MARCH MADNESS IS HERE! #WIPMADNESS

If you’ve been looking for a challenge to get your writing in gear, you’ve come to the right place! Through the month of March we will be cheering each other on to meet challenging goals with our writing.

Also, this year we've decided to open up the challenge to Readers, Bloggers, and Illustrators. Basically, anyone who wants to challenge themselves regarding books and win prizes for it!


Today is goal-setting day! (But if you don't make it here on the first day, not to worry. Feel free to add your writing goals here any time during the month of March).
March Madness officially begins tomorrow, and this is how it will work.

1. Set a goal here (anything writing, reading, blogging, or otherwise book related). It can be as small and simple of a goal as turning off your Internet while you write during the month of March. Or it can be as large as writing or revising an entire book.

2. Check in daily through the month of March at our designated check-in points. Let us know how you're doing with your goal. Share your victories and struggles. Encourage others. The key is support and camaraderie.

3. We give you prizes just for stopping by and letting us know how you're doing, and for encouraging others!

Sounds easy and fun, right?! The following will be the check-in points for the month of March. We plan to have check-in posts up and running by 9AM PST (noon EST) each day.

Mondays – LS Taylor will host at  http://lstaylor.blogspot.com
Tuesdays – Shari Green will host at http://www.sharigreen.com
Wednesdays – Angelina Hansen will host at  http://yascribe.blogspot.com
Thursdays – Mary Ann Scott will host at http://thebrokentree.blogspot.com

Fridays – Denise Jaden will host at  http://denisejaden.blogspot.com 
Saturdays – Kim Baccelia will host at  http://kimbacceliasweblogfantasy.blogspot.com

Sundays – Kelsey Macke will host at http://www.kelseyiswriting.blogspot.com

The prizes ! We have some truly awesome prizes up for grabs this year! We will start by giving away a prize to one person who comments below with their goals within the next 24 hours!

Here are the prizes that are up for grabs (these are in no particular order and have been donated by my generous co-hosts for this event!):

First Five Pages Critique (Courtesy of Angelina Hansen - International)

First Five Pages OR Query Critique (Courtesy of Denise Jaden International)

Query Critique (Courtesy of Kelsey Macke - International)

First Chapter Critique (Courtesy of Kelsey Macke - International)

First Chapter Critique (Courtesy of L.S. Taylor - International)

Bookish Jewelry (Courtesy of Mary Ann Scott - US mailing only)

Writer's Emergency Kit (A surprise pack of writerly goodness! - Courtesy of Shari Green - International)


 IF I TELL by Janet Gurtler (Courtesy of Angelina Hansen - US mailing only)

DARKBEAST by Morgan Keyes (Courtesy of L.S. Taylor - US/Canada mailing only)

Books courtesy of Kim Baccelia (US mailing only):

TEAM HUMAN by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan
NECROMANCING THE STONE by Lish McBride
TIME BETWEEN US by Tamara Ireland Stone
FATHOMLESS by Jackson Pearce
 SHADOWS ON THE MOON by Zoe Marriott
CITY OF LOST SOULS by Cassandra Clare
THRONE OF GLASS by Sarah J. Maas
 SPARK/STORM by Brigid Kammerer
INSIGNIA by S.J. Kincaid
OUTPOST by Ann Agguire

Books courtesy of Denise Jaden (US mailing only):

HOW I LOST YOU (SIGNED ARC!) by Janet Gurtler
SEVER (ARC) by Lauren DeStefano
RUSH (ARC) by Eve Silver
YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO (ARC) by Bonnie Shimko
IN TOO DEEP (ARC) by Coert Voorhees
BROTHER, BROTHER (ARC) by Clay Carmichael
RIPTIDE (ARC) by Lindsey Scheibe
ALSO KNOWN AS... (ARC) by Robin Benway
LOVE IN THE TIME OF GLOBAL WARMING (ARC) by Francesca Lia Block
FOREVERMORE (ARC) by Cindy Miles



Isn’t that quite the ARSENAL of prizes?! Wow, thank you all!!

AND…thank also to Kelsey Macke, we have a fabulous badge for this year’s event. It’s on the sidebar and also below, so go ahead and post it somewhere proudly and link it back to this post.



I'm going to be perfectly honest about what happened with me during last March Madness. I re-wrote (from scratch) my WIP novel, FINDING HOPE. Yes, the entire thing. It was planned to be a companion novel to LOSING FAITH, but by about the third week in, I hated it--couldn't stand the plot or the characters or anything about it. I took a few deep breaths, talked to a few really wonderfully motivating writer-friends (thanks, #wipmadness!) and decided to push through. I forced myself to write the book until it at least had an ending. Then I told myself I could put it away and never look at the stupid thing again.


I'm telling you this so that if you get stuck, or if you find yourself waking up one day and despising this goal project you started...you're not alone. Definitely not.

There is a happy ending to this story, however! It took me eleven months, but I decided to go back and read FINDING HOPE last month, just to see how horrible it was. It turned out...I loved it! It needed lots of work still, of course, but I could see with such clear eyes how to fix it and move forward and actually make this book into something someone may one day want to read!

As for this year's goal, just out of pure craziness, I'm starting another companion novel, which will tell a secondary character's story from FINDING HOPE. I don't have much of an outline for it, but I plan to push through and finish a first draft by the end of March.

How about you? What are your goals for this March? Have you done this challenge with us before, and if so, how has it worked out for you? I'd love to hear!

Don't forget to leave your goal(s) in the comments below, and head on over to Kim Baccelia's Blog  tomorrow for your first check-in! Remember, the more you check-in and encourage others, the better chance you have of winning some great prizes! And if you set your goal within the next twenty-four hours below, you have a good chance at winning one right away!

ONWARD, Fearless Writers!