2026 Get Started Right Writing Challenge: Guidelines
Get your writing goals started right in 2026 with the third ever Get Started Right Writing Challenge, a 12-day free challenge.
Last year, I hosted the second ever Get Started Right Writing Challenge. It was a 10-day challenge to get writers started off on the right foot for a successful year. After a tumultuous 2025, I've decided to bring it back as a 12-day challenge, beginning on Monday January 5, 2026.
What Is the 2026 Get Started Right Writing Challenge?
The 2026 Get Started Right Writing Challenge is a 12-day challenge from January 5 to January 16, 2026. Each day, I will provide a task (a task that I will also be completing), and it will be up to writers to finish that task before they take on the next one.
I will try to make them easy enough to accomplish, but they may still present a bit of a challenge to participants (hence, the name). Each task will be created with the goal of helping writers to get their year started off right, regardless of writing genre or level of experience.
It should be a fun warm up for a productive 2026!
Why Should I Participate in the 2026 Get Started Right Writing Challenge?
In the past I've tried to offer some extrinsic benefits for this challenge, but I think the top intrinsic benefit should be enough: It should a fun warm up for a productive 2026. If this is like challenges of yore, it'll also be an opportunity to virtually meet other writers and build some excitement with like-minded scribes (even if they write in completely different genres).
So the question isn't why should you participate, it's why wouldn't you participate?
How Do I Participate in the 2026 Get Started Right Writing Challenge?
The first rule for any of my challenges is to have fun, but here are some others:
- On January 5, 2026, I'll begin to post a task for each day through January 16. Participants will complete each task and comment that the task is complete and/or share their experiences with completing the task (or trying to complete it anyway).
- The challenge will run through January 17, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. (Atlanta, GA, time), because of time zones and stuff. (Note: The last task will be shared on the morning of January 16, 2026, Atlanta time. So I'm giving everyone an extra day to get everything done.)
- Find each day's post either on the WritersDigest.com home page or at the 2026 Get Started Right Writing Challenge page.
- Yes, it's totally fine to follow along silently at home, but I know from previous experience that people get a lot out of socializing in the comments as well.
- Have fun, which is actually the first and last rule of this challenge. This is a free challenge with an intrinsic benefit of getting the year started off right. So my hope is that this will be both fun and helpful!
What If I Have Questions?
The best place to put questions is in the comments of this post (below). And I've included some advice on commenting below. If you're unable to do that, you can send me an email at rbrewer@aimmedia.com, and I'll see what I can do to help out.
Note on commenting: If you wish to comment on the site, go to Disqus to create a free new account, verify your account on this site below (one-time thing), and then comment away. It's free, easy, and the comments (for the most part) don't require manual approval (but I'll be checking every so often, just in case).
