Eric Christ's Blog
January 2, 2026
Tackling the 3/1/52 Challenge
A couple weeks ago, I learned via an article in Writer's Digest about Ray Bradbury's 3/1/52 challenge. As stated in the article, the challenge has two components:
I'm the type who ignores trendy challenges. But this one struck a chord. While a voracious reader, I've never been a prolific writer. I've quit on writing more than once and even when I am writing, I often go weeks or even months without writing a single blasted word. I think about writing all the time, but that and a dime won't get you squat. Ideas don't pay the bills.
The reading part shouldn't be a big deal. I've got a good dozen unread short story anthologies and collections sitting on a bookshelf, plus I had already decided to read the Horrors! 365 Scary Story anthology in 2026. Short stories are covered.
As for poetry, I don't read hardly anything. Just not a fan of the form. And for essays, I do read them in some magazines but don't seek them out.
So, I took a trip to the local library and found exactly what was needed: A poetry collection by Joyce Carol Oates and an anthology of 50 essays. Luckily, my library has additional books that should fill out the rest of the year.
So that's the reading part. A little bit of discipline and I expect to succeed on that front.
The writing part, well, ugh. I'm worried about that one. I've never even come remotely close to achieving that sort of pace. Failure seems highly plausible. But I'd rather try and fail than not try at all. Regardless, I think this experiment may help me discover why I don't write more often, or, and this may be far too high an expectation, maybe it will help me re-discover the love and passion I once had for writing.
I'll keep my blog updated with my progress and results. Thanks for reading.
read 3 short works every night (a poem, an essay, and a short story), AND
write 1 short story every week for 52 weeks.
I'm the type who ignores trendy challenges. But this one struck a chord. While a voracious reader, I've never been a prolific writer. I've quit on writing more than once and even when I am writing, I often go weeks or even months without writing a single blasted word. I think about writing all the time, but that and a dime won't get you squat. Ideas don't pay the bills.
The reading part shouldn't be a big deal. I've got a good dozen unread short story anthologies and collections sitting on a bookshelf, plus I had already decided to read the Horrors! 365 Scary Story anthology in 2026. Short stories are covered.
As for poetry, I don't read hardly anything. Just not a fan of the form. And for essays, I do read them in some magazines but don't seek them out.
So, I took a trip to the local library and found exactly what was needed: A poetry collection by Joyce Carol Oates and an anthology of 50 essays. Luckily, my library has additional books that should fill out the rest of the year.
So that's the reading part. A little bit of discipline and I expect to succeed on that front.
The writing part, well, ugh. I'm worried about that one. I've never even come remotely close to achieving that sort of pace. Failure seems highly plausible. But I'd rather try and fail than not try at all. Regardless, I think this experiment may help me discover why I don't write more often, or, and this may be far too high an expectation, maybe it will help me re-discover the love and passion I once had for writing.
I'll keep my blog updated with my progress and results. Thanks for reading.
