Ready or not, it’s November—and we’re here to help!
First of all, I want to thank you for joining us on the trails. The creative process can be very lonely and I know many of us felt like we were put in limbo this year. Rough Draft Month was created for people like you, who want a community while setting aside time to tie up loose ends and make their dream a reality.
Many of us are excited, but it’s also okay to be nervous! Whether you’re a challenge veteran or newbie, we’re all sharing the same paths and we’re going to get through this together.
If you haven’t already, join the discord to participate in sprints, activities, share resources & support, themed nights, and more!
We’re excited to announce some NEW FEATURES from RDMO:
Locked In - a writing game to help meet your daily goal!
Let Me Cook! - a pomodoro timer to help you focus with writing, art, and all creative endeavors.
Sticker Book - a unique way to collect achievements along the trails!
RDMO has been a passion project for our admin team. We have been working around the clock since September to create a challenge that gives you a fun, collaborative, and rewarding experience. We will continue to update the website and social media throughout the month, but we’re writing our novels as well! Follow rdmoHQ on instagram to see us live blog our #RDMO24 experience (and don’t forget to tag us in your updates!).
Here are some quick tips for the early RDMO days:
Every year is different—maybe you have always been a night owl writer, but this year you have more time in the afternoon or morning! Don’t be afraid to pivot from your norm.
This month is (technically) about the 30-Day Creative Challenge, but don’t forget that this challenge is for you! Before you stress, ask for help. Remember to breathe and to be kind to yourself. And make sure you get enough sleep!
If you create a sentence, paragraph, scene, or sketch that you don’t like, don’t delete it! Let it count toward your progress. Put a strike through it, set it to 0 opacity/make the words white, open a new file, but don’t delete. It counts and you took the time to make it! It’s called a Rough Draft for a reason—nothing should go to waste!
Reward systems work for many people. If that’s you, awesome! Set up a reward for each milestone you cross (Example: Chocolate at 25%, a new kind of tea at 50%, etc).
For me personally, rewards don’t work at all. Instead, challenge yourself to hitting your daily goal within a certain amount of time (Example: 2000 words in 2 hours). Then it becomes a race! And even if you don’t hit your goal for the day, you still made a dent and dedicated time to your goal - which is progress!
I could say a million more things, but I’m just so excited and grateful to our community and for this new creative season.
Talk soon!
Sara
Rough Draft HQ