One hundred days ago we were still in the throes of a seemingly endless winter (at least in my part of the world). One hundred days ago we didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into. One hundred days ago there were words and ideas locked away inside of each of us.

Today, we’ve reached Day 100 of our challenge. We’ve moved from winter to summer. We’ve learned. We’ve read. We’ve written. We’ve supported one another.

It’s been quite a journey. And it probably hasn’t been anything like you expected. But I sincerely hope that however your Write 100 experience has progressed you’ve found it to be valuable.

On a personal note, I am honored and deeply grateful to each of you for joining with me in this endeavor. You are Write 100. You are the community that helps to bring stories into existence. It has been a great encouragement to hear from fellow writers as we walk this road together.

As we wrap up this first challenge, there are a few important tasks in order.

Celebrate.

You did it! You completed the first ever Write 100 group challenge. Congratulations!

This is a big deal. You made a commitment, you set a goal, and you stayed the course.

You were challenged. You were stretched. You tried something new.

For the last 100 days you made writing part of your life. However much time you spent writing during this challenge, words and stories found life on the page where they hadn’t before. That’s important.

Every page, paragraph, and sentence matters. Every word matters.

So when you’ve completed your writing time today, celebrate what you’ve done. Share your words with a friend. (The Write 100 group would love to hear about your work!)

Find a way to mark the occasion in a way that is meaningful to you. Enjoy the sense of accomplishment. Celebrating this victory is not only significant for the sake of observing what you’ve done this spring and summer. Storing up the moments of victory will help to sustain you in the writing days ahead.

Don’t forget to join us on the Write 100 Facebook group to cheer one another on as we conclude our writing marathon.

Reflect.

A lot has happened in the last 100 days. It’s important to reflect on where we’ve been and how far we’ve come. Whatever your challenge looked like, I think its safe to say it was a learning experience for all. (It certainly has been for me!) Take some time to write out your thoughts.

What have you learned from this process? About yourself? About your writing? About life? What strengths and weaknesses were uncovered during the challenge?

What was your original goal? Did you achieve it? Adjust it? Scrap it for something else entirely?

What will you do differently in the future? What will you keep the same?

As you reflect, please take a few minutes to fill out a survey about your Write 100 experience. As part of the very first Write 100 group, your feedback will help shape this challenge for the future.  Plus, we want to hear what you accomplished!  In a week or two we’ll post an update with the results of the survey to continue celebrating the writing that happened all across the world these 100 days.

Follow the link to the survey or find it posted on our Facebook page. We really appreciate it!

Announcements.

Time for some announcements. We have important updates to share about what is next for our Write 100 community.

It’s time for a break. Take a breath. Give yourself a change of pace. While we always encourage you to keep writing (don’t let the discipline you’ve built over the last 100 days go to waste!) its good to switch things up. Find what works best for you. Will you challenge yourself to write in another way during the break? (Camp NaNoWriMo is just around the corner.) Will you set a project aside and work on something completely different? Use this time for some creative rejuvenation.

The Write 100 team will be working hard over the break to prepare for the next round of the Challenge. We want to make the next Challenge an even better experience and continue to welcome new writers to our community. Get ready for some fresh voices to offer insight and encouragement when we start again.

You’ll still hear from us on the blog on a regular basis. Writing prompts will be on hold during the break but will be back come August.

Mark your calendars.

Now the big moment. It’s time to find out when the next group challenge will begin. Mark your calendars and get ready for the next challenge beginning…

August 6th!

The next group challenge will run from August 6th – November 14th. We can’t wait to continue writing with you!

Have any questions? Let us know in the comments, on Facebook, or via the Contact page.