Hi friends. Today we will write 1000 words. Because we are trying to make positive decisions in our lives, and writing these words is always a good use of our time. When I sit down at my desk I have only two choices: to not write, or to write. Either leave the page untouched, or fill it with everything in my mind and heart. Either ignore my brain or listen to what it has to say. Nothing bad happens if I don’t write, it’s true. I’ll never make a mistake that I’ll eventually have to fix. I’ll never feel risky or nervous. But nothing good happens either. I’ll never get to that full feeling. I’ll never get to that joyous place. I choose to strive, to try and achieve something just for me. So I choose to write.
Today’s was journaling, and some useful insights - however I have kept a diary for a very long time and am aware I often use it as sheer avoidance. So I am diving right back in to do a more creative 1,000-word freewrite on the word choice, just casting it like a die to see what comes up. Looking forward to seeing where that goes.
Thanks again! Wrote for at least an hr today, and was again impressed by how the community helps to just have the push to get to a 1000 words. Still more journaling, but got to a point where I was reminded of this quote: "Do the thing you think you cannot do." (Eleanor Roosevelt). It reminded me that the thing that I think I cannot do is writing, because it is the very thing I want to do in my heart. 1042 words. Curious to see how tomorrow goes, given it will be a full work weekday.
Wrote for hours today! 1pm-7:30pm except for one hour to walk with my sweetheart. About 800 words in the notebook, and 2,189 on the document. A lot of these were notes, assignments to myself stuck in the outline so I can get right to it next session. I also wrote some of the backstory of the year prior to the book, so I could pull into focus the state of the main character's grief and what she is seeking as the book opens. I researched African violets, women's names, rituals for the full moon. It was a very good day.
1323 for me today. Found some footing on a memoir I've been scrapping together bit by bit. The writing definitely went places I hadn't been before which is nice. Think I may stick with it and revise and extend/continue on with it tomorrow...maybe I can add another 1000? Who knows
I don't have an exact word count, but yesterday and today I revised a short story and sent it to my fiction writing group. I also am using this challenge to restart my practice of free writing in my notebook every morning before even looking at my phone (I'm allowed to get coffee first, though😉)
1173 words today, 1300 yesterday. I appreciate the prompt to have a character make a choice. I am using this challenge to write my way into a story and giving her a choice, an impossible one at that, really helped me find direction and some fresh ideas.
1100 words written today. My character made a choice to help someone, but it requires him to lie. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I worry that it may make him less likeable. We'll see after 1000 words tomorrow.
My goal for this week was to revisits and edit my short story collection and polish it for publication. Since that involves more re-writing and revision than generating 1000+ words per day, I’m allowing myself 45 minutes first to write in my journal, which I normally do daily as much as I like, and sorely miss if I don’t. Putting a time limit on unstructured writing before digging back into more formal writing is having an extremely positive effect on the revision process! Thanks, as always, Jami ♥️
Today was fun, thanks for the prompt, Jami! My character chose a new vintage coat, to go a different direction, and to trust her instincts and ask a hard question. I love what you wrote: "Nothing bad happens if I don't write, it's true.... but nothing good happens, either. I'll never get to that full feeling. I'll never get to that joyous place." Same! #1705 words
1533 words for me today, written while keeping an ear out for my husband with food poisoning. I had planned to use this time to outline a book about my father or to write a personal essay. Today I managed to get sort of a "why" for the book into better form, as an introduction. It's not a true outline, but gives the project a shape. I have a sense now of what needs to be researched, and where. I even dug in a little to some research, finding a memo from 1986 my father wrote to his staff. God bless the interwebs, you never know what you'll find here.
Thanks, Jami. My characters have made a number of bad choices--I mean, without them, would there be a story? Much respect for the many, many bad choices your characters made in your All This Could be Yours; that's one of my markers for, just allowing your characters to do no-no! things. I mean, on a good writing day, I couldn't stop them. So, right now, I am choosing to sit in the seat and turn on the computer. I'll see where I am in a couple of hours. Envisioning productive writing days for this community!
1079 words, about half of which finished a (VERY) rough draft of a personal essay I started a few years ago, the other half of which started an essay whose outline I jotted out a few days ago.
1200 words today. I tried writing in the POV of one of my novel's secondary characters, taking a specific scene from my book and writing it from their perspective. It's kind of amazing the cool ideas that came out. Potentially a new direction; certainly a deeper understanding of this character's motivation. This is work I need to do as I prepare to tackle the heavy edit of my book. Thank you, mini 1000!
