Topic: What does it mean to defeat a word dragon vs win the challenge?
Adding to the list of Q&A.
I addressed this on IG, but I thought I should address this here. This is where this challenge differs from other challenges (as far as I’ve seen).
First, a word dragon is any writing project you consistently work on for one month.
Defeating the Word Dragon
If your word dragon is “finish edits by the end of the month” then defeating it means that you’ve achieved this goal you set for yourself. It’s your own personal accomplishment and not a must in this challenge although greatly celebrated.
Winning the Word Dragon Challenge
Winning the challenge means you have consistently showed up for the writing project and you have given your weekly progress updates. That makes you a winner, a real trooper, you go human! You’re awesome Word Dragon Challenge celebrates consistent progress. Consistency is key. It’s the whole point of this challenge.
Note that consistency can look like anything and it can be shaped around your lifestyle and schedule.
I had two main characters, but they were boring, so I accidentally made another two that are less boring. So, maybe I am thinking of combining two ideas to make it more coherent because they both sort of fit for the story direction I am looking tbh
Topic: What project have you chosen as your word dragon?
Mine is a 50k first draft, new world word dragon. A bit intimidating as I haven’t done one of these in a while. On top of that, I have to navigate days when I won’t be able to work on it at all.
So, I decided that it will have a fantasy battle arena situation as one of the main things in the beginning. MC will get into it by mistake at some point. His truth will be revealed and then he will become wanted.
Maybe the city this takes place in, won’t be the same city the rest of the story takes place in.
I also decided that he will discover a baby something, but it’s something that he shouldn’t befriend.
I’ve never written a baby creature sidekick into a story. I don’t know why. I definitely should.
Baby creatuurees! Do it, do it, do it!! <3 That sounds great, Enna.
I’m probably gonna be flitting across different projects, honestly. I’m hoping to hit 50k, but honestly if I can stay on track with everything I have planned, I should be creeping closer to 100k. So that’s a handful of shorts and one short novel. Not too shabby. I definitely want to write a fantasy next month.
My word dragon is gonna be finishing the draft for The Scorned Cat, the sequel to The Spying Cat. It’s currently at around 52k…I estimate it will end at around 70-80k, but it being a mystery, I suspect I’ll have to go back and forth a lot, adding/removing things (clues, red herrings, etc), sooooo we’ll see. That’s why the goal is to finish, whatever that actually means.
I was going to re-read my manuscript so far as prep, but…I got derailed lol. Blasted Instagram. It hasn’t been my best week trying to get back into my semblance of a routine after travelling. So I think I will go for my secondary goal after this weekend, and swear off IG for a month
If this goes well (I hope it will ), I will then take a break for the month of December, and hopefully can start publishing on Inkitt in January/February. That’ll make it a year since the previous book was completed
This is a very good source, but I think (for me) it’s too genre/fantasy based. Is there something a bit more rough (I know you said that you don’t do all those things) for someone who’s less intro structure but still wants to make/take notes?
I believe in you! Also, I wouldn’t worry too much about the final word count. Just do what it takes to finish your draft. We"ll be here when you’re done.
Word Dragon Challenge celebrates consistent progress. Consistency is key. It’s the whole point of this challenge.
), I will then take a break for the month of December, and hopefully can start publishing on Inkitt in January/February. That’ll make it a year since the previous book was completed 
