Entry tags:

writing

I wanted to write more than I did in 2008. So far, that hasn't happened (is it possible to be in the negative? YES.). I'm out of the habit of writing daily. Around me, a lot of people are focused on word count goals, but the more I think about goals the more I realize that I probably won't meet them—I set them too high and get discouraged, set them too low and don't feel challenged. I'm not in a place where a finish line is going to help me. I'm in a place where I need to work on starting (and also in a place where I need to give myself permission to suck), as per this: "The secret, if you can’t start, is to begin without constraints. Deliberately write badly, but write."

Therefore, I poked at a few ideas with owlmoose (communities, filters, etc.) and finally settled on Twitter. I have it; she has it. We can create a writing group there that doesn't focus on a word count, but instead focuses on just putting words down and talking about it in a hashtag that will create expectation. I'll be watching for her tweets on the subject; she'll be watching for mine. At the end of the week (or fortnight, or month) we can search for our hashtag and see our progress, laid out with little work on our part; after all, it's part of a service we're already using.

Meanwhile, open invitation to anyone looking to create a daily writing habit as we are. We're posting our writing-related tweets under #thewritestuff (hokey project name required). All are welcome!