Fast forward another 22 days and we will be looking back on a solid month of writing, giving out fingers a well earned rest and wondering how we made it through. But what comes next.
I started the idea to get back into a writing habit and be much more consistent with my blog and the act of reflective writing which I enjoy so much. I don’t know about you but even after just 6 days things are different and I am loving the challenge. Of course having over 100 other educators, bloggers and companions for the journey is making it extra special and I am staggered by the response from everyone involved. There is even a bunch of Grade 5/6’s having a go which, by all accounts, is going down a storm.
So what happens next, the group simply disbands and we go our separate ways, warm and fuzzy inside from the companionship, the new writing connections we made across our network and in our own habit? We find a mountain cabin and spend the rest of the year reading the posts. Or can we continue to develop this idea further.
Here are some ideas that have been shared around already:
- 28 Days of Writing occurs again at some point in the future allowing a new cohort of colleagues the chance to enjoy the journey together.
- 28 Days of Commenting – a fading part of our community in my opinion and something we all should do as much as writing our own content. Perhaps such a clear focus on it will help. Maybe a new group could be writing whilst another is commenting 😉
- A classroom ready version of the challenge – something that is perhaps shorter and gamified for the classroom to get kids enjoying the experience. As I mentioned above it would be lovely to have classes taking part, perhaps looping into #classblogs and the like.
- Developing some strong aggregation tools to help people enjoy the growing number of posts – after all if 100 people write and publish for 28 days that is a significant amount of reading. Any stylish, functional aggregated lists will help. I am thinking a Flipboard magazine or Feedly collections etc
- How might we celebrate the achievement or even the milestones along the way? Writing and publishing for just 7 days straight is a pretty great achievement and that is just 25% of the way through!
- What fun badges could we make for the different types of writing, content and experiences we have along the way?
For this to continue and become an enduring feature of our writing community it will pay to consider some new ideas to take it forward. At the heart of it is a simple idea which no doubt will continue but I would love to see what more we can do to refine it.
What would you like to see next? Please share you own thoughts, ideas and reactions in the comments below.
As ever good luck with your own 28 minutes!