Loveday Writing

Today marks 10 years since I started my John Marsden 600 Writing Topics Challenge – my Challenge to complete all 600 Writing Topics from John Marsden’s book, Everything I Know About Writing.

For those of you who don’t know, the 600 Writing Topics are split into the following categories:

Topics 1-93: Quickies

Topics 94-130: Discursive

Topics 131-149: Based on a Book

Topics 150-307: Topics for Short Stories

Topics 308-357: Poetry

Topics 358-501: Personal

Topics 502-521: Limits

Topics 522-585: Developing Skills

Topics 586-600: Letters

I mentioned in my introductory blog post to the Challenge that I wouldn’t be writing them in order and I haven’t. I must have felt especially inspired on this day 10 years ago, as I not only got started, but I completed 12 Topics. The very first Topic I completed was Topic #2 – “What are three things that could never be photographed?”

I completed my first 100 Topics by 10 November, 2015, and reached the 200 completed Topics mark a few months later (by 10 January, 2016). I reached the halfway point, 300 completed Topics, by 2 July, 2016 – 10 months after I started the Challenge.

However, it would be well over two years before I reached the 400 completed Topics mark (by 3 December, 2018), due to getting a new job and moving back to my home town.

Due to new jobs, the COVID-19 pandemic and the upheaval it caused with my employment status, changing careers, and getting the job I have now back in 2023, it took me over seven years to reach the 500 completed Topics mark, which I did by 2 January, 2025.

I initially hoped to finish my Challenge within or on the five year mark – September 2, 2020. Needless to say this didn’t happen and we all know there was a lot going on that year.

I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t finish the Challenge by today, but that’s okay. I’m not sure when I will finish it but I’m not giving up.

As of today, I have 96 John Marsden Writing Topics left to complete.

Wish me luck and stay tuned.