I’m a quarter of the way through my latest Quest: 100 places, 300 pages. I described what I’m up to here. Now for a few highlights and learnings, captured along the way.

1) It takes me a leisurely 30 minutes to write my 3 pages (unless I’m sat on a bench, in an area that is high-density-dogs. Always stop what you’re doing to love a dog!) This has been a wonderful balance of highly doable and rewarding.

2) 4 of my Quests took place in my own home, and were still super fun and interesting to do. It was a whole new way of seeing things right under my nose.

3) I LOVE the construct of describing what I can sense (see, hear, smell) for 2 pages. Then switching it up for the final page to stretch out with a different point of view.

4) Experimenting with point-of-view, in this way, is a rich experiment. For example, I’ve done it through the eyes of: a pigeon, a potential house buyer, a traffic warden, and someone who knows they only have 2 days left to live.

5) It’s such a good excuse to have a slightly weird adventure—I did one sat in an IKEA showroom.

6) If you’re feeling like, huh, not sure I understand this point-of-view thing…here’s an example from said IKEA fake room.

1^st line from the 2-page description:

This room is a concoction of greens.

1^st line from the point-of-view switch:

She couldn’t marry a man who wanted a living room like this—sitting in the wingback chair while she sat on the sofa, with only pillows for friends.

Description sensed by me > place as described by a particular person

7) I have never once felt lonely doing a Quest. I feel an intense connection to my surroundings, and it’s really fun.

8) There’s also nothing to stop you adventuring with someone else. As described here, I invited my husband to come along for my Amazon warehouse visit.

9) Maybe don’t write in red pen. 3 pages of this is quite hard to read!

10) It continues to shock me how much of a difference this small amount of time makes to how alive I feel. How it changes my lens on the world: I am noticing so many more visual details. Quests are literally the best. I’m excited for my next 25!

If you want help designing a Quest that suits you, you can find me here.