Working on long-form fiction has taught me that inspiration is helpful, but consistency is what actually finishes novels. Even small, imperfect writing sessions add up when there’s a clear direction for the story. On days when motivation dips, structure and routine tend to carry the work forward far more than waiting for the “right mood.” Today’s reflection: when writing feels hard, do you usually push through, pause, or step back to reassess the story?

Happy New Year! Let's kick off 2026 by weaponizing friendly competition and accountability. I'll keep this as simple as possible. FIRST Find a buddy! Just comment here saying 'looking for a buddy', OR reply to someone else's comment to pair up. Optional: Pick a cool team name. - If you do want, you can participate solo too and use the whole group as your sorta-buddy - THERE IS NO TIME LIMIT, YOU CAN JOIN ON JAN 31ST IF YOU WANT SECOND Individually decide, with your buddy, what each of you would like to accomplish in January. Your goals don't have to be the same, and there's no minimum! Pick something you'd genuinely like to do by Jan. 31st that is realistically achievable. For example: - Write minimum 15 mins 3x/week - Finish a short story/chapter/poem - Write X words over the month - Sit down to write 1x/week (EVEN IF YOU DO NOTHING ELSE) THIRD Decide how you'll keep each other accountable! Do you want your buddy to ping you every 3 days? Will they look at summaries of your stuff every week (not even necessarily review, just 'here's what I did')? Bounce ideas off each other? - The rule here: If it works to keep you going when motivation wanes (and doesn't turn into a second job), it's valid. FOURTH That's it! I'll ping all the participants every Sunday and check how things are going, and then at the end of January, we'll all celebrate our wins and share what we worked on (either showing the work itself, or just sharing your progress if you'd rather keep the writing itself private)! So yeah, comment below with 'looking for a buddy' if you wanna join! I'll help pair people up if need be, and hell, I could use one myself :P

We just passed 50 people the other day! Ever been in a room with 50 people? It’s a lot more than you’d think from just the number. Just wanted to acknowledge that. So, uh, yeah, thank you all for being here! Got some good ideas for keeping things fun in here over the next few months, and I’m excited to see how the community develops from here.