Generally Overcast

Days are blurring, weather is dull, I’m in the grind, in a dip and it’s hard going. These are the times when it’d be easy to fold but that’s not for me so I’ll keep chugging away until I come out of the clouds. I need to get back into my routines of exercise, eating properly and taking time out to think, they’ve all been neglected during these past hectic weeks. One thing I am hanging onto however is my determination to become a better writer by writing something everyday I’d like it to be on this blog but I’m not yet at the level where I can find something everyday that is of a high enough standar for me to post publicly. I am however doing a free writing exercise every day. This just involves a ‘brain dump’, writing down all the thoughts that come into your head and seeing where they take you. I’m finding it really therapeutic and enjoyable and sometimes the exercise even results in some stuff I’d be happy to share! Mainly though it’s private and personal and that’s how it should be.

I’ve discovered a really cool website that helps keep me on track and incentivised to write everyday. Its called 750words.com and here’s how the owner Buster Benson describes it:

I’ve long been inspired by an idea I first learned about in The Artist’s Way called morning pages. Morning pages are three pages of writing done every day, typically encouraged to be in “long hand”, typically done in the morning, that can be about anything and everything that comes into your head. It’s about getting it all out of your head, and is not supposed to be edited or censored in any way. The idea is that if you can get in the habit of writing three pages a day, that it will help clear your mind and get the ideas flowing for the rest of the day. Unlike many of the other exercises in that book, I found that this one actually worked and was really really useful.

I’ve used the exercise as a great way to think out loud without having to worry about half-formed ideas, random tangents, private stuff, and all the other things in our heads that we often filter out before ever voicing them or writing about them. It’s a daily brain dump. Over time, I’ve found that it’s also very helpful as a tool to get thoughts going that have become stuck, or to help get to the bottom of a rotten mood.

Three pages of writing is considered to be 750 words hence the site title. The site gives you lots of stats about your writing, little reward badges and challenges like writing everyday for a month or having your name appear on a ‘wall of shame’. Check it out and give it a go.

750 WORDS.COM