In 1926 A.A. Milne wrote this in the book entitled – Winnie-the-Pooh:
Eeyore was saying to himself, “ This writing business. Pencils and what-not. Over-rated, if you ask me. Silly stuff. Nothing in it.”
When I was a little girl I used to love Winnie-the-Pooh and in particular I cherished the character of Eeyore, with all of his doom and gloom and nailed on tail. There was just something about him that was special and always seemed to catch my attention. Whenever a Winnie-the-Pooh television special would air, I would beg my parents to allow me to stay up late and watch. I loved being transported into the magical world of Pooh, Owl, Piglet and more. As I grew up, something else that I came to love was reading and eventually the art of writing. I can still remember an early Saturday morning when I first recognized that I could read. It was a in a Dr. Suess book that had come home from the school library during my Grade One year. Oh, what a spectacular feeling it was when all of the letters on the page transformed into something that I could truly understand. Letters, which became words suddenly made complete sense to my six-year-old mind. I remember waking my Dad up on that early weekend morning and telling him “I can read; I really can read”. Later, in my elementary school years I became known as the girl who loved to work on school projects that involved writing, especially if they were detailed. Whenever there was an opportunity to dive into something that was of interest to me, I would get lost in my love for whatever I was learning at that moment. How I enjoyed using my writing skills to work on the items that I handed in to my teachers for marking. Often I would challenge myself to write more than anyone else in the class; simply because I so loved the creative process of writing.
With such a love of the written word in my past, it is strange how in recent years I could have somehow lost touch with it. Nevertheless, as I wrote about in an earlier post this week, that is exactly what happened. Luckily though, I have come to recognize that my lack of writing has left a void in my life on many levels.
Last week, I had an email exchange with Chris Brogan, a well-known blogger whom I both respect and appreciate. Chris suggested that I commit to writing 500 words per day for the first six months of 2012 and that in doing so perhaps there might just be a book that could come out of me. I have really thought about his advice and have realized that the suggestion is likely a good one for me to move forward with. While 500 words a day might seem like a lot; the reality is that it is just enough to ensure I focus and really push myself to commit to the process of writing. Is there a book in me? Perhaps. Are there blog posts in me? Definitely. Do I have thoughts to share? For sure. So moving forward, writing is what I will be doing. I won’t always post items daily, but I will write 500 words a day; whenever and however I can. I will work hard to ensure I don’t let excuses get in the way of the process of getting the thoughts out of my head and onto paper (or the computer screen).
Despite my childhood love of Eeyore, I can now say that perhaps he was just a little wrong on one important point. This thing of writing is far more that just silly stuff; there is in fact an awful lot in it.
Do you love to write? How do you make sure that you commit to the process of writing?
I had a convo about writing recently with Chris. I’ve always loved writing too, but my inner critic was so great for so may years I would constantly censor what I wrote, to the point that it was not fun. I’m working on that now. I have a secret space online where I write free flow everyday (well,not so secret now! 🙂 It is helping me tap in to my creative side and learn to be a little more “free” with myself. I love that you’re doing this, and I can’t wait to read your book one day 🙂
PS. Chris and I are traveling on a train right now, he read your post and said “I’m so glad she’s doing it and going for it.” 😉 xox
Hi there,
Thanks so much for your kind words. I so hear you…that inner critic can be really strong. I have been working hard to get past it on multiple levels over the last few months. There is always work to do…but as I gain confidence I am increasingly able to push through those tough moments that hold me back (sound a bit like “The Flinch”?) Good for you for also writing free flow each day, I bet it will help you in a lot of ways as well. So appreciate your support…perhaps I will move on to yoga next 🙂 Please do tell Chris thanks as well!
Jane
I honor my commitment to myself (and others) by forcing myself to write every day. I don’t always hit the publish button, but I still write.
Right now, I have 3 commitments to new content on the following sites:
1.) My company blog. I usually publish 2-4 times per week.
2.) My personal blog. Sometimes I publish 1-2 times per week and at other times, more.
3.) My membership site. I publish 1,000 – 2,000 words per week on Monday’s.
Sometimes, it’s overwhelming, or at least I feel overwhelmed. Other times, it comes out easy. I guess it just depends. I field questions based on what people are asking me. And, I try and write a list of potential post titles every day. This way, it’s like an idea bank that I can just dig into to find something to talk about.
When I’m stuck, i pace around and read out-loud until the idea I KNOW is sitting in my head, starts to formulate into writing. Anyway, ultimately I agree with your approach… Writing, just a little bit each and every day is going to jump-start your output!
P.S. Great to meet you during blogchat!
It was great to meet you during #blogchat! Thank you so much for your comment. You have so many great tips and strategies that you use. Writing is such a gift…both for the writer and the readers. I love the idea of writing out post titles daily. I often have a running list of them and find that it really helps. I also find that the more I write the more I want to write. It just comes easier everyday. I also find that if I try to “make” the time to write that doesn’t happen – so instead I just write whenever I can…which now means multiple times each day I somehow am drawn back to my computer. At night, I often take a notebook to bed and just jot thoughts down as well before I go to sleep. It all helps. Honestly, I find such joy in expressing my thoughts, especially when I know that other people make a connection with what I am writing about.
Thanks again! Look forward to more chatting during #blogchat!