Quick update & a silly little idea... (Patreon)

Hello hello! We're almost to the middle of October and for most of the month, I have felt like a potato. The kind of potato that's been so sedentary that it's started to sprout and maybe even turn a little green. 🥔 (On a more serious note, I've been dealing with some health problems and my mom has been dealing with some more critical/confusing health problems for the past few months. We don't have a lot of answers still and I have no doubt that the stress of the situation has contributed to my own health issues and alas....)

All that said, I talk a big game about being kind to myself and now that I'm actively needing to live that line instead of just ~live it in theory~ I've realized how difficult it is. Or how difficult I find it. One of the things that's helped is focusing on the fun. The dumb fun, the silly fun, the fun you don't have to think a lot about. 

Which is probably why, when watching the Great British Bake Off and living my Best Potato Life, I thought up a silly idea for a challenge. A quick episode format for those of you who haven't seen the best show ever created:

The bakers are challenged to complete three different bakes each week. All have different criteria and time limits but fit under the episode's theme (like "Bread Week" or "Cake Week"). For the first bake, "The Signature," the bakers usually have less time but have been given the prompt ahead, so in theory they're able to prepare and fine-tune their recipe, etc. The second bake is a blind challenge given by the judges, where none of the bakers no what to expect. And finally, the third bake is "The Showstopper." The bakers are able to prepare ahead of time for this as well and often the time limit is much longer (as the challenge is considerably harder).

What I want to do is attempt my own "episode" bahaha. Basically, where I write short stories based off 3 prompts with a specific time limit and matching a theme (Spooktober). The twist is that the first prompt ("The Signature") and the 3rd prompt ("The Showstopper"), I'll have been able to prepare an outline ahead of time.

But for the 2nd prompt, "The Technical Challenge," I'll need your help....

So please do comment down below with a spooky/supernatural/horror prompt! When it comes time to film "The Technical Challenge," I'll pick one at random (or the most Liked one, whichever makes sense at the time) and then have 90 minutes to outline, write, revise, and edit a short story that fits that prompt.

(A final housekeeping note. Because of my own health issues, my sleep schedule has been all over the place. This is actually fantastic timing as "Attempt a Night Owl Writing Routine for 3 Days" won this month's experiment poll! I can't tell you HOW FREAKING EXCITED I am to try this out and have a reason to stay up until 2am bahaha. The other option came in at just under 40%, so while I haven't kept up with my favorite line each day - honestly, I've sometimes not even written a line a day - I do want to make a patreon-only vlog for this month and y'all can let me know how you like it. It'll be something new for all of us!)

Thanks everyone and hope you're having a great Spook/Prep/October. 🎃👻