By Tammy Karasek @tickledpinktam

Alone or in a group, there is great value in a writing word sprint. There are many variations on how you can do a sprint. I’ve participated in word sprints with a group in person as well as online. Online you can meet-up on Zoom, Facebook group, Discord, and more. I prefer the in-person sprint, but it’s not always easy to get together if you’re spread out around the country.

The most important part of a word sprint is you are not allowed to stop and edit. You must write without worrying about your spelling or incorrect sentences. As soon as the leader says go—you start typing until the leader says stop. The first time I did one, I had a hard time not pausing, reading what I’d just wrote and editing. I’ll be honest, when I heard we could not backspace or correct spelling, it made this perfectionist sweat a bit. So I did a little editing. Just a little. Then the person beside me told on me—rude! But the leader said I had missed the point of free writing and letting your mind get into the story, not the mechanics of writing. I did the next sprint and did as instructed. I realized how freeing it actually was. Awkward or not, the benefits are fantastic.

An in-person word sprint I participated in was a blast! Once we all arrived and set up our little writing spot, we each had to use the paper the leader passed out to write down the number of words we’d like to achieve in the first 30-minute sprint just for us to see. At the end of the 30-minute sprint, the leader made us raise our hands off the keyboard, look at our word count to our piece, then write that number beside the number on our paper. Each person who hit or surpassed their goal had to stand up. Each of those folks received a full-size candy bar. Those that didn’t, received a mini candy bar for their effort. This group had other kinds of prizes at the end of each 30-minute sprint. Once we finished up for the day, we all received a writing sticker if we hit our goal at least four out of the six-word sprint sessions. Prizes or not, it’s your choice how you set one up.

The other fun part of the Word Sprint Write-In was at the end of each of those 30-minutes sprints we were given a chance to read out loud one sentence we wrote that we loved if we wanted to.

When you decide to gather writers and do a word sprint, you can design it any way you’d like. Whether you have incentives or you just set the timer and go, make sure each writer understands what they are to do. Explain this is not a competition with each other, but rather a challenge to get your juices flowing. The competition is within yourself to push harder to meet your goal. Remember to be realistic, though. You might dream of writing 10,000 words in a 30-minute sprint, but you’ll be let down when you see you didn’t make that goal.

How about you? Have you participated in a Word Sprint with your writing buddies? If so, share with us how you set up your session? If you haven’t done a Word Sprint, won’t you consider finding a couple of your writing buddies willing to meet up and do one together? I know you’ll have fun and you’ll come away with words added to your current work in progress.

Tammy Karasek uses humor and wit to bring joy and hope to every aspect in life. Her past, filled with bullying and criticism from family, drives her passion to encourage and inspire others and show them The Reason to smile. She’s gone from down and defeated to living a “Tickled Pink” life as she believes there’s always a giggle wanting to come out!

She’s a writer of Romantic Suspense—with a splash of sass. Her debut book, Launch That Book, released in November 2023. She’s published in a Divine Moments Compilation Book—Cool-inary Moments. Also, she’s a writing team member for The Write Conversation, The Write Editing, Blue Ridge Conference Blog, and more.

Known as The Launch Team Geek, she helps authors launch their books. You’ll also find her as a Virtual Assistant for several best-selling authors, the Social Media Manager for the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, Founding President of ACFW Upstate SC, and Founding President of Word Weavers Upstate SC. Connect with Tammy at https://www.tammykarasek.com.