Today is the ABSOLUTELY LAST DAY to make your pledge for getyourwordsout 2019. We will not accept any pledges or membership requests made after January 15—no excuses, exceptions, or cash back with a valid receipt. You MUST PLEDGE (and fill out a COMPLETE pledge form) and MUST REQUEST MEMBERSHIP to be a member. If you have done only one or have deleted your comment, you are NOT a member for 2019. (If you are listed on the user profile, you have done both and are good to go.)

PLEDGE! REQUEST MEMBERSHIP! PLEDGE!

Have you pledged?
Word Count Pledges
Light, 75K words
Modest, 150K words
Basic, 200K words
Moderate, 250K words
Difficult, 300K words
Insane, 350K words
Ludicrous, 500K words
Habit Pledges
Apprentice, 120 days
Journeyman, 240 days
Master, 350 days

Make sure you reply to one of the above linked posts with a COMPLETE pledge comment—you must list your DW username, pledge level, and a statement of writing goals.

Have you requested membership?
Request Membership

After today you cannot make ANY further changes to your pledge, so it's also the last day for second guessing.

If you're not sure if pledging has ended, a post announcing "Membership Closed" will be posted. You may pledge until that post goes up on Jan 16.

There is about 1 WEEK to make your pledge for getyourwordsout 2019. We will not accept any pledges made after January 15. You MUST PLEDGE and MUST REQUEST MEMBERSHIP to be a member. If you have done only one or have deleted your pledge comment, you are NOT a member for 2019. (If you are listed under "2019" on the user profile list, you have done both and are good to go.)

To pledge, you must leave a comment with a completed pledge form on one of the Pledge Posts linked below.

Have you pledged?
Word Count Pledges
Light, 75K words
Modest, 150K words
Basic, 200K words
Moderate, 250K words
Difficult, 300K words
Insane, 350K words
Ludicrous, 500K words

Habit Pledges
Apprentice, 120 days
Journeyman, 240 days
Master, 350 days

Make sure you reply to one of the above linked posts with a COMPLETE pledge comment—you must list your DW username, pledge level, and a statement of writing goals. The statement of writing goals is not optional.

Have you requested membership?
Request Membership

Have you confirmed your pledge?
Check the 2019 profile list (scroll down)

GYWO is not just a community of writers, it is a community within a community of writing communities. (Say that ten times fast.) We want you to get your words out however you need to, including by joining and participating in other writing communities. The communities below are affiliates and friends who have lovingly supported GYWO over the years by allowing us to advertise in their communities.

If there’s a writing community you’d like to promote, feel free to leave a promo in the comments.

If you run a writing community and would like to affiliate, please let us know.

Descriptions taken from community user info

betaplease
Beta, please! is a community for writers and beta-readers of all fandoms and writing styles. Obscure fandoms and original fiction are also welcome!

dailyprompt
Everyday a new prompt will be posted. Write as much or as little as you want! Original fiction, fanfiction, poetry, song lyrics—if the prompt inspires you, move with it.

drabble_zone
This community is for people who enjoy writing 100 word drabbles and is open to all fandoms. There is a new challenge prompt every Saturday.

fandomweekly
This is a multifandom weekly fic challenge community, where participants write a short fanfic (1000 words or less) based on a prompt. Each challenge has two elements: a Weekly Theme which the entry must be modeled on, and a Bonus Goal which may be a phrase or other specific aspect to include or work with.

fffc
Every Friday offers a new challenge for flash fiction. All fandoms are welcome, as are original works.

fic_promptly
A multi-fandom comment fic community for Dreamwidth. Anyone may leave prompts or fill prompts.

ficlet_zone
A monthly multi-fandom fic writing community. All fic lengths are welcome.

genprompt_bingo
Gen Prompt Bingo is a low commitment multi-fandom, multi-media bingo challenge. Its aim is to provide bingo cards of gen-style prompts to be used as inspiration in creating fic, images, meta, fanmixes, vids or any other kind of fannish activities. Prompt lists are renewed at the start of December and April, and new cards can be claimed then even if a previous card has not been completed.

rainbowfic
RainbowFic is an original fiction community built to encourage writing and act as home base for a community of authors. We provide lists of prompts, sorted by color, and special add-ons of style or content, to spark inspiration.

thedailywriter
This community will serve as a place to encourage you to write every single day, whether it be 100 words or 1000 words, as long as you get something down on paper. The community is friendly to all sorts of writing endeavors—fanfic, original fiction, creative nonfiction, school essays, whatever needs to be written, basically.

ushobwri
A support group for struggling writers of any genre to talk about writing and share bits. On Mondays there are inspiration posts and Thursdays are check-in/workshop days.

writethisfanfic
A community to help you write fanfiction. Our goal is to provide support & resources for any fic writers, but particularly those wanting to write their first (or almost first) fanfiction

writingfrenzy
A short-term accountability group to help you actually get something written. Whatever you're working on – fanfiction, original works – and whatever your pairing – slash, gen, het, whatever – you are welcome to play here!