1721 words today! Assisted in part by a draft I began via voice memo and then used the Transcribe app to convert to text. Not sure how others feel about this, but it really helps me with my writing goal this year, which is to capture my thoughts with a more conversational tone, and more clarity and brevity (I can be *too* wordy when I rely on typing alone). And to be able to “write” while walking outside, to capture what little sunlight we get in the Northern Hemisphere at this time of year.
1008 today in novel revisions!
Today’s was journaling, and some useful insights - however I have kept a diary for a very long time and am aware I often use it as sheer avoidance. So I am diving right back in to do a more creative 1,000-word freewrite on the word choice, just casting it like a die to see what comes up. Looking forward to seeing where that goes.
Thanks again! Wrote for at least an hr today, and was again impressed by how the community helps to just have the push to get to a 1000 words. Still more journaling, but got to a point where I was reminded of this quote: "Do the thing you think you cannot do." (Eleanor Roosevelt). It reminded me that the thing that I think I cannot do is writing, because it is the very thing I want to do in my heart. 1042 words. Curious to see how tomorrow goes, given it will be a full work weekday.
Wrote for hours today! 1pm-7:30pm except for one hour to walk with my sweetheart. About 800 words in the notebook, and 2,189 on the document. A lot of these were notes, assignments to myself stuck in the outline so I can get right to it next session. I also wrote some of the backstory of the year prior to the book, so I could pull into focus the state of the main character's grief and what she is seeking as the book opens. I researched African violets, women's names, rituals for the full moon. It was a very good day.
1323 for me today. Found some footing on a memoir I've been scrapping together bit by bit. The writing definitely went places I hadn't been before which is nice. Think I may stick with it and revise and extend/continue on with it tomorrow...maybe I can add another 1000? Who knows
PS regarding choices. In my revisions I had the protagonist reconsider some of her choices and whether she may have been wrong
I don't have an exact word count, but yesterday and today I revised a short story and sent it to my fiction writing group. I also am using this challenge to restart my practice of free writing in my notebook every morning before even looking at my phone (I'm allowed to get coffee first, though😉)
1173 words today, 1300 yesterday. I appreciate the prompt to have a character make a choice. I am using this challenge to write my way into a story and giving her a choice, an impossible one at that, really helped me find direction and some fresh ideas.
1100 words written today. My character made a choice to help someone, but it requires him to lie. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I worry that it may make him less likeable. We'll see after 1000 words tomorrow.
Good luck to everyone.
My goal for this week was to revisits and edit my short story collection and polish it for publication. Since that involves more re-writing and revision than generating 1000+ words per day, I’m allowing myself 45 minutes first to write in my journal, which I normally do daily as much as I like, and sorely miss if I don’t. Putting a time limit on unstructured writing before digging back into more formal writing is having an extremely positive effect on the revision process! Thanks, as always, Jami ♥️
Today was fun, thanks for the prompt, Jami! My character chose a new vintage coat, to go a different direction, and to trust her instincts and ask a hard question. I love what you wrote: "Nothing bad happens if I don't write, it's true.... but nothing good happens, either. I'll never get to that full feeling. I'll never get to that joyous place." Same! #1705 words
1533 words for me today, written while keeping an ear out for my husband with food poisoning. I had planned to use this time to outline a book about my father or to write a personal essay. Today I managed to get sort of a "why" for the book into better form, as an introduction. It's not a true outline, but gives the project a shape. I have a sense now of what needs to be researched, and where. I even dug in a little to some research, finding a memo from 1986 my father wrote to his staff. God bless the interwebs, you never know what you'll find here.
Thanks, Jami. My characters have made a number of bad choices--I mean, without them, would there be a story? Much respect for the many, many bad choices your characters made in your All This Could be Yours; that's one of my markers for, just allowing your characters to do no-no! things. I mean, on a good writing day, I couldn't stop them. So, right now, I am choosing to sit in the seat and turn on the computer. I'll see where I am in a couple of hours. Envisioning productive writing days for this community!
1079 words, about half of which finished a (VERY) rough draft of a personal essay I started a few years ago, the other half of which started an essay whose outline I jotted out a few days ago.
1200 words today. I tried writing in the POV of one of my novel's secondary characters, taking a specific scene from my book and writing it from their perspective. It's kind of amazing the cool ideas that came out. Potentially a new direction; certainly a deeper understanding of this character's motivation. This is work I need to do as I prepare to tackle the heavy edit of my book. Thank you, mini 1000!
1721 words today! Assisted in part by a draft I began via voice memo and then used the Transcribe app to convert to text. Not sure how others feel about this, but it really helps me with my writing goal this year, which is to capture my thoughts with a more conversational tone, and more clarity and brevity (I can be *too* wordy when I rely on typing alone). And to be able to “write” while walking outside, to capture what little sunlight we get in the Northern Hemisphere at this time of year.