My 10-day writing challenge
In July 2022, I had an idea for a fun writing challenge on LinkedIn. I created prompts, invited some other content writers to join me, and took a chance to write on LinkedIn every day for 10 days.
Here is what I suggested to write about:
And these are my achievements: 10 days, 10 ideas, and 10 LinkedIn posts.
Day 1
Write about your professional interests as a writer. Are you into blogging, interviewing, storytelling,?UX, or maybe localization?
As for now, I'm interested in two things:
My passion for translation is to make it as precise as possible: meaning, style, hidden meaning, cultural adaptation, etc.
In other words, I aim to *listen* to the original author and *understand* what they wanted to say and how.
And in content marketing, it's somewhat similar: my goal is to study the audience of potential clients, listen to their wishes and fears, and understand what they want to achieve and feel.
My friends say I'm a good listener. Perhaps this is what makes me good at writing.
Day 2?
Write about your very first job. How different is it from what you do now? How old were you? What did you learn? How has this first job shaped you?
I was a 17-year-old who didn't have the slightest idea of what to do in life so I agreed to become a kindergarten teacher like my mother.
This was much different from what I do now (content writing and translation), and there had been a whole journey in between, of course.
Let's go back to the first step of that journey. When I was 17, I became a junior caregiver for children.
I helped senior teachers take care of 2-4-year-olds while also studying the theory and taking exams to become a kindergarten teacher one day.
This job and studies lasted for a few years. Did I like it? Sometimes. But mostly I didn't, and I was too young to develop this sort of mindfulness I have now.
What have I learned from this experience? Patience, I think. Working with little children requires lots of patience.
What else?
As a young person, I sort of discovered myself through this first job: things I'm good at, things I'm bad at, what kind of people inspire me as colleagues and managers, and what kind of people bring me down at work.
I think your first job is important as this journey of self-discovery. You try things, you learn skills, you watch various types of people, and all of it helps you figure out yourself.
Day 3??Write about a dream job you would have if there were no possible limits (skills, health, location, etc.)
I've always thought it would be great to live in Australia and work, let's say, at a lighthouse.
Or on a small farm.
Or at a national park.
I think that kind of work allows you to enjoy lots of wild, diverse, and beautiful nature. Besides, you can have a lot of time to be alone with your thoughts.
However, I suppose that one day I will get bored of the peace and quiet of the same place.
If I wanted to travel the world instead, I think my dream job would be a journalist who visits popular places, finds hidden gems like a unique forest or a legendary bar, and then writes stories about them for some magazine.
Day 4??Write about your favorite project. You may not go into detail, just tell a story of a cool challenge/teamwork/inspiration/etc.?
One of the projects I enjoyed working on was translating the series of children's books by Annette Amrhein, with gorgeous illustrations by Sabine Straub.
The book is about The Little Raccoon who wanted to receive a Christmas card that would be only for him and also would mean that he is a big, grown-up Raccoon now.
Translating children's literature is sometimes more challenging than working on adult/young adult books.
My job was to adapt the text to another language and make it easy to read. Sometimes I had to add explanations: for instance, a whole new sentence to describe a wren, because children aged 3-5 are unlikely to know what this little bird looks like.
It was a German-to-Russian translation, requested by a publishing house Piter from Saint Petersburg. I was happy to contribute to this beautiful book.
Day?5??Write about a website or mobile app (your favorite, or most hated, or the last you visited, or just random) as if it was a person. What are they like?
To write this little story, I've chosen?Glasp, which is a browser extension that lets you highlight the lines you find important, insightful, worth sharing, or simply beautiful.
Okay, what?Glasp?would be like as a human being?
Since it's for notetaking and knowledge sharing, I imagine them being a librarian. Reading is like air to them.
I imagine this?Glasp?person constantly looking for something. Always excited about new discoveries and hungry for knowledge.
Even taking a train home, they bring a pile of books and continue reading, taking notes, smiling, frowning, thinking...
