Sep 1, 2014 / Blogging U.

Blogging 101 and Writing 101 are Back!

Create your dream blog, or establish a writing habit. The party starts Monday, September 15.

Getting your new blog off the ground, or ready to jump-start a flagging site? It’s your lucky day! Registration is now open for the next rounds of Blogging 101 and Writing 101 — they start on Monday, September 15.

Note: These are the same challenges we ran earlier in the year, offered again so new bloggers can give them a try. For those looking for something new, more 201-level writing and blogging challenges are coming over the next few months.

Blogging 101: Zero to Hero

My blog has gone from being dull and plain to having widgets and all this shmancy tech stuff, and from having almost no followers to having a loyal following now!
— MicroGalactic

Blogging 101 is a month of bite-size blogging assignments that take you from “Blog?” to “Blog!” At the end of the month, you’ll have a blog you’re proud and excited to publish — and that others are excited to read. Here’s how it works:

  • Assignments fall into three broad categories — publishing posts, customizing your blog, and engaging with the community — and are designed to build on one another.
  • We’ll post a new assignment here on The Daily Post each weekday at 12AM GMT. Each assignment will contain all the inspiration and instructions you need to complete it. Weekends are free time (but we’ll suggest some ways you might want to spend it).
  • Participants will have a private community site, the Commons, for chatting, connecting, and seeking feedback and support. Daily Post staff and Happiness Engineers will be on hand to answer your questions and offer guidance and resources.

On Day 30, you’ll have six (or more!) published posts and a handful of drafts, a customized theme that reflects your personality, a small but growing audience, a good grasp of blogging etiquette — and a bunch of new online friends.

Writing 101: Build a Blogging Habit

Writing 101 is a write-every-day challenge designed to help you create a writing habit, publish posts that mesh with your blog’s focus, and push you as a writer. Here’s how it works:

I haven’t written this much in quite a while, nor had as much fun. The assignments are challenging and interesting.
— Meredith’s Musings

  • Each assignment has two parts: a Prompt and a Twist. Prompts are the topic for the day; twists are exercises that stretch your writing chops. Use them however you’d like: respond to the prompt, and ignore the twist. Try the twist, but write on your own topic. Use both.
  • We’ll post a new writing assignment here on The Daily Post each weekday at 12AM GMT. There are no weekend assignments — you’re free to expand on a weekday post, write something unrelated, or (gasp!) spend some time away from your blog.
  • Participants will have a private community site, the Commons, for chatting, connecting, and seeking feedback and support. Daily Post staff and Happiness Engineers will be on hand in the comments to answer your questions and offer guidance and resources.

Publish what you write if you’d like, or just use the assignments as private writing practice. Either way, the regular writing and community feedback will get you in the habit of writing and help you hone your voice.

Registration

Blogging 101 and Writing 101 both kick off on Monday, September 15. (And if you want to do both but are worried about keeping up with two challenges, don’t worry — they’ll both be offered again. We highly recommend one at a time.) Fill out this quick form to register:

Thanks for your interest! Registration is now closed, but both challenges will be back again later this fall.

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      1. I’ve thought of the name “The fault in our scars”. What do you guys think? I know there’s another website with the same name but the blog has no posts or anything. Should I just use a different name?

        Liked by 1 person

  6. I’d like to join in again, provided the challenges are different than the ones done before. Will both Blogging 101 and Writing 101 have different challenges this time? Or will the previous ones get repeated?

    Liked by 1 person

      3. Good to now, Michelle, thanks. I already registered for Writing 101 but as it is the same as the last time, I think I’ll skip it – no sense in repeating myself. Can you delete my registration (for http://twinfamily.wordpress.com) or should I contact you otherwise?

        Like

    1. I participated in the Writing 101 challenge a few months ago – and the idea was that you made use of it in the way that it helped you best. There was no obligation to post each day. It was good fun and gave lots of inspiration.

      Liked by 2 people

  9. Invitation to register is followed by a button for View Poll which leads to:

    This Connection is Untrusted

    You have asked Firefox to connect securely to improve.wordpress.com, but we can’t confirm that your connection is secure.

    Normally, when you try to connect securely, sites will present trusted identification to prove that you are going to the right place. However, this site’s identity can’t be verified. What Should I Do?

    If you usually connect to this site without problems, this error could mean that someone is trying to impersonate the site, and you shouldn’t continue.

    Jennifer East SouthWest By East

    Date: Mon, 1 Sep 2014 18:32:52 +0000 To: swxe@hotmail.com

    Like

    2. I got that too – when I tried to register from the unopened email. Go back to the email you first received telling you about the coursse & make sure you click on the thing at the top that says it has blocked pictures so no one can get at your computer. Then – when you are viewing it full force – you can do the whole register thing. Hope that helps.

      Like

  17. I signed up for the last Blogging 101 and it definitely took my blog to a new level – I got the hang of the technology, improved the look of the blog and most of all enjoyed being part of the wonderful encouraging community of people who were taking part!

    My question is, can you sign up more than once? I have had to abandon my old blog due to some unfortunate life circumstances, and although I’ve started a new one I still haven’t managed to post anything…I need help!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Sure, you can try them as often as you would like. Be aware, though, that you’ll be doing the same things — these are largely the same challenges, offered again so new people can participate. If that’s fine with you, then by all means, sign up!

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      1. Thank you Michelle! I think that I probably don’t need to do the same challenges again…you’ve inspired me to try Writing 101 as I did miss that one and really wanted to do it.

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  19. Just signed on the dotted line – heaven only knows what the end result will be, but you only live once – must have a look at Blogging 101 also, need some education in relation jump starting a flagging site.

    Like

  21. I’m having a lot of trouble with WordPress – personal strange stuff where I can’t even publish. Now, I’m trying to register for Blogging 101 and keep getting linked to my dashboard to write a new post. That can’t be right, right?

    Like

  29. hey thank you for posting and sharing these challenges! really appreciate all the tips that you have given. Signed up for blogging 101. To the rest of you commentors, looking forward to blogging with you in the next few weeks!

    Liked by 1 person