I'm a social writer. I love WriMos and other writing challenges. As a stay at home mom it's easy to feel that my life is completely void of grownups, let alone ones that get my passion for writing. That's why when my friend Katie Doyle from Writing, Reading, Life asked me to co-host Word Wars I said yes. It's going to be during JuNoWriMo and days before I go on vacation with my family for a week so this is the perfect way to get my word count up. I hope that you guys will join us. It's going to be a blast!!!

How it works

A word war is when two or more writers set a goal of a certain number of words that has to be written. The first writer to reach the goal is the winner.

Live-blogging is when someone updates a particular blog post throughout some event, whatever the event.

For the Word Wars Blogfest, we aren't going to limit ourselves to a particular number. The goal is to write as many words as you can throughout the three day event. Every once in a while, get on your blog and update your status. Kind of like this:

June 11, 8:05 AM - Just got up and ate breakfast. Let's get this party started!!

9:34 AM - Spilled my coffee all over my lap. Time to get dressed, or just change into different pajama pants? 1372 words.

11:56 AM - Mom called and had an emergency that wasn't an emergency. Spent the last two hours calming her down. Word count the same.

Update as much or as little as you like throughout the three days. It's totally up to you.

When it happens

The linky list will be up starting today (May 30th) until June 9th at 11:55 PM EST (US). The actual Word War will take place from June 11th to the 13th. This gives you plenty of time to sign up and a day to get everything you might need ready before the live-blogging begins.

What you need

Most of this is completely up to you, but a blog would most certainly help. Even if you don't have a blog, you can use Facebook Notes and just link to that. Don't have either? See if a blogger friend will let you take over for a couple of days. As for anything else: your favorite writing snack, some good music, a sign for your door so your family or friends know not to bother you, etc. Basically, whatever will make this fun for you!

Why you should sign up

The writing community is one of the best parts of being a writer. Even with a name like Word War, this is a great way to go out and support your fellow writers and allow your fellow writers to support you. You win by writing. You win by making new friends. You win by taking part in something fun and productive. You might also come up with some great insights into your own writing schedule (when you're most productive, when you're least productive, and when you are more often distracted).

Okay, I've signed up. What now?

There are a few things you could do:

Grab the badge at the top of this post. You'll want to display it somewhere prominent during the blogfest.
Let others know you're taking part. A signal boost on Facebook, Twitter, or a blog post will get more people involved and create better opportunity to meet even more writers.
Get rid of CAPTCHA. Because it's really annoying to anyone who wants to comment on your progress. Most blog platforms are really good at filtering spam or you could turn on comment moderation.

Even if you can't participate all three days, that's okay. This isn't about who writes the most words, it's about sitting down with a group of like-minded people to get some words on paper (or screen) in a fun and supportive way. Hope to see you there=) PS - A special thanks to Carrie Butler for creating the amazing badge for the Word Wars Blogfest!

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