They love to share, too. I imagine them organizing a reading club at the weekend – a circle of old friends and new faces, reading out loud, discussions... A ton of inspiration in the air.?
I think they are a happy person, though sometimes they experience something like an existential crisis. But this feeling passes as long as they find another gem of someone's writing.
Day?6?Write about a common cliché or misconception that people have about your job.
Where do I even start?.. ??
Actually, there are misconceptions about every job and industry, because that's how the human brain works: if you've never experienced something, you don't really understand it.
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Let's talk about marketing and writing. What do people usually get wrong?
"You just do keystrokes and write stuff, it's easy"
I write stuff that has a purpose and target audience, and that's never easy.
"Marketing is all about lying"
Bad marketing is.
Good marketing aims to highlight the best parts of your work and show it to people.
Good marketing tells your story while you're busy.
"You've spent 3 hours writing 1 page, you're just lazy"
From 100 words in my head, I need to choose 10 that will make the right message. How much time do you think it takes?
And don't forget about topic research, keyword research, talking to experts, fact-checking, editing, double fact-checking, proofreading, and lots of other small things.
Any job is an iceberg where a visible result is only a tip, while the main part is hidden from non-specialists. Remember it and don't jump to conclusions.
Day 7??Write about your ways to fight procrastination.?
I'd like to start with an important thought:
Procrastination comes in all shapes and sizes.
See what I mean? Knowing your enemy is the key to fighting it.
Okay, what I usually do:
? I define the enemy = find out why exactly I'm procrastinating this time.
Am I exhausted by the previous project?
Do I have the fear of failure?
Do I like the task, and if I don't, why?
? Once I've found a possible reason why I'm looking at memes instead of writing a clever post about procrastination, it's time for direct action.
Exhausted? Let go and relax (as much as the situation allows), continue the next day (and keep that promise!)
Afraid to fail? Work with your fear closely, examine it and find its roots, try to make it lesser, and start doing small steps right now.
Dislike the task? Find the ways to change the method – sometimes I realize that I'm just using the wrong approach. One more solution: talking to someone who can give a different perspective.
Procrastination is a complex psychological problem, and every person has their own reasons to delay things – as well as their own ways to overcome this problem.
Day 8??Write about the weirdest question(s) you ever received from (potential) clients or employers.
"What's your astrology sign?"
Asked during the interview.
They really wanted to hire me, by the way.
I decided to decline politely.
Probably that's my freedom-loving Aquarius nature to blame :)
"Are you working on my project only?"
I was a freelance translator, and one of my long-time clients suddenly asked me this.
Surprisingly, I didn't live on the $400 they paid me each month.
When the client realized that, they were extremely offended and ended our partnership :)
"What's your rate?"
This question sounds innocent out of context.
However, turned out the client was looking for a freelancer who asks *the least*. Thank goodness it wasn't me :)
Day 9??Write about the product or service you would create if you had the right team and unlimited budget.
I would create a streaming service that studies and remembers your tastes like your best friend. Knows what actors/artists/genres you love or hate. Knows what you'd like to do in your various moods, and what you'd prefer at a specific time of the day - what kind of music, movies, series, podcasts, etc.
I would create a productivity app with lots of gamification techniques that make you feel like the main character and turn your every day into a small adventure.
Day 10??Write about your favorite place to work. Is it your home? or a local coffee shop? or an office? or perhaps something unusual?
I like working in a busy atmosphere and I enjoy quiet places, too. It really depends on the task and context.
For instance, I usually feel energetic working at the office, surrounded by colleagues who are as busy as me. I like it when people around me are discussing their work or being on call with clients; it keeps me in the right mood.
However, I like sitting slightly far away from the crowd: my job includes lots of reading and writing and I need to be able to concentrate.
Working from home is nice, as long as there are frequent Zoom calls with the team.
Sometimes I enjoy working from coffee shops, too. It's a nice change of atmosphere that often gives me new ideas.
Marketing/ Project Coordinator @MagniLearn. Writer @Text by Tasha
2 年Love this, thank you!!! I'm still working my way through the days, little by little!