There are writing challenges designed to help writers stay motivated and practice their craft. I find that writers usually feel more comfortable within certain categories: fiction vs. non-fiction, short vs. long-form. There are plenty of possibilities in a writing challenge, from short stories to novels and blog articles to business books, just to name a few.
2 Creative Types of Writing Challenges
To grow as a writer, it is fun to explore genres we are not initially drawn to and that’s where writing challenges can help. I have participated in two: Blogtober and Blogmas.
Blogtober: The word is a combination of “blog” + “October”. This challenge is meant to have you writing every day during this month.
Blogmas: The name comes from “blog” + “Christmas”. In this writing challenge, you can write during the entire month of December or during 12 days of the month.

You can search for these online and you will find guidelines for participating and ideas to write about. The challenge is to be consistent and write every day whether it’s on your blog or your book. Start by asking yourself which topic or genre is outside your comfort zone, but interests you, and use the challenge to give it a try.
Blog entries can be in the form of text, pictures, videos, or audio you have created. Switching between those is another way to challenge yourself, plus it keeps things varied and interesting for you, as the blogger, as well as your reader.
If you are writing a book, decide its genre, theme, and length (pages or words). Prepare an outline to plan its content and break down its length into a daily writing goal. This makes the task more manageable.

5 Benefits of Participating in a Writing Challenge
Participating in a writing challenge allows you to:
- Practice your writing.
- Create more content for your blog or book within a specific amount of time.
- Support other writers and receive support by using hashtags to share each other’s posts.
- Stay motivated because you are not alone; there are other writers working simultaneously.
- Explore new possibilities for your writing.

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Create your Own Writing Challenge
You can also create your own initiatives. To do so, think of a theme, select a week or month, and a hashtag. Prepare instructions regarding how to participate in your challenge, post them on your blog, and share the post on social media using the hashtag to invite other writers to participate.
Challenge yourself to write something every month. You can start with a list of writing goals for the new month or new year. #creativewriting Click To TweetAnother idea is to challenge yourself to write something every month. For example, a list of writing goals for the year in January, a love story in February, an article about spring cleaning in March, and so on. As the year comes to a close, it’s a good time to start planning if you would like to do this next year. To do so, create a list of types of content that you would like to write (list of favorites, story, article) and decide the month in which you would like to write each one.
As a final thought, not all writing is meant to be shared. Sometimes, we just write for the sake of writing, to explore a thought or feeling. Therefore, don’t feel pressured to share everything you write. Write for the fun of it and see where it takes you.
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How interesting. I have seen these challenges but have never participated in one. I will have to look into trying one because it sounds fun. Such a useful article.
Thank you for reading! Definitely give them a chance. Blogmas is just around the corner. Could be fun!
I can see how this would be beneficial. I personally love to write and I do it daily. It does help clear the head!
It really does! Thank you for reading.
I’m all about streching myself with writing challenges, but I find that they generally do not work unless you have a general lifestyle blog, and mine is more specific to a topic. Nonetheless, sometimes I wish that I could participate in these!
We totally understand your point. There are some great ways to make use of these–specifically for niche blogs. Hopefully, you’ll be able to give it a try one day. We’re cheering for you!
A writing challenge is always a good way to inspire your thoughts. I need to do this.
Absolutely agree!
I have done a writing challenge at the beginning of the year, and that was very helpful in putting some quality content out there and prepare posts for publishing later, when I don’t have a lot of time to write. It was a lot of work but I enjoyed it very much.
That’s awesome! It’s a lot of work but it sure is helpful.
I enjoyed reading your post. I am a blog writer so these tips are a great help. I hadn’t though of writing just for yourself at times. A writing challenge is what I need to improve my writing skills. Thanks!
We’re glad you enjoyed this. Thanks for reading!
I think I need to participate in a writing challenge before this year ends. I used to do them regularly, so I am not sure why I stopped. As a blogger, it is hard to constantly find new ideas to write about. This year seems harder than ever.
Once you begin writing, the ideas will just flow naturally. We’re cheering for you!
I love participating in writing challenges. It keeps me motivated to create articles for my blog.
Yes! And motivation is key!
Wow! Sounds interesting, I woulod have never thought to do a writing challenge! I am intrigued!
It’s super fun!
I’ve never participated in one of these before but I definitely would like to. Thanks for the tips!
We’re glad you liked it.
I’ve actually participate in NaBloPoMo before and it really was challenging. Brought out the writer in me too.
That’s awesome! It’s such a great way to push our creative side.
To be honest this is part that is very challenging to me. Creative writing is really what I want to develop as I know this type of skill will be a very useful in many ways that I can imagine.
Practice makes everything right. You can do it!
Writing is a skill which can be acquired if a person wants to. And I agree with the benefits of different challenges.
Thank you so much for reading!
I should sign up for one of these. Since we’ve been at home I’ve lost my motivation and I think that a writing challenge can help me get back into writing.
It’s a great idea!
That is quite an interesting idea, I’ve heard something similar from my friend’s daughter but hers is art challenge. As a blogger this is great and I’d love to try this out sometime.
Definitely worth a try!
I am sure that even when finishing a challenge like that you feel so productive and proud!
Absolutely! It’s super fun, too!