750words.com
Some of you may have noticed that recently I have been writing a little more. Still not getting around to commenting or answering people, but that's the trade-off. I tend to find I just don't quite manage read, write, and comment.
What has gotten me writing again is that back in October I joined 750words.com. It's a site where your goal is simple - to write 750 words a day. They don't have to be about anything, you can just rant, talk about your day, note down ideas or jobs, whatever.
I've been struggling to get writing again, and on a whim tried it out. And it's worked really well. Most days I just write stream of consciousness stuff. But every now and then I'll morph some of that into a new piece of fiction, or an article.
It's taken a lot of the pressure off me that was stopping me before I started. Previously if I wanted to write something for here, or try to get going on a new piece of fiction, I'd go at it in fits and starts and give up. Health issues, the kids, trying to get housework done, it all got in the way. Now I write as much as I feel like, digress off to theorise about this, rant about that, make a list of jobs I've done for the day, and wonder at the beauty that awaits me every time I look in the mirror.
I don't have to get a story or article finished. I just have to get to my 750 words, and that feels wonderful to do. Sometimes I struggle to find the words at all, but it's amazing how blathering on about your day will give you fresh insights. And of course, I'm sure I'm not the only one who occasionally writes something like, "Oh, at 710 words, and I've run out of things to write about. I really am drawing a blank. Damn. How many to go now? 733? Oh poo. Come on, I just want to finish now..." and so on. That's the beauty of it, none of it matters, you just have to write.
I've written 50,000 words since I began. Probably 45,000 of that is crap that no one will ever see, but still, I've written 50,000 words! I've missed days for one reason and another, but at this point I've written a minimum of 750 words a day for 29 days straight.
And I'm feeling really good about that.
If it's the sort of thing you think might appeal to you, or might help you as it's helped me, give it a look!
(I'd already done my quota for today in the wee hours of this morning when I wrote the first draft of an 800 word short story, and I just finished writing this post in it as well, bringing me up to 1300 words so far today.)
What has gotten me writing again is that back in October I joined 750words.com. It's a site where your goal is simple - to write 750 words a day. They don't have to be about anything, you can just rant, talk about your day, note down ideas or jobs, whatever.
I've been struggling to get writing again, and on a whim tried it out. And it's worked really well. Most days I just write stream of consciousness stuff. But every now and then I'll morph some of that into a new piece of fiction, or an article.
It's taken a lot of the pressure off me that was stopping me before I started. Previously if I wanted to write something for here, or try to get going on a new piece of fiction, I'd go at it in fits and starts and give up. Health issues, the kids, trying to get housework done, it all got in the way. Now I write as much as I feel like, digress off to theorise about this, rant about that, make a list of jobs I've done for the day, and wonder at the beauty that awaits me every time I look in the mirror.
I don't have to get a story or article finished. I just have to get to my 750 words, and that feels wonderful to do. Sometimes I struggle to find the words at all, but it's amazing how blathering on about your day will give you fresh insights. And of course, I'm sure I'm not the only one who occasionally writes something like, "Oh, at 710 words, and I've run out of things to write about. I really am drawing a blank. Damn. How many to go now? 733? Oh poo. Come on, I just want to finish now..." and so on. That's the beauty of it, none of it matters, you just have to write.
I've written 50,000 words since I began. Probably 45,000 of that is crap that no one will ever see, but still, I've written 50,000 words! I've missed days for one reason and another, but at this point I've written a minimum of 750 words a day for 29 days straight.
And I'm feeling really good about that.
If it's the sort of thing you think might appeal to you, or might help you as it's helped me, give it a look!
(I'd already done my quota for today in the wee hours of this morning when I wrote the first draft of an 800 word short story, and I just finished writing this post in it as well, bringing me up to 1300 words so far today.)