Countdown to RAWR 2024

Today in the Rogue Valley, the temperature is nearing 100°F. Can October possibly arrive less than a week from now? I’ll be moody if climate change jumbles the entire calendar! And not only because Hallowe’en is my favorite year-round holiday. Our annual writing challenge, Rogue’s Amazing Word Rush — RAWR — take place in October and November! The Rogue Writers will be racing to reach their writing goals over the course of 30, 31, or 61 days!

For now, it’s still Preptember for the Rogue Writers, and we’ve been busy planning everything for RAWR. There are several (FUN!) final preparations that all participants will need to sort out during this final week of September. But, before we dig into that, if you’re not sure what the RAWR writing challenge is, you can read all about it here: RAWR

If you’re all caught up, grab a piece of paper or open a document on your preferred device — you’ll be making a list! Since you probably just read a lot about RAWR, I’ll keep the rest of this as brief as possible.

YOUR RAWR PREP LIST:

1. Choose a storytelling project. Will it be a novel? Or a play, collection of poems, memoir, graphic novel, or gaming campaign? Choose a project and try to estimate how long it might take for you to complete the first draft.
2. Choose a RAWR goal. At 50k words, the Tide Goal is a popular choice for those who want something similar to the NaNoWriMo challenge. For a gentler pace, you can choose the Earthen Goal (25k words) or Aether Goal (custom & time-based goals). If you’re feeling ambitious, we also have Breeze Goal (75k words) and, for those who write blazingly fast, Ember Goal (100k+ words).
3. Create a TrackBear Account. To track your progress with the group, create a free TrackBear account at trackbear.app. If you used to track projects through the NaNoWriMo website, TrackBear can import all your old projects! To join the Rogue Writers Leaderboard, use the code: ae8043c6-6b23-49e0-bd26-7f4b29afe9fd
   Our leaderboard will begin tracking on October 1st.
4. Are you a planner? Begin planning. I’m a planner and have outlined my novel the night before a big writing challenge. It’s not the wisest approach. If you need a quick planning solution, you may ask me for information about my Puzzle Plots system. I’ll also be posting a video of last weekend’s workshop soon. Or, ask other members in the Discord server for last-minute planning tips!
5. Plan a character costume. Rogue’s Character Costume Party is the last week of October. The goal is to wear something that connects you to your character. It’s fun and fosters the creative process! Your costume doesn’t have to be complicated! Simple costumes may include anything your character would wear, such as a hat, footwear, piece of jewelry, goggles, special makeup (or none!), a name tag, and socks in your character’s favorite color.
6. Join the Rogue Writers Discord Server. If you haven’t already joined the Rogue Writers, now is the time to join our Discord server (linked at the top of the page) and, after that, register for a website account. Of course, you’re also welcome to participate in the RAWR writing challenge on your own or through social media!