100 Days of Writing Challenge: What Can You Create in 3 Months?

Last Updated on May 15, 2023 by Michael Brockbank

It’s been a while since I launched a writing challenge for myself. Well, at least one I can get serious about and complete. This time around, it centers more around my book than blogging. Can I maintain a good flow of writing for 100 days?

Given the sheer amount of stuff I do every day, it’s going to be a difficult challenge. However, like the 90 blog posts in 30 days challenge, I’m confident I can accomplish some good things.

That is as long as I keep focused on what I’m doing and actually get my work done at a reasonable time.

Table of Contents

Why Care About Writing for 100 Days?

In reality, you can set any goal you want for writing. It all comes down to what you’re capable of and how far you want to push yourself. However, there is a right and wrong way to set some extreme goals.

For one thing, setting your sites too high could result in frustration, which could ultimately lead to you giving up. This is called “setting yourself up for failure.”

On the other side of that coin, though, you want to set goals that “challenge” you in some form. Otherwise, it’s just another day. This is why I always suggest setting goals that are above your personal bests.

It’s all about self-improvement, not being the ultimate best at any given task.

So, what can writing for 100 days do for you as a creator?

Goals Can Inspire Progress

Meeting goals can inspire you to continue the journey. Once you realize you’re capable of so much more, you’ll find the drive to meet greater and greater objectives.

This is precisely one of the biggest reasons why I was such a success with content mills. I constantly worked towards writing more on any given day than I did the one prior.

Before long, writing will seem more like second nature to you than anything. That is as long as you set realistic goals.

Helps Identify Limits and Understand Yourself

One of the biggest reasons why I am constantly challenging myself is to find my limits. What am I capable of, and can I do more than I think I can?

For the most part, the answers are always, “a lot” and “absolutely.” Creating a challenge for yourself gives you the opportunity to learn a great deal about yourself.

Writing for 100 days gives you the ability to answer questions about yourself, such as:

Are you productive, or do you waste a lot of time?
Can you take your craft seriously enough to succeed?
Are you willing to do what’s necessary to meet deadlines?
Is writing something you truly want to do as a career, or even as a hobby?
How much can you write per day on average?

It’s helpful to track your progress, even if it’s just using a spreadsheet to keep track of how many words you saved today.

Boosting Confidence

Accomplishing goals helps improve your sense of self-confidence. And for many writers out there, getting past the impostor syndrome can be quite tricky.

However, meeting goals like this helps you realize just how good you truly are and help you set higher aspirations for yourself. No, it’s not going to fix your mental issues overnight. But it will make it easier with each accomplishment.

When I published my first book, I was overjoyed and excited. Those feelings transitioned into confidence, and not just as a writer. That improved level of confidence helps me in everyday life in a myriad of situations.

Never underestimate the value of accomplishing a major goal when it comes to improving your lifestyle.

How to Accomplish 100 Days of Writing

It’s always good to have a plan of action ready. In this case, setting up how to accomplish a significant goal will help us stay focused.

So, how are we going about writing for 100 days?

1. Be Comfortable with Your Writing App

First, you’ll want to find a writing app you’re comfortable using. For me, it’s all going to center around using Reedsy for Kingmaker and finding another free app when I work on VII.

Part of this is because I’m working on a list of free apps writers that authors can use for publishing books and novellas. Since I only review apps I actually use, I need to put them to the test with real-time projects.

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Essentially, you can use any app you wish, though.

2. Tracking the Progress

Next, you’ll want to find a way to track your progress. Seeing the numbers go up can help keep you motivated to continue writing. In this instance, I’m using NaNoWriMo for all projects while writing for 100 days. This is in addition to the goals I’ll set in Reedsy.

This means I’ll be adding VII to my NaNoWriMo account once I start rewriting the story.

I like using the NaNoWriMo website for goals like this because I can share the progress on social media relatively easily. And if anyone follows my profile, they can watch as the word count increases.

