So clearly I haven’t been doing the best with my blogging. I guess I don’t really like that word “blogging.” It rhymes with horrible words like flogging, clogging, JOGGING–I actually don’t mind jogging if I’m not being timed or chased by something. 

I know people that are very diligent and successful with their blogs. I just don’t think I have enough of my mind to then sit and write about it consistently. At least, not in a way that I can articulate well enough to share with others. I think that’s why I’m in creative writing… That’s actually exactly why I’m into creative writing. I can write an entirely fictitious story around a nugget of truth about me. Sometimes I leave the hints of me exposed, while some of the time I’m buried deep inside the narrative or spirit of characters. I’m the invisible structure of each story I tell. 

So why am I blogging now–I’m assuming you’re wondering this if you’ve read this far. The answer is…… I’m not. This is not a blog. I want to use this as a brave space to challenge myself.

Challenge #1
I’m challenging myself to write in a form that I don’t usually play in. The beautiful craft of short storytelling. I don’t really play in this world because… I write scripts for the stage, screen, and television–I have yet to be paid to write for screen or TV, but I still write the scripts and create show bibles. So I want to challenge myself to write in this genre.

Challenge #2
I am going to post to this weekly. Depending on how life goes, that might change to bi-weekly… Maybe monthly. But for the start of this, I’m challenging myself to do this weekly.

Challenge #3
How long are you going to do this? Again, if you’ve read this far, I’m assuming you’re genuinely invested. I want to try to do this for a whole year. 

Challenge #4
The short stories that I’m writing are going to be inspired/prompted by–what I like to call–Child-Like Questions. These are questions that seem so simple to answer as a child, but as you grow older, they become increasingly more complicated. For example, are you someone’s favorite person? As a child, you’d definitely say “yes” with all the confidence in the world, probably with a laundry list full of people–real and makebelieve. However, now, as an adult, it’s a lot harder. You’d be grappling with the technicalities of the questions. “Do I have to be their only favorite person? Like, can it be a group of us?” “I think plenty of people like me, what does favorite mean?” The hardest thing about this question is we all grapple with the idea that the answer might be “no.”

I can’t take credit for that question. I first heard it watching Miranda July’s short Are You the Favorite Person of Anybody? 

Challenge #5- The last one for right now
There won’t be a lot of editing involved. The goal is to finish, not perfect. None of them will be done, but they will be due. There will be issues with grammar and plot holes. But I will still unapologetically post.

That’s all for my challenges right now. I might make up more later.