My phone was faulty on Sunday. For the day I thought I would go phone less. But it was a minor software issue. The phone repairer fixed it by flashing my phone.
Lessons after 30 days of writing?
Writing for thirty minutes everyday is really good. I have learnt a lot and made some mistakes.
After thirty days I wrote a total of 14,580 words . Well the word count was not part of the goal. But it is a great bonus.
How many days did you miss?
I missed a total of seven days.
Doing this challenge I learnt a couple of things.
Set a time for writing. Preferably in the morning. I find that when I write in the morning from 5:00 to 5:30 am there’s that sense of accomplishment I carry throughout the day.
On the other hand, when I write in the evening all through the day the idea haunts me and sometimes when I am really tired to the extent that I sit on the bed and sleep off.
Well, do what works for you. This is the whole point of the challenge to get to understand yourself. Know what to change and optimize.
Use a writing tracker.
When I started this challenge Quinthirty. I didn’t want to make it complex or complicated. I write in Google docs everyday and I write the date as the title of the writing of the day.
There are so many ways I can do this. I can use a calendar 📅 and Mark X on the days. At first when you start it is going to be a lonely x buy after five days a chain starts forming.
The rule is do not break a chain
And if you ever break a chain don’t break it twice.
Another option would be to use a paper that is custom made with boxes for days and put on the wall.
Another option would be to take a page in your journal and rule with boxes to make a tracker you cross every day you write.
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My writing Tracker |
Finally if you like digital there are many free digital apps out there that will help you track the habit with whistles and bells and it displays on your home screen.
The whole idea is to see it so you don’t want to break the chain.
Why I did the challenge
I wrote to get back into the flow of writing consistently and to create time for all my writing goals.
It is easy to set goals on writing but nothing will happen if there’s no time for you to write. The poem and story won’t write itself.
Also to create a habit of writing on which I can build every other thing.
I did not obsess over creating great work, I just showed up and wrote my nonsense.
Have works to send for feedback.
The goal is not to get published. That’s for me . Yours could be different. The goal is to have something to send and give editors for feedback.
Notice I didn’t obsess over creating a great work because I don’t want to create a great work by luck. I want to understand what goes into the making of great writing.
I want to feel it.
Well the feedback would be pouring in.
The Missing link
I don’t know if when you write you feel as though something was missing in your writing.
When I write I know something is missing because something is missing no doubt.
When I write consistently I feel that there’s something I am not doing to give a meaning to this writing.
Boom! I realize now it is working on “standard’ weekly projects .
I have no idea what that means.
Like other crafts people work on projects to practice and become better. It gave meaning to the work.
While painters learn to paint they get better when they paint projects.
Same with singers while they rehearse and practice they also get to perform work on projects.
This is the missing meaning for me
Moving forward.
I will be writing for fifteen minutes instead of thirty minutes.
Also I will be working on weekly projects starting next week.
If you have ideas for weekly projects. Reply this message
Quote of the week
I only write when I’m inspired, so I see to it that I’m inspired every morning at nine o’clock.” ~ Peter De Vries
Until next week keep writing
PS
Mechi “Project Manager