Two-Week Reset Challenge - from Amie McNee's "We Need Your Art"
Last year I read Amie McNee’s We Need Your Art and it made something click in my mind about writing. No, it wasn’t a groundbreaking revelation or really anything I hadn’t thought of before. But it was something that finally seemed to be nudged into place thanks to Amie’s words.
In order for other people to choose my art…first, I need to choose my art.
In my mind, this means making time and guarding that time. Yes, I worked hard in 2025. I finished a revision 5 years in the making. I started the querying process for the first time. I attended my first Writer’s Conference. I pitched and got accepted for an anthology. So many amazing and wonderful things!
For some reason, I felt like I didn’t really “write” anything this year…which is bonkers.
Anyway, I have been listening to the audiobook again, and it’s inspired me to try her Two-Week Reset Challenge.
How it works:
Step 1: Pick a small creative goal.
My bare minimum in my mind would be 500 words per day. Amie says to half it.
Write 250 words per day OR 15 minutes per day.
Step 2: Pick one to three constraints.
These are meant to prevent the fear of choices or too many options.
Only write in epistolary style.
Only write short stories.
Do NOT share this writing until AFTER the two weeks.
Step 3: Pick a time.
My preferred time would be 6:30/7 pm. But, I know that I have a lot of prior commitments that start around that time in the coming weeks. That leaves me with either during my 30-minute lunch or right after work.
During lunch (sometime between 11:30 and 12:30).
Step 4: Set up your space.
My desk is already set up, and I will already have my computer open and running. I should be able to just…switch windows and get going.
Step 5: Do this every day for two weeks.
Can do! (I hope). I’ll start Monday, since that always feels like the beginning of the week to me.
The point is to slow down and show up.
The point of this is not to blast through a wall of creating and vomit everything and anything onto the page. It’s not to write the most words possible. The point is to slow down and show up.
This challenge is less about creating and more about rebuilding trust in myself.
For some reason, I have built this narrative in my mind that I don’t finish my projects, that I don’t write “enough,” and that I’m not serious enough about my writing life. It’s so hard to prove progress to yourself when projects drag for years. It’s like how working on your fitness feels useless because even after months, you’ve barely seen a dent, even though you feel better, move better, and are making tons of progress behind the scenes.
Outward progress feels more valid than behind-the-scenes progress. It is not…but that’s just the kind of society we’re living in currently. We want to be able to SEE the work.
So I think I’ll make myself a little sticker chart as well. Every time I get those 15 minutes or 250 words down, I’ll get a little progress sticker. Visuals!
If you’d care to join me, let me know what your goal, time, and restraints are. I’d love to have a creative challenge buddy. :)