Facebook: Writers unblocking with 100 words daily for 30 days

Two upcoming writers; Samuel Okopi and OdohofrehEnobong, have entered into a contest on Facebook where they each write 100 words per day for 30 days.The inspiration for the contest came when Enobong needed to send in a 100 word entry for an ongoing writing competition. “It happened in a funny way, really,” Okopi narrates. “My […]

Two upcoming writers; Samuel Okopi and OdohofrehEnobong, have entered into a contest on Facebook where they each write 100 words per day for 30 days.
The inspiration for the contest came when Enobong needed to send in a 100 word entry for an ongoing writing competition.
“It happened in a funny way, really,” Okopi narrates. “My good friend, Enobong, and trusted reviewer of my works, sent me a 100-word entry for an ongoing competition to look at. I did, and gave some feedback. But the deadline was so close that it did not really matter what advice I gave.
“So, I jokingly told her I would punish her to teach her a lesson on timeliness. And out of the blue I proposed a contest of 100 word stories for 30 days! And here we are…Writing for Day 10. We have written a total of 18 stories now; nine each,” Okopi says.
“The stories have explored various themes, styles and genres. Romance, horror, betrayal, comedy…name it. And all these have sprung from diverse (and sometimes bizarre) prompts.”
Many writers may opine that words do not just come off one’s pen without inspiration or the desire to write. These two writers who post flash fiction stories on their Facebook walls have found a rather subtle way of imbibing discipline in writing, through a series of prompts which dictate the theme of each day’s contest.
“Day one was fun and easy; day two too. By day three, my schedule had gotten really tight and it was a struggle to produce something for the contest,” Enobong says.
“Subsequent tight-schedule days followed and I started asking myself, “Eno, what have you gotten yourself into? Why didn’t you bargain for just seven days?”
It has indeed been a course in discipline, as I have come to realise that there is no such thing as a muse. Every day, I have to produce a piece for the contest, whether I feel like it or not, whether I understand the prompt or not, whether I have the time or not. All these don’t matter to my readers who keep coming back for their daily dose of 100 Words,” Enobong explains.
“The prompt for day six was a picture of a beach,”Okopi explains. “We each wrote very different stories. Enobong, wrote a story of someone who experienced a mental journey into a painting, while I wrote about a guy who lost all his pocket valuables on Valentine’s day while waiting for his girlfriend at Bar Beach. One prompt required we write a story with three Nigerian proverbs. The most recent one had us write a story with only one-syllable words.”
As the contest progresses, both writers are already committed to giving their readers a time of their life. Their readers, who vote on the contestants Facebook walls, would decide on the last day who finally wins the competition. For Okopi and Enobong, it is all fun.
“It’s been a roller coaster ride. I embarked on this project on a whim, one night when I felt I really needed to take a course in discipline, especially with my writing. I accepted without thinking much about it. It makes me feel responsible and forces me to exercise my writing muscles by working them everyday,” Enobong intimates.
“It’s been nine days so far. And it feels like I’ve been doing this forever,” I know that when the contest comes to an end, I will miss it because it is so much fun, and I’m learning how to write for a varied audience. I get feedback everyday and I can’t tell you how much we young writers crave that. The prompts make me think beyond my comfort zone. They produce all kinds of stories and they have made me write genres that I ordinarily would not think about. Samuel and I alternate turns in giving the prompts. And I tell you, his prompts are always crazy. Even when I think I have given an easy prompt, when we settle down to write, we discover that we have to write in totally new ways, in order to properly satisfy the prompt. They make me stretch my imagination. They make me think beyond my normal writing style. And it’s so much fun watching our readers trying to guess who wrote what!”
“The truth is, this contest is about two things: fun and improvement,” Okopi notes.“It’s a beautiful thing for us to be motivated to write a story everyday. I would never have thought this possible. A story that’s just a 100 words long might seem like a joke…something you scribble over a cup of tea.
“But I tell you, some stories have taken me up to four hours to write and refine. Some even involve some research! Secondly, the insightful comments that keep streaming in from our readers are just amazing. We learn from them. Also, we post the stories anonymously so votes are unbiased. Plus, we ask our readers to guess who wrote what and it has added much fun to the contest, as we publish the names of those who guessed right, the next day.
“Enobong has been showing me that she is not a writer to take for granted. She has won for I think 4 days straight! There was this day she knocked me out silly. 18 votes to three! Can you imagine? But we have 21 days to go. I am tightening my belt.  For now, 112 votes have been cast; 44 for me and 68 for Eno.I have won one contest, Eno has won five, and we have tied on one.”
Eno boasts that: “At the end of ‘100 –Words-For-30-Days’, I know that I would have grown as a writer, and I don’t think I will entertain that thing called writers block anymore.”
She adds that: “If there’s one thing I’ve learned so far, it is that there are lots of stories in our imaginations waiting to be told. And if we have something driving us to produce stories, they will come pouring out, surprising even the writer.”