Three-minute writing challenge: Dawn
Time to press pause for a quick-fire prompt. You supply the words: one sentence or paragraph. No overthinking. Wherever this sends you is the direction you need.
Here we are, at the first writing challenge of the year. If a gentle ease into writing was an intention you held going into 2024, this is a good place to start. If you’ve participated before, you know how this works by now. Hit pause, put a three-minute timer on, and type, tap, or pen for three-minutes straight, no over-thinking, no editing allowed. If the buzzer goes off and you want to keep writing, don’t let me stop you.
I always wait until the day of the challenge to choose a word for the prompt, then I write a list of around ten and see what I gravitate towards.
Today, it is bitingly cold in London. I woke before dawn, scooping my baby into bed to squeeze another fifteen minutes of stillness into the fragments of night. This was the intention, but she flapped her soft bunny around in her hand and slapped me three times before falling back asleep. Alas, that is when the day actually started.
If you’d like some gentle music to accompany your three minutes, I humbly direct you towards—in my opinion—the best writing playlist that exists on Spotify. I’ve included a link at the end for you.
A note: The three-minute writing challenge is now monthly, with the Library Shelf of Challenge Winners post revealed a week later. This is to allow time to best showcase entries and allows me to publish posts on writing, motherhood, and creative juggling in between, as is the ethos of Not A Write Off.
If you want to see what writers came up with last time, have a look at the Top Shelf entries from the last prompt, which was all about the theme: Paradox
Top shelf challenge entries in a library of: Paradox
As the year comes to a close, I feel like I’m in a paradox of my own. I have a desperate urge to speed-up on projects, to edit a few extra words, to write a few new posts, to open a few new documents, and yet… my head, and more importantly, my tired little spaghetti arms, are telling me to slow down. A paradox.
New here? Here’s what to expect:
A monthly, three-minute writing challenge
Launched on a Wednesday (for that mid-week reset)
Submit one sentence up to one paragraph
Favourite entries will be pooled and published on Not A Write Off one week after the challenge is launched'
Outside of the challenge, I write regularly about my life as an published author of contemporary fiction and how this fits around my other job; raising a one-year-old. I also write pragmatic, down-to-earth posts about writing craft and the publishing industry.
If you want to write for fun, for a laugh, for a reset, or to kick-start something new, I’ve got you.
If you stopped scrolling through Notes or your Instagram feed to read this, stay, for a little while longer. Previous participants have gone on to write whole posts, short stories, poems, or flash fiction after taking part in the challenge. Who knows where this will take you?
How to tackle the challenge:
Interpret the challenge however you like. There is no right or wrong. The prompt is there as a jumping off point, but go wild.
Entries can range from one sentence to one paragraph (not like… a Dickens paragraph)
To kick-start the challenge, set a three minute timer and stop when the bell goes off
I encourage you to write in the moment, without pulling from any previous work
Post your writing in Notes by restacking this post and tag so that I don’t miss it
Tag anyone whose words you would like to see. Non-fiction writers, poets, business owners, public speakers, I’m looking at you! Here, fiction is your friend.
This week’s prompt: Dawn
Dawn can be gentle, or harsh. Dawn can surprise us. Dawn can feel very far away. It is a tipping point, an invitation to start the day. For some, it is where the day ends. Dawn is entirely universal. Humans, animals, and plants all recognise it’s significance. Daffodils open. Badgers shuffle back underground. The boiler kick-starts the heating. In some parts of the world, dawn can last for twelve hours at a time. Some salute it. Some slumber through it.
What does dawn mean for you?
However you choose to interpret the prompt is true and correct for you. Don’t overthink it, just write.
Sylvia Plath, Morning Song
And a bonus if you’ve reached this far:
What next?
Subscription: You don’t need to be a subscriber to participate
Deadline: Tuesday 16th January
Sharing: I’ll amplify and re-post as many entries as I can, culminating in a monthly Library Shelf of Challenge Winners
Community: Writing doesn’t need to be lonely. Collaborating is fun. Share widely, comment on each other’s entries, and connect with other writers.
Need some music to accompany your writing?
I have spent four years building this playlist, which I honestly think *may* be the best accompaniment to your writing. No words, just gentle, instrumental, ethereal notes.
If you’d like to be notified when these challenges go live, subscribe to Not a Write Off
About the author:
Abigail Mann is an author, book coach, and writing mentor. She is currently writing her fourth novel for HarperCollins and has a thing for sharp contemporary literature with a comic edge. Abigail coaches with the London Writer’s Salon and privately mentors writers who need to cloud bust their plots, clean up their submissions, or reach a fiction milestone. Her other internet home is here.
This was a fun challenge. I'm surprised at what I was able to write!!
Ah - Mr. Darcy.🫶