An Overview of the Slice of Life Story Challenge #SOL24

We will host the 17th Annual Slice of Life Story Challenge at Two Writing Teachers this March. Since 2008, the challenge’s mission has remained the same: to support teachers who want to write daily. Teachers who write regularly can better support the students they teach in writing workshops daily.

The Slice of Life Story Challenge, or SOLSC, encourages writers to create a story that captures a realistic and relatable moment from everyday life. Slice-of-life stories are compelling narratives that resonate with readers by capturing the essence of ordinary human experiences. Writers participating in the SOLSC may explore themes such as family dynamics, teaching, or mundane activities like cooking, commuting, or a simple conversation between friends. The key is infusing the story with authenticity and relatability, allowing readers to connect with you and find meaning in the ordinary.

The Slice of Life Story Challenge can be valuable for participants to improve their ability to observe and describe the world around them and develop their writing and feedback skills since commenting is a vital part of the SOLSC.

The Basics

Here’s how commenting works in the challenge:

1. Submit Your Writing: Writers participating in the challenge submit their slice-of-life story by leaving a comment on the “daily call for slice-of-life stories” on Two Writing Teachers. The daily call is posted at 12:01 AM Eastern Time daily in March.
2. Read Through the Teasers: Participants in the challenge read through the teasers to see which blog posts they want to read each day.  
3. Comment and Interact with Other Slicers: After reading a slice-of-life story, readers can leave comments on each other’s blogs by sharing their thoughts or discussing something with the author or other commenters. You can read through your comments and engage in a dialogue with other Slicers on your own blog. 
4. Build and Support the Community: Commenting creates a sense of community among the challenge participants. By actively engaging with each other’s work, writers can support and encourage one another throughout the month.

Across the next few weeks, our co-authors will provide additional information regarding the Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOLSC). Here is some basic info for our March writing challenge to get you started.

Use a Consistent Username Throughout March

To ensure smooth commenting during March, please use the same username/email for all your comments. This will decrease the likelihood that the system will mark your comment/link as spam. Here are some tips:

• A WordPress username will make posting comments on Two Writing Teachers quicker and easier.
• You can sign up for a WordPress username even if you don’t have a WordPress blog.
• To locate your WordPress username, click on your profile picture in one of the corners of the screen or access the “Profile” option in the WordPress Admin Menu. Your WordPress profile will display your username.

Share the Permalink to Your Post

• To share your daily story, copy and paste your post’s URL into the comment section of our daily call for slices. Share the URL of your post, not your entire website, for easy access.
• Include a short teaser with your permalink, but avoid adding images in the comment section. Instead of hitting enter, use a colon or a space to separate your teaser from the link to prevent post previews that can hinder site navigation.
  • Click here for a short tutorial to help you find your permalink and link your slice-of-life story to this post.
• The comment section closes at 11:59 EST each day. If you’re in a different time zone, post your stories on the most current call for slices, even if it’s technically a different day where you are.

Comment Guidelines

We reserve the right to delete comments that fall into the following categories:

• Self-Promotion: Avoid using your comment or blog link for self-promotion. The comment section is for sharing stories from participants’ lives, not solely promoting your blog.
• Linking and Running: When sharing your Slice, please comment on at least three other Slice of Life stories. Comments are vital to this community. If you link early in the morning, remember to return later and leave three comments.
• Spam: Spam includes copying and pasting comments across different posts or leaving messages like “Nice post. Visit my blog at…” 

Adults Only in the Individual Challenge

• The individual challenge is open to educators at any stage of their career.
• If you have a child or student you want to involve, they can join the 12th Annual Classroom Slice of Life Story Challenge in April. 
• The Classroom Slice of Life Story Challenge is specifically for students aged 18 & under. Participants not part of a classroom community need an adult sponsor and reader to participate. The adult sponsor should leave the link to their child’s or student’s daily slice of life post on their behalf.
• Look out for a post by Leah Koch about the Classroom SOLSC on Wednesday, January 10.

Questions

• Each participant will be assigned a “concierge” from our team who can assist with SOLSC-related inquiries.
• For specific questions, please direct them to the appropriate co-author.
• Individual:
  • If your last name begins with the letters A – F, please email questions to Betsy Hubbard at betsymhubbard[at]gmail.com. 
  • If your last name begins with the letters G – K, please email questions to Jenna Komarin at Jennakomarin[at]gmail.com. 
  • If your last name begins with the letters L – P, please email questions to Lainie Levin at lainlev72[at]gmail.com.
  • If your last name begins with the letters Q – U, please email questions to Stacey Shubitz at stacey[at]staceyshubitz.com. 
  • If your last name begins with the letters V – Z, please email questions to Sarah Valter at sarahvalterreads[at]gmail.com.
• Classroom:
  • If your last name begins with the letters A -L, please email questions to Leah Koch at Leah.koch7[at]gmail.com.
  • If your last name begins with the letters M – Z, please email questions to Melanie Meehan at meehanmelanie[at]gmail.com.

Troubleshooting:

Suppose you encounter any issues related to non-working links, problems with your permalink, or a permalink leaving an image in the comment section. In that case, a member of our Slicer Troubleshooting Team will support you. Our team comprises four seasoned Slicers: Glenda Funk, Fran McCrackin, Joanne Toft, and Peter von Euler. 

Note About Our Website and Spam:

Occasionally, comments from participants may be marked as spam by WordPress.

• Due to a high volume of spam comments, it becomes challenging for our team to identify genuine comments in the spam folder. Please contact your assigned concierge if you believe your comment went to our spam folder during the March challenge. When contacting us, include the approximate time you posted your comment.
• Leaving multiple comments in a day may increase the chances of WordPress flagging them as spam.

Finding the Time to Write When You Don’t Think You Can…

When you write, lower your standsrds: “show up,” get the words down, write rapidly, and change nothing.

Donald Graves, 1994, pg. 281