Happy New Year — and Happy First Day!
Dear challengers! (or, should it be “challengees?”) 
This is just a quick note to say the first day of the 31-minute challenge is rapidly coming to a close! I am hoping you got your 31 minutes in today. If not, you better hurry!
Rooting for all of you and wishing you — one more time — a year of love, joy, success and great productivity,
Katia
P.S. A couple of quick notes and announcements:
– Another question came up today: if you write for longer than 31 minutes on the first day, can you use the extra time as “credit,” and write for less on the following day? My answer is a great, emphatic no! I don’t care whether or not the 31 minutes are continuous, I don’t care if you log in your time, or whatever, and I don’t care if you wrote for ten hours straight today. Tomorrow is another day. Another day means another 31 minutes.
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About me
When I was a little girl, I wore a pioneer scarf around my neck and believed in communism.
I also secretly believed in magic mirrors. Even as a shy little Soviet girl, I dreamed that across the magic glass someplace there was another land, one of skyscrapers reaching into the clouds, and giant bridges of steel that hung from the sky.
I reached that land as a teen in 1993, when I stepped out of the JFK airport in New York City. I found my real home, met a man of my dreams, fell in love with the English language, moved into the Jersey suburbs, and got myself a beautiful, complicated American life.
After college I became a newspaper journalist and had quite an adventure chasing stories, keeping tabs on local officials, or just poking my nose everywhere it’d fit.
Now I stay home, raising my two very American kids, while writing novels for young adults, represented by Jessica Regel of Jean V Naggar Literary Agency.
And I still believe in magic mirrors.
I am pursuing an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. My first novel, “Castle of Concrete,” will be published by Namelos.
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I’ve spent most of this first day of the new year, working on writing. Some new material in my novel and some editing chapters already written (first draft). I hope the ‘muse’ will be more pronounced tomorrow than today, as my new writing came with more difficulty today. Happy New Year and thanks for the challenge. Barbara
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Happy New Year, Katia, and all the participants! I made sure I wrote for 31 minutes first thing after breakfast this morning, because I knew I’d going out to Lancaster to visit relatives and eat pork and sauerkraut later in the day! And spending some time with my son this evening. So, yes, I had a successful first day. Hope everyone else did too!
I had a successful first day too! I need to look for that app in the Google Chrome store. Looking forward to tomorrow and the continued discipline.
Nice start, you guys. Barbara, be patient with your muse. After not writing for a while, things might be difficult as you get back into things. Things might be difficult no matter what, from time to time. Don’t depend on the muse. The important thing is showing up, and that’s of course what this is all about. Happy writing, all!
I was able to get my 31 minutes in yesterday, yay! I love this challenge.
Yesterday was hard! Kids are home from college so I am definitely not in my normal routine, but I did it! Just finished my blog post–Now off to set the timer again
)
@Miranda and @Wendy: Proud of you! Keep up the good work!
Day 2 is in the books. (pun, pun) Making a list of ideas for stories about two, little brother bears was not as easy as I thought it was going to be. I wrote most of one story yesterday (still need to finish the ending yet) and ideas today.
Nice work, Mary. Of course I hope these 31-minute chunks are fun for you, and everyone else. This is working toward your dream, after all — or maybe just giving it a test drive… Fun — yes, but not necessarily easy
Keep up the good work!
I had a successful and busy day as I wrote all day yesterday, and today has proven productive, too. Off to a great start.. I use several timer apps that I’ve found and most are from Google.
I wrote quite a bit yesterday, but not much today, although I want to get busy tonight.
I sometimes time myself. When I do, I use my phone.
Hope you’re busy writing away right now, as we speak, Medeia! I’m sure you’re making the most of your break! @Vikk, I am thrilled for your awesome start! Sounds like you did better than me today… I had two “official” 31-minute sessions, plus put in some additional time that I did not measure…For me, as a full-time writer that’s not impressive at all. Tomorrow MUST be better.
This is so much fun. I wrote in the car Jan 1st as my hubby drove. It’s nice to have the challenge of other people.
I had fun today. I had an awesome idea for a kids mag., maybe Highlights, for something new. I just need to look into now.
Awesome, Jessica and Mary! Keep it up!
Okay, well I didn’t do 31 minutes yesterday. It was my first day back at work and I wasn’t feeling great. I ended up collapsing when I finally got done home, made dinner, cleaned up, did laundry and crawled into bed. But that’s okay. I’m not in this for the prize. I did an hour tonight so I’m caught up in my own reckoning. I have almost a whole day planned on Saturday of writing time. It’s going to be awesome!
I’m sorry about your last evening, Christine. But — you’re right, the prize is what you give yourself, not being entered into a drawing. So, I think this is a great example of persistence. So you stumbled, so what? You keep trying, and that’s what counts. And of course, I will continue cheering you on.
I forgot about the prize. I did my 31 mins. today. I re-edited a story for a Highlighs contest for Jan. I think it is the best that I could do. I will wait until Mon. to mail it, after I re-read one more time. This is one of my dreams, just to get something pubished.
You’re on a roll, Mary. Honestly, the prize is just an afterthought. Only one person will get it, but everyone who’s doing this will hopefully get so much more
Have a great weekend all (and don’t forget to write 
)