52 Short Stories

In July 2022, on a writers’ retreat in a Scottish castle, (led by Maggie Stiefvater, Anna Bright and Sarah Batista-Pereira) I took up the short story challenge – to write a short story every week, completed in 2 hours.

I committed to doing it until Christmas 2022 (24 short stories).

Now, further convinced of the benefits of this writing practice by the wonderful Ray Bradbury, I have extended my commitment to one year.

One short story a week, completed in 2 hours, for 52 weeks.

Each week is an experiment, but overall I’m prioritising fun. And young, female or non-binary protagonists. (Plus some creatures – I love a creature!)

UPDATE: It’s Saturday 8th July 2023. and I’m at…CHALLENGE COMPLETE. :) Here are a few things that I learned from doing it.

UPDATE 2: It’s Feb 2024, and I recorded a short podcast with learnings so far, from this and the 1000 Nights Challenge.

You can listen here: Ep. 44 – Writing advice from my favourite ghost (Ray Bradbury)