2/17/26

You all are doing wonderfully! I’m so excited that you’ve been sharing your progress with me. As February comes to a close please note that you’ll want to be finishing the month with about 2,000 words to stay on track for the 50,000 word year end minimum. If you are not there yet, don’t stress, just see if you can add more time to your story in March to keep up. If you need help please reach out. I’m here as a resource.

I have an awesome announcement. We finally have Jack Frost Merch! We’re starting with stickers and keychains this month. We are looking to expand the merch store throughout the next few months, so stay tuned. For now you can purchase stickers and keychains on the website shop here: Shop – Darby Rand We have worked to keep prices as low as possible, if you remember, this challenge is completely funded by Viva la Voice Acting and we refused to charge an entry fee. Purchasing merch from the shop not only helps keep the challenge running, it also supports this Colorado small business. I hope you’ll all consider checking it out.

On another note, I am considering hosting virtual writing sprints as well as craft skill building lessons. Please reply to this email and let me know if either of these would interest you. If we have enough interest I’d be happy to try it out and see if we can help and inspire each other.

Now for the Mini Challenge of the week. This week we want to connect with our audience. The Jack Frost Love Story Writing Challenge is not just about writing a story, it is about being an author. And one of the most important things an author can do for their story is share about it. That is why this week I’m asking you to post a snippet of your story to your social media. What’s a great line you love from your story? Do you have a short pitch for it yet? Share something that can start building a hype for your story. Social media is a great place to gain support from fellow authors and creatives.

Mini-Challenge: Share something about your Jack Frost Love Story to social media, tag Storyteller’s Odyssey, and comment with the link to storytellersodyssey.com so others can come see what the challenge is all about.

Don’t miss your chance to grab the Jack Frost key chains. We’re only making 1 order so get them while they last. 

1/12/26

Good morning lovely authors,

You have all been randomly assigned a tribe. Your tribe is ________________. Please feel free to check out the page. By now you should all have at least your first 1000 words done, don’t worry if you’re not there yet though, you can always catch up. This week our mini challenge is based on your first sentence. 

For me the first sentence of a story helps me decide if I want to keep reading. If the first sentence doesn’t captivate me, I worry about the rest of the story. The first sentence is your first impression for your reader, make the most of it. For example my first sentence of Fluorescent Frost is: “1256 days, that’s how long I’d managed to avoid the Compliance Wards, or CWs as we called them in Novanex.” It may not be my best first line, but I’m pretty proud of it. The sentence evokes curiosity while also giving clues about the setting. 

MINI CHALLENGE – Reply to this email with your story’s first sentence. This sentence WILL BE POSTED on your tribe’s page. And next week there will be community voting. You have until Saturday 1/17/26 10pm MST to submit your first sentence and be able to participate in the voting contest. Voting will open next Monday 1/19/26.

Remember you are receiving points for participation in these mini challenges that will count toward the final rewards of the year. But you also can win immediate prizes. This challenge has a prize as well. The tribe that gets the most votes, will have the opportunity to submit their first 2 chapters for constructive feedback. This is NOT required, it is meant to be a helpful resource for you, but if you’re uncomfortable sharing at such an early stage of your writing, don’t feel pressured. I have been a book coach since 2018 and have worked with several authors through every phase of writing so I’m confident I can be a valuable resource for you.

Looking forward to seeing your wonderful first lines.

1/5/26

Good morning my lovely authors,

You have all been randomly divided into different tribes. Your tribe is your community. Should your tribe end the year with the most points, EVERYONE in that tribe will receive an incredible prize! A full year of indie publishing support. Wondering what this looks like? Check out the coaching page on my website for a detailed breakdown. 

In short, you’ll receive a full review of your manuscript (limit 1 per person) with inline comments, monthly 1:1 calls to go over comments and next steps, a year of marketing template that I myself use and have seen impressive results, a walk through of KDP publishing, and unlimited email support. Are you excited yet??? 

So how do you earn points for your tribe? This week’s mini challenge is to update your Tribe’s page. Reply to this email with a brief bio of yourself, and whatever social media links you’d like to add to your profile. (This will be important for points in the future so please consider sharing). Biographies need to be under 150 words and this is not the time to talk about your WIP. (We’ll get to that later in the challenge). 

Participation in challenges and milestones earn both you and your tribe points, so the more active you are, the higher your chances for success. So what are you waiting for? Get to working on that bio and be sure to send it over.

MINI CHALLENGE – Write a bio in 150 words or less, and supply whatever social media links you would like on your challenge profile along with a profile picture (does not have to be a self portrait, could be just a fun picture that represents you like your cat). 

“Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.” -Arthur Ashe

1/1/26

Good morning my lovely authors,

Today is the official start date of our Jack Frost Love Story Writing Challenge. From here on, there is only one time restriction for the main challenge: to write at least 50,000 completed story based on the Jack Frost love story prompt by December 31, 2026. There WILL be optional mini challenges as well as rewarded milestones throughout the coming months. 

Think of the optional challenges as “extra credit” where you can earn additional points toward your final score. The final scoring will happen at the end of the year, December 31 2026, when all completed manuscripts will be evaluated. The bigger the competition gets, the bigger the prizes get, updates to the prizes will be announced via email, as well as updated on the challenge landing page. 

For now, your goal for the week is to finish your first 1,000 words. It doesn’t have to be gold, just work to put words on the page, allow the faucet to start flowing. You have 365 days, I will help coach you along the way and keep you on track, so don’t over think it. Just put pen to paper and start. Between writing sessions, be sure to share with your fans what you’re writing. 

If you’re seriously interested in publishing this story one day, start marketing it now. Need ideas of what to post? Follow me across social media, feel free to tweak the questions and posts I release for your own story. There will be some challenges that need your audience to participate, so consistently posting on social media will help you earn more points. Okay, that’s the only tip I’m offering right now. You should be writing anyway. 

You’ve got this,

Let’s get started.

Darby Rand