Last summer (yes, there is still such a thing), I started what I thought would be an interesting exercise, the Monthly Wine Writing Challenge. The idea was rather simple: write a post that was at least tangentially related to wine around a predetermined theme. The impetus for starting the challenge was rather self-serving, I guess: I felt that I was falling into a bit of a rut with my wine writing and I looked for some motivation to break out of the routine of tasting note after boring tasting note.

Most people prefer to have company when they try to break out of their comfort zone, so I thought I would enlist the very talented blogging community to come along. Initially, the response was small in number (the first challenge received eight submissions), but it has grown rather steadily since then: there were a combined 47 submissions over the last two months.

The winner each month is then responsible for both choosing the following month’s theme as well as hosting the event on their blog. Last month’s winner, The Sweet Sommelier, selected “Luck” as this month’s theme with the following relevant dates:

Deadline for submission: Sunday, March 22, 2014
Voting Begins: Monday, March 23, 2014
Voting Ends: Monday, March 30, 2014
Winner Announced: Tuesday, March 31, 2014 

There are no real rules concerning the content of the submissions: fiction, non-fiction, wine reviews, life stories, I guess even photography (although since it is technically a Wine Writing Challenge, there should probably be some text at least).

You also include a link to either The Sweet Sommelier or to this blog, and it would be helpful if somewhere in your post #MWWC8. All are welcome to submit, even if you do not consider yourself a “wine blogger.” Heck, even if you do not have a blog, but would like to submit, just let me know and I will make sure you get in!

Whatever you choose, the process should challenge you to expand your writing, to go a bit outside of your comfort zone. After all, it is not called the “Monthly Wine Writing Just Do What You Always Do Competition.”

So get to your keyboard and get writing!