This is the post to make a pledge to write 500K words in 2019. This pledge is the largest of the word count goals and is meant for any writers who really want to test their stamina. While writing half a million words in a year is no easy task, we’ve had several members not only complete this pledge, but exceed it! Be prepared to devote your life to writing if you select this one!

For this pledge, the recommended pacing is:
• 41.6K words per month
• 1,370 words per day

You will not be able to change your pledge mid-year, so think carefully before pledging!


Signing up confirms that you have read the membership requirements for GYWO and your pledge, and understand that you will be required to check in monthly with your year-to-date word count.

Once you have pledged, please request to join the community. We will add everyone starting January 1.

Comments on this post are screened, but once you have been verified, you will be listed on the profile page under your pledge for 2019. If you have any questions, please ask on the Pledges & Requirements post.

Cut & Paste Pledge Form:
<b>Dreamwidth or OpenID:</b> <b>Livejournal:</b> (only if you want access to the mirror community) <b>Previous name:</b> (if you’ve changed usernames since last participating in GYWO) <b>Twitter:</b> (optional) <b>Tumblr:</b> (optional) <b>Birth Month:</b> (optional) <b>Pledge:</b> 500K Ludicrous <b>Statement of writing goals:</b> (stories you want to write, things you want to improve, etc.)

Thank you for your pledge, and we can't wait to write with you in 2019!

This is the post to make a pledge to write 300K words in 2019. This is probably our most unpredictable word count goal—we've seen amazing years, and we've seen years of struggle. If you’re writing on pace, you’ll be writing a half-NaNo every month! This is a pledge level that will keep you on your toes and offers little room for slacking off.

For this pledge, the recommended pacing is:
• 25.0K words per month
• 822 words per day

You will not be able to change your pledge mid-year, so think carefully before pledging!


Signing up confirms that you have read the membership requirements for GYWO and your pledge, and understand that you will be required to check in monthly with your year-to-date word count.

Once you have pledged, please request to join the community. We will add everyone starting January 1.

Comments on this post are screened, but once you have been verified, you will be listed on the profile page under your pledge for 2019. If you have any questions, please ask on the Pledges & Requirements post.

Cut & Paste Pledge Form:
<b>Dreamwidth or OpenID:</b> <b>Livejournal:</b> (only if you want access to the mirror community) <b>Previous name:</b> (if you’ve changed usernames since last participating in GYWO) <b>Twitter:</b> (optional) <b>Tumblr:</b> (optional) <b>Birth Month:</b> (optional) <b>Pledge:</b> 300K Difficult <b>Statement of writing goals:</b> (stories you want to write, things you want to improve, etc.)

Thank you for your pledge, and we can't wait to write with you in 2019!

This is the post to make a pledge to write 200K words in 2019. That’s just NaNoWriMo and a few big bangs, right? Doesn’t sound difficult at all, does it? It may not sound like a challenging word count goal, especially when looking at some of the other pledges, but appearances can be deceiving! Meeting 200K is no cake walk.

For this pledge, the recommended pacing is:
• 16.6K words per month
• 548 words per day

You will not be able to change your pledge mid-year, so think carefully before pledging!


Signing up confirms that you have read the membership requirements for GYWO and your pledge, and understand that you will be required to check in monthly with your year-to-date word count.

Once you have pledged, please request to join the community. We will add everyone starting January 1.

Comments on this post are screened, but once you have been verified, you will be listed on the profile page under your pledge for 2019. If you have any questions, please ask on the Pledges & Requirements post.

Cut & Paste Pledge Form:
<b>Dreamwidth or OpenID:</b> <b>Livejournal:</b> (only if you want access to the mirror community) <b>Previous name:</b> (if you’ve changed usernames since last participating in GYWO) <b>Twitter:</b> (optional) <b>Tumblr:</b> (optional) <b>Birth Month:</b> (optional) <b>Pledge:</b> 200K Basic <b>Statement of writing goals:</b> (stories you want to write, things you want to improve, etc.)

Thank you for your pledge, and we can't wait to write with you in 2019!

This is the post to make a pledge to write 75K words in 2019. This word count goal was originally created for any members dealing with recurrent or chronic conditions (including illnesses that flare and mental illnesses) which impact their writing lives. Being the primary caregiver or working two jobs can also impact your writing life. You do not need to disclose any information about your situation, but if you feel you have a significant impact to the time you have available to write due to conditions entirely out of your control, this may be the pledge for you. If you have any questions about this pledge, you are more than welcome to confidentially talk to a moderator. We want to do what we can to continue to support writers and treat everyone with compassion.

For this pledge, the recommended pacing is:
• 6.25K words per month
• 205 words per day

You will not be able to change your pledge mid-year, so think carefully before pledging!


Signing up confirms that you have read the membership requirements for GYWO and your pledge, and understand that you will be required to check in monthly with your year-to-date word count.

Once you have pledged, please request to join the community. We will add everyone starting January 1.

Comments on this post are screened, but once you have been verified, you will be listed on the profile page under your pledge for 2019. If you have any questions, please ask on the Pledges & Requirements post.

