten the format, here's a procedural recap -

There is no separate sign up now. 

This post is just a gentle nudge for you to get thinking about the way you want to spin the prompt. Feel free to visit the main Challenge page for ideas. Or not. Perfectly fine either way.

Post your entry on your blog as normal. Indicate the level of feedback you desire by adding the critique codes. Don't forget to include the Challenge badge and Write... Edit... Publish... in your blog post title. 

The main Challenge post goes live on December 11th at 00.00 hours NY time on this site.  Add the URL of your FOOTPRINTS post to InLinkz directly on the main post. 

The InLinkz SUBMIT button closes after December 13th 23:59 NY time. 

Read and comment on the participating blogs, taking into account the level of feedback the writer requests.  Please note that you must make an effort to comment in order to have a chance at winning. In the past, we've had to take wonderful entries off the shortlist because the authors did not make the commenting rounds. Please don't let this happen to you! If you can't read all posts (especially this month), we understand, but please read several and encourage each other in our writing. 

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Comment counting will cease on December 20th at midnight, which gives you a week to read/comment. This is a shorter time frame but includes a weekend. The team need to finish reading, collate a shortlist and send names to Nick before we take a short break. We'll leave the Winners Post and winner Guest Post until January. When you've finished reading, it would be helpful if you left a comment on the main post to tell us you're done. PLEASE everyone, make sure comments are allowed on your blog. And most importantly, make sure you read the updated CRITIQUE PAGE above before commenting.

If you'd like to help in this or a later challenge, please email me at: laura.gene.walker@gmail.com or leave a comment below. We appreciate help especially with counting comments and writing blurbs.

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And now for the exciting part! The Critique Prize!

In January 2020, multi-published author J.L. Campbell is offering a 3-chapter critique prize to the winner. If you're the winner and have no WIP, you have the option of passing it on or asking for a critique of a short story or flash. 

Best-selling author J.L. Campbell is an award-winning writer who started writing seriously in 2004. After having three novels contracted by small publishers in 2010, Campbell opted to self-publish two collections of Jamaican-themed short stories in 2011.

Campbell is an editor and workshop presenter who writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, women's fiction, new and young adult novels and is the author of over thirty books. 

Her Amazon author page is here. Her Book Bub is here.

FIND HER ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

BLOG, FACEBOOK,  PINTEREST, TWITTER.

Joy's latest title on AMAZON in collaboration with USA Today Bestselling authors.

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A note from Denise re MailChimp. Everyone is clamping down on emails which contain links (as WEPs do). Often MC emails end up in Spam whether they have links or not. If you've subscribed to our emails and are not receiving them, you'll find them in your Spam folder. Please click the 'This is not spam' box and ta da, you'll receive emails from us. We send them out before each WEP post.

If you aren't on our email list (if you didn't subscribe the first time you visited WEP you don't get a second chance), please send me (Denise) your first name and email address and I'll add you!

Thanks!

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And next up we have the first challenge of the new year! It's hard to believe, isn't it? For more info, check out the Challenges page for 2020.

And as a reminder, here is a list of all the challenges for the upcoming year.

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We'd love if you'd Tweet one of these:

Where will footprints take you in the December challenge? - @TheIWSG @DeniseCCovey https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2019/12/december-1st-follow-those-footprints-of.html #amwriting #flashfiction #WEPFF

Create your own path in the December challenge. @TheIWSG @DeniseCCovey https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2019/12/december-1st-follow-those-footprints-of.html #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction

Join @TheIWSG @DeniseCCovey and add your direct link to the December challenge  https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2019/12/december-1st-follow-those-footprints-of.html #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction

Don't forget to add your footprint to the December challenge within the stated dates. @TheIWSG @DeniseCCovey  https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2019/12/december-1st-follow-those-footprints-of.html #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction

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> Laura <

For Denise, Nilanjana and Olga