by Bethany Jett, @BetJett

It seems like there are a lot of fun writing challenges at the end of the year. For example, NaNoWriMo–National Novel Writing Month starts in November, and lots of people are using October to plan and outline for that 50,000-word race to the finish.  Check out the post on NaNoWriMo that Johnnie Alexander wrote about a couple of weeks ago. Another cool writing challenge that started October 1 was the Write 31 Days Challenge. And you can still join. *wink wink*

Participants in #Write31Days are encouraged to blog each day of October about any topic they want. Literally. Once you decide what you want to write about, you link up to their site so other people can find you who are interested in that topic.  There are nine different broadly ranged categories for you to choose to link up under.

Sound like a lot?

Let’s break it down.

Why would I join the Write 31 Days challenge?

To be completely transparent, I haven’t blogged in a looooooong time. LONG. Time. I’ve wanted to get back into it but it seems like a lot of speaking and writing deadlines have popped up and blogging has been shifted to the back burner.

I saw this challenge as a way to jumpstart blogging again, and get back in touch with my audience in a purposeful way. I’m not spamming them. I’m not wasting their time. In the introductory Day 1 post, I told them exactly what was going to happen: after being absent for forever, I’m going to write for 31 days. I shared why, some of the topics I’d include, and asked them to go on this journey with me.

Know what?

I’ve had people that I didn’t even know followed my blog say that they were excited about it and had the same concerns and thoughts I did on my topic. YAY!!!!

What should I write about?

You can write about anything, but keep your audience in mind. The focus of my blog is about making better choices to lead a brilliant life. #LiveBrilliant. My topic for the #Write31Days Challenge is “31 Days to Stop Binge-Eating.”

Whaaaaaah?

That sounds like it should belong to a health and fitness model blog. However, I’ll be tailoring my posts to match the theme. I’m not leading a brilliant life or making good choices when I’m destructive with food. Feel free to Pinterest “pin” the image if you have health & fitness boards, though. 🙂 

Is it too late to sign up?

No! However, there is a deadline on getting your blog into the “link-ups” and that deadline is today, October 5, 2016. You can start today with an introduction post, letting readers know what you’re doing and that you’re starting on Day 5 of the 31 Days Challenge. There’s no wrong way to do this.

But first…

You need to (1) sign up and then (2) link up. All of the instructions are laid out on the Write31Days site.

Linking Up

Linking up was much easier than I expected. I read through their rules and how-to’s and got a little confused. I thought I had to download the plugin but I don’t.

Once you have your first post written, go to the Linking Up tab on the Write31Days.com website.

Fill in the three lines of information they ask for. Boom.

This is going to be a challenge for me. I’m traveling for a week straight, driving over 2,466 miles, and I’m working on a companion book for the book I just finished writing that’s due November 1. Busy doesn’t begin to cut it and I left out a lot of stuff because I started to overwhelm myself!

You can do this! Join me!!! Since I’m writing each day for 31 days, I’m keeping the posts pretty short instead of dense and content-rich. It makes it easier for me to handle and doesn’t make reading my posts every day a chore.

Now, a writing challenge like this may not be right for your audience, and that’s okay. If you’ve already built trust with your audience in a way that they would shun you for doing this, do not betray that! My encouragement for you is to find a couple of people who are doing the challenge and be a cheerleader for them. Leave a comment and share their posts.

Whether you choose to #Write31Days or not, take a look through the bloggers who are. Find a category you’re interested in and check them out. It’s a great way to connect and network.

[reminder]Are you up for the #Write31Days challenge? [/reminder]

Bethany Jett is an award-winning author of The Cinderella Rule, speaker, ghostwriter, and founder of JETTsetter Ink, a consulting and editing company. She has written for numerous publications, created the My Moments Planner, Serious Writer Companion, and is the founder of Serious Writer Academy and the Build Your Brand Program.

Bethany is a military wife and all-boys-mama who is addicted to suspense novels and all things girly. She writes on living a brilliant life at BethanyJett.com. Connect with her on Facebook, Pinterest,  Instagram (new profile), and Twitter.