Cut & Paste Pledge Form:
<b>Dreamwidth or OpenID:</b> <b>Livejournal:</b> (only if you want access to the mirror community) <b>Previous name:</b> (if you’ve changed usernames since last participating in GYWO) <b>Twitter:</b> (optional) <b>Tumblr:</b> (optional) <b>Birth Month:</b> (optional) <b>Pledge:</b> 75K Light <b>Statement of writing goals:</b> (stories you want to write, things you want to improve, etc.)

Thank you for your pledge, and we can't wait to write with you in 2019!

This is the post to make a pledge to write 240 days in 2019. This habit pledge is the equivalent of writing or working on writing tasks every day for eight months of the year, or writing most weekdays. That leaves plenty of time for life’s chaos and is still a major commitment to your writing life. If you have some unpredictability in your schedule, or if you have some planned vacations or absences, this may be the pledge for you.

For this pledge, the recommended pacing is:
• 20 days per month

You will not be able to change your pledge mid-year, so think carefully before pledging!


Signing up confirms that you have read the membership requirements for GYWO and your pledge, and understand that you will be required to check in monthly with your year-to-date day count.

Once you have pledged, please request to join the community. We will add everyone starting January 1.

Comments on this post are screened, but once you have been verified, you will be listed on the profile page under your pledge for 2019. If you have any questions, please ask on the Pledges & Requirements post.

Cut & Paste Pledge Form:
<b>Dreamwidth or OpenID:</b> <b>Livejournal:</b> (only if you want access to the mirror community) <b>Previous name:</b> (if you’ve changed usernames since last participating in GYWO) <b>Twitter:</b> (optional) <b>Tumblr:</b> (optional) <b>Birth Month:</b> (optional) <b>Pledge:</b> 240D Journeyman <b>Statement of writing goals:</b> (stories you want to write, things you want to improve, etc.)

Thank you for your pledge, and we can't wait to write with you in 2019!

With GYWO 2019 Sign-Ups opening next week, which pledge you're choosing is hopefully on your mind. Instead of letting everyone stew in their personal hells, we thought we'd run down a few of the common things the mods tell panicked participants, and then offer the comments section as an opportunity for members and future members to talk to each other about their concerns and hopefully help each other come to a pledging decision!

If you're new to GYWO and have a question related to our membership requirements, general guidelines, monthly check-ins, or what words or activities count, please visit our website. More information about pledging for 2019 will be released on Dec 14.

As a reminder, the GYWO pledges are:

• Word Count Pledges track a specific number of words you write—75K (Light), 150K (Modest), 200K (Basic), 250K (Moderate), 300K (Difficult), 350K (Insane), and 500K (Ludicrous)
• Habit Pledges track a specific number of days you write—120 Days (Apprentice), 240 Days (Journeyman), and 350 Days (Master)

Word Count Pledge Vs Habit Pledge

• If tracking your word count is stressful or confusing, try one of the Habit Pledges. You’ll only need to keep track of the number of days you write, instead of all those fiddly words.
• If you want to emphasize the habit of your writing life—encouraging yourself to write x-number of days a month or a week—a Habit Pledge might make more sense. With a Word Count Pledge, it’s easier to write in sustained sprints to reach your goal, but a Habit Pledge forces you to write more days than you might with a Word Count Pledge.
• If you are planning to have a year that focuses on revising or on planning stories, a Habit Pledge might be right for you. The Habit Pledges allow you to count days you work on recorded creative writing activities beyond drafting or revising, including outlining, written brainstorming, and completing world building or character sheets. The website has more details about the Habit Pledges and further explains what writing activities count toward this pledge.
• You could, potentially, miss a Habit Pledge by running out of days in the year. The highest Habit Pledge allows missing up to 15 days, which doesn’t give much wiggle room for accomplishing the pledge later in the year. The Word Count Pledges offer more flexibility since you can catch up at (nearly) any time.
• If you’re already consistent (and happy) with your writing habit, choose a Word Count Pledge to continue to challenge yourself and grow your writing life.
• While you must pick one pledge for GYWO, you can unofficially keep track of a secondary pledge. Your secondary pledge may give you information about choosing a pledge for a future year!

( Choosing a Habit Pledge )

( Choosing a Word Count Pledge )

The best advice we have is to look at your schedule and figure out where writing fits into it. List out the projects, ficathons, and stories you might write next year and consider the word tallies or time involved. Really think about what's motivating for you—knowing you'll hit a goal or chasing down the finish line.

In the comments, let us know your pledging woes! Wonder how difficult another pledge is? Still need clarity on the pledge types? This is your opportunity to ask about pledges. After some discussion, hopefully you'll come away with a confident decision.

Note: Commenting to this post does not constitute pledging for 2019. Come back on Dec 14 and follow the instructions in the Pledges & Requirements post to make a pledge for 2019.

We have now closed membership to this community for 2018. If you did not submit a completed pledge comment, you are not a member for 2018.

The GYWO moderators are thrilled to spend the next year writing with 477 writers.

Those who have come by too late, we appreciate your interest, and we hope that while you aren't able to join us officially, you'll make your own writing goals and achieve them. You’re welcome to subscribe to the community or follow us on gywo or gywo.

Have a great 2018!