Had a small writing realization yesterday morning (yes, this took me a whole day to squeeze enough time to write out) that felt worth sharing. I’ve been circling a sci-fi project (tentatively calling it The Somniarch Spaces) for a while, trying to build it the same way I build big fantasy worlds - lore first, structure first, everything mapped out. Then, driving to work, I passed through a low bank of fog and had a simple thought: What if that fog were alive? No symbolism or metaphor, just a fundamentally alien premise. Felt more weighty, almost ominous to drive through it. Haven’t had that feeling in a while, it was nice. That flipped something for me. I realized Somniarchs doesn’t want empires or timelines yet. It wants moments. Little, strange instances where something impossible is briefly true. A fog that experiences itself, a fire that reacts to hunger, a building that develops a dim sense of self. Those small, unconnected pieces will gradually build up into a bigger answer to its central question. It was a good reminder that different projects want different entry points. Sometimes forcing the “right” method is what stalls you. Or heck, just not yet knowing the one you need exists! Curious if anyone else here has had that moment where you realized you were trying to write the right thing in the wrong way.

This is for the ones who are just starting, coming back or are in a moment where the blank page sits and waits: For the days the words don’t come. Sit with silence like an old friend. Start ugly. Begin broken. Finish gently. Let it go. And when the world asks what you made... say only this: “I made a way back to myself"

February is 28 days. Let’s see what happens if you show up for most of them! This challenge is a low-pressure way for you to build a huge stack of evidence for your identity as a writer. No 30k word goals or hustle required, just a solid foundation of you consistently showing up. Works for newbie novelists, part-time poets, or even industry professionals; anyone can benefit from writing more often. How to join: 1. Comment “I’m in” on this post. That’s it, you’re in. Optional: If you want to be a Booster, check the bottom of this post for how to do the “Share Boost” thing and get a shoutout in the recap/Hall of Fame. What counts as showing up: A day counts if you make a post of about 30+ words in the group - doesn't have to be much, just not "Hey, I'm alive" - that moves your writing forward. Make sure to include "X/28" in the title (X being the number of days you've done) so it's easy for you to keep track. For example: “5/28 - Micro-scene before work” Examples that count: - A Daily Write post - A response to the weekly prompt - A short draft/micro-scene/poem - A list of ideas or titles you might write - A reflection on what blocked you today and what you’ll try tomorrow - A question asking for feedback, with some context or a sample Busy? Kids? Full‑time job or school? All three? No stress! If you can write a short paragraph, you can participate. If you prefer to lurk, no worries, but for the challenge, you've gotta put some actual words down (even if they're not prose). Also - the days don't have to be consecutive! Consistency doesn't mean "become a robot", and we've all got lives; if you need to miss a day or two, no worries. Three Ways To Win: February has 28 days. You can land in any of these: - Gold - February Finisher: Post on 21+ days - Silver - February Builder: Post on 14–20 days - Bronze - February Starter: Post on 7–13 days Any tier is a win. The point is to build proof, not perfection. On March 1, I'll make a post for you to show:

And with this, we have the finale of our first challenge! Huzzah everyone, we made it through January. If you participated (or even if not, no biggie) I invite you to describe below what you wrote this month. I have only one condition: PHRASE IT LIKE A WIN EVEN IF YOU DIDN'T HIT YOUR INITIAL GOAL. If you wrote a few poems and half a chapter of your WIP, you won because you exercised your skills. If you jotted down a few quick sentences in between errands and family stuff, you won because you gave yourself room to imagine. If you took a few extra minutes to put some extra flair into a caption or landing page or whatnot (copywriter territory), you won because you exercised your unique creativity. If you had a moment late at night where you reached that weird liminal time when your responsibilities for the day fade and everyone else has gone to bed, and you should really go to sleep but you had damn near no time to yourself the whole day and needed to decompress, so you sat down in front of an empty document or notebook and stared bleary-eyed at it for ten minutes before writing three words (and then erasing two) - if that was the ONLY writing thing you did this entire month, then you still won! Why? Because you persisted. I made this group because writing is hard, especially when you're alone. You need time, and that's hard to get, and it's tough making money with it even in business writing contexts, let alone trying to monetize creative stuff. We keep coming back to it not because it's necessarily the 'best' or 'most optimal' use of our time - (not that those things even exist, but that's a whole other ramble) - but because there is a longing for creative expression inside of every human being, and this is the means by which we are drawn to show it. So go ahead and tell us how your writing was this month - what you did, what you struggled with, what you'd like to focus on going forwards! Above all, thank you all for being here and for sharing parts of yourselves.

Finally determined to get away, Adrian waited until the early dawn when there was just enough light to see outside but the house was still dark. She opened the curtains a smidge in her room to let in enough dim light to get dressed and stuff a few valuables into her backpack. Tiptoeing to the door of her room, she placed her young plump hand on the knob and slowly turned it, careful not to make a sound. She pulled the door into the room and looked out into the hallway. The light was on as usual and she felt the normal dread inside her belly when it shone inside her room, but this time it was her shadow that stretched across the floor for a moment as she stood in the doorway. Her resolve was too strong to linger, however, and she continued out the door, down the hallway, and through the back door, careful to make no sound as she closed it behind her. She followed the road out of town until she got to her favorite trail that went around the lake, remembering the day she met the strange glowing lady. “Oh, excuse me!” Adrian said as she bumped into a woman walking on the trail, too engrossed in studying the rocks on the ground to notice her before colliding. It also helped that the woman’s feet and clothing somehow blended into her surroundings seamlessly. She was standing so still, Adrian wouldn’t have seen her if she hadn’t stumbled into her. “Hmmm hmmm…” the woman hummed. “Whaaah?” Adrian gasped as she noticed glowing strands of light pulsing through the woman’s skin as she hummed. These strands joined with similar strands in the rocks she was standing on and touching with her hands. “Hmmm hmmm…” she hummed again, pulsing with aquamarine and citrine light. “Wow, how are you doing that?” Adrian asked, completely forgetting the troubles that drove her to escape down this trail whenever she got a chance. The woman looked at the awestruck girl and gently pulled her hands away from the stones she had been touching. The bright webs dimmed in her skin and she spoke.