3. Setting Up Blocks of Time Specifically for Writing

After having a plan in place for tracking our progress, it’s time to assign specific blocks of time. This can help ensure that we have adequate time to work on our stories.

Now, you don’t necessarily need to assign exact moments of your day for writing your book. However, I found it to be incredibly helpful for balancing my day.

I use the free version of Asana for tracking my projects as it lets me plan out my day with those blocks of time. And when you have as much as I do on your plate, it can be difficult to juggle without having a visualization or checklist.

4. At Least an Hour Per Day

Now, I am personally planning at least an hour per day to write my books. I am very sure I’ll often go past that amount of time, but I want to guarantee myself that I will have at least one hour available.

This means I’ll add an hour block of time to Asana to take priority over any other project after my client’s work is done.

Depending on the day, I probably won’t get much more than an hour. Sometimes, I am completely inundated with work from a variety of sources. But at least I know I can work on my book for one hour per day.

5. Only Actual Writing is Counted

In this challenge, I am only counting the time I am actually writing for the next 100 days. This doesn’t include editing, finding a cover, proofreading, marketing, or anything else that comes with self-publishing a book.

So, as soon as Kingmaker has been written, I’ll move on to writing VII. Then, I’ll assign blocks of time for working on Kingmaker to get it ready for publishing.

In other words, this challenge is purely for writing the stories. Everything else will be their own project.

6. Start Another Project (Optional)

I added this step as an option because not everyone is going to finish writing a book in 100 days. Considering that I am about 30,000 words away, I should be done outside of a month.

As I said a moment ago, this challenge is purely centered around “writing.”

This is completely up to you, though. Personally, I’d rather keep the momentum going for the next 100 days. Who knows what I’ll continue to write throughout the process.

7. Share Writing Updates for the Next 100 Days (Optional)

Sharing updates is an optional step, but one I suggest. Especially if you have a growing audience on social media. Your fans and followers will support you in the challenge and act as your cheerleaders.

In fact, when A Freelancer’s Tale was published, I sold six copies within a few hours – most of which to my YouTube audience.

For this, I’m going to try to remember to update the widget I have on MichaelBrockbank.com. It shows how far along I am in Kingmaker and when I estimate it will be available for purchase.

Then, I’ll change it when I start working on VII.

Can You Publish a Book After Writing for 100 Days?

In the grand scheme of things, it’s quite possible to start and publish a book within a 100-day window. However, it greatly depends on several factors:

How much time can you put towards writing the book per day?
Do you have a solid and quick editing method in place?
Have you lined up a designer for the cover art?
What platform are you using to publish the book?
Will your beta readers have enough time to provide feedback for edits?

The thing to keep in mind is that cranking out a novel wicked fast isn’t the same as writing a good book. There are a lot of variables that can come into play, such as not putting enough effort into creating an engaging tale.

Anyone can hammer out 90,000 words of nonsense. If you want to be a successful author, you need to write in a way that grips your audience. Not everything centers around instant gratification.

This is part of the reason why it’s taken me so long to publish Kingmaker in the first place. I want to put out the best story I can, not something I can sell en mass for $0.99 while crossing my fingers people will like the tale.

Then again, there are a lot of people who can write a good story and publish a book within 100 days. The flip side of that is you can easily read when a story is rushed by some authors to meet an unrealistic deadline.

What Can You Do in 100 Days of Writing?

I am starting the 100 days of writing challenge on June 1st. This means I’ll be done on September 9th, when I’ll write an update post. If all goes well, I’ll have published Kingmaker, revamped VII, and will be working on Kingmaker’s sequel.

Are you ready to write some goodness? Let’s see what we can do throughout the summer of writing.

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Michael Brockbank

Michael has been a freelance writer since January of 2012 and has contributed to a long list of blogs throughout his career. He is also a published author and continues to help other writers find their own paths. Maintaining both the WriterSanctuary blog and YouTube channel, he covers topics that relate to writing in all forms.