I seem to have more reasons NOT to write than to do the work that will get me the only thing I’ve every truly wanted (to be a writer, in case that wasn’t clear). Every day it’s like pulling teeth to get myself to sit down at my computer and put hands to keyboard.
And I’ve tried everything.
Well, as much of everything as I could think of anyway. I’ve written in notebooks, tested various plotting methods, used habit trackers, and even sent work to loved ones for encouragement. Short of cutting a check and telling someone to cash it if I don’t send them my manuscript in X number of days (which I wouldn’t do because there’s no one I could trust enough to either not cash it if I did send the manuscript or to cash it if I didn’t), I haven’t been able to get myself to write more than a page of screenplay a day for a month at a time.
Which, to be perfectly honest just isn’t enough if you want to cut it as a full-time, real deal, big league writer.
And so I’m starting this blog where I absolutely, no questions asked, have to write and publish something (literally, anything written whether it’s a single sentence or the recipe for the meal I tried) every weekday from now until at least the end of the year.
Is it ironic to start a blog you have to write when you claim you can’t get yourself to actually write? Now that you mention it, probably, but I’ve never claimed to be anything but crazy.
Thing is, I seem to be able to get myself to write something when there’s a publish button involved—even if no one besides my mom reads it. I figure I’ll get to the end of my excuses eventually (hopefully) and tire myself out enough that I’ll have to work on my novel/screenplay/whatever idea I have next.
Hell, I might even learn something about myself in the process. Either way, I’ll have to write something and that’s the kind of training I need if I’m ever going to break in my writing muscles and take steps toward my dream.
And as for you? Well, I believe the secret to writing (and maybe, possibly life) is to get to know yourself better. Not just the obvious. Do you like to write in the morning or night? What motivates you? What do you like to read? But the less-than-obvious too.
The more you know about yourself—what you like, how you work best, what to do when you don’t feel like working, etc—the more likely you are to be able to pull yourself together when things get rough and the more enjoyable the good times will be.
I’ve found my way to myself through writing and by studying other books and other people (though, admittedly, I’m still learning). If it were up to me, this blog will not just entertain you, but help you discover something in yourself worth fighting for along the way.
(# Of words I wrote for my manuscript today: 303)