writing

This year will be the 5th October where I’ll write on one topic for 31 Days. I’d love for you to join me and a community of writers and pick a topic of your choice to write about. Come link up on October 1st actually it’s easier if we do it September 30th somewhere between 8-10pm EST–that way the west coast doesn’t have to set their alarms for 4am. Here’s last years 31 Dayers. This year we’ll have separate categories. Look for upcoming posts on how to link up and how to create a button to link up with.

join 31 days

In preparation for 31 Days I thought I’d share some of my best tips, all of which I learned the hard way.

#31Days

1. You don’t have to have the words “31 days” in your actual title or button.

Last year my title was Home. On Purpose. The year before was my favorite year ever with Lovely Limitations. This year, again, I won’t have 31 Days in my series title for my button. I do refer to it as a 31 day series and categorize it that way on my blog but it just takes up precious space on my button so I leave it off. (We’ll be talking abut buttons next week).

2. The goal IS to post for 31 days.

If you go in telling yourself you’ll take the weekends and Tuesdays off you’ll end up only posting twice a week at best. There’s no rule on how long your posts have to be but this is a challenge, push yourself to TRY to post something every day, and the challenge is figuring out how to do that while keeping it fun, doable and interesting for both you and us, the reader–this is usually where the magic happens so don’t just tell yourself you won’t post every day.

Some of my favorite posts were the ones where I had 30 minutes until my feed went out and I HAD to come up with something to say about my topic. That’s the worst and also the best, it’s something I don’t normally force myself to do. Take a few hours in September and write ahead if you need to. In light of the goal, no one’s going to come around and check if you have 31 posts or not, I just don’t want you to miss out on part of the creativity push that happens with 31 Days.

3. It doesn’t have to be ALL you writing ALL words.

Use quotes, photos, videos, songs, point to others who are an example of what you are talking about, maybe get some guest posts. Because most of us don’t have time to write a perfectly thought out 700 word post every day, we are forced to be creative with the TYPE of posts we have. Again, this is a secret perk of 31 Days that might change the way you write on your blog in the future.

4. Make your topic specific.

Instead of 31 Days of Home Tips what about 31 Days of Decorating with Blues. It sounds like you are limiting yourself and you’ll have less to write about but actually the opposite is true (don’t believe me, read my 31 Day Series on Lovely Limitations) putting some limits out there (like posting ever day and talking about the color blue) actually is a way to force yourself to be more creative. You might be surprised at how deep you can go into one topic.

5. You don’t have to be the expert on your topic.

Pretty much every year I’ve chosen a topic right where I am. I write about what I’m learning and what I feel like I need to learn about. I write about what I need encouragement in and what I find facinating. For example this year, I’m not decorating my house with blue, so I don’t really want to write about decorating my house with the color blue. I’m in the middle of a move and a renovation and a busy (excuse the curse word) year. So I want a topic that I can be where I am and talk about that–a topic I WANT to learn more about and be encouraged in.

6. Test out a book idea.

Seriously. If you ever wanted to write a book this is a great way to start dancing a little closer to it. My last two years of 31 days both were jumping off points to chapters in my book that comes out next spring. Don’t worry that you’ll use up all of your information. If you keep your posts short say 250 words times 31ish that’s about 7750 words. Let’s say a book would be about 50,000 words, that’s not even 1/5 of the information plus you would be getting great feedback and questions from readers that could help shape your writing.

Need more info about 31 Days?

Here’s how to make a button,

a place to practice linking up,

Categories for 31 Days

Be ready to link up the night before October 1st–September 30th to get a jump start on 31 days!

domestic fash

Many of the 31 Dayers in the past have created ebooks from their series. Ashley even had hers printed

Here are some more tips for 31 Days from some fellow bloggers:

13 Reasons to Write a 31 Day Series

31 Tips for Writing a Great 31 Day Series

What’s your best tip for 31 Days?