Stop and Start Lists and 100 for 100 Starts Today!

by | Aug 23, 2013 | Uncategorized

by Stephanie Morrill

Stephanie writes young adult contemporary novels and is the creator of GoTeenWriters.com. Her novels include The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series (Revell) and The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet (Playlist). You can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and check out samples of her work on her author website.



My daughter started kindergarten a week ago. After five-and-a-half years of not really needing to be anywhere before 9:30am, it was a big adjustment to have to get four people dressed, fed, and out of the house everyday by 7:50.

Before her first day, I had been in the habit of working until 10 or 10:30 in the evening, having a popcorn/Daily Show date with my husband, and dozing off sometime around midnight. But with an alarm going off every morning at 6:30, this was impossible for me to sustain. I’m a girl who needs sleep, and I had to figure out what I was going to cut from my evening routine so that I could be a functioning human being during the day.

When we add something to our daily schedule, we almost always have to stop doing something else. I recently heard about the idea of creating Stop and Start lists. If you’re trying to add a new habit or a new activity to your life, you can help yourself ahead of time by deciding what you’re going to stop doing to make time and space for this new thing. If you’re wanting to eat healthier, for example, you might put on your stop list that you are going to stop buying cookies and chips and start buying fruits and vegetables.

Today the 100 words for 100 days challenge starts. If you’re not already in the habit of writing on a daily basis, you will probably have to stop or shorten another activity in your life to make time for this. Is there anything you’ve stopped doing (or shortened) to make space for writing?


There’s still time to get signed up for the 100 words for 100 days challenge, but this is the last day to do so. You can find the form here.

I’ve sent out an email to all the participants I have on my list. Some of those emails have been returned to me, so if you haven’t received an email with details about the writing challenge, email me now and let me know.

Also, if you want to be part of a community as you forge ahead in the 100 for 100 challenge, you can do so on the Go Teen Writers email loop:


Happy writing everyone!