Saturday, December 4, 2010

Writing at 750 Words

One of the blogs I read talks reasonably often about a site she uses just to write a private journal and finally after reading several people's views about how wonderful it is, I decided to try it out.  The site is http://750words.com/ and I joined (it is free, by the way) 8 days ago.  So far, I've written 750 words each and every day.  I know that the site is probably geared primarily for "real" authors trying to complete a book, and I remember in a writing class I took years ago we were encouraged to write three pages (750 words) each and every day and that it didn't matter what we wrote as long as we wrote.  So I think this site is of the same mindset.  One of the nice things about it is that I know that no matter what I write, it won't "go public" as it were unless I copy it and paste it into say blogger (and my yoga posts were first written on 750 Words and then revised into my blog entries).  This morning when I was trying to make a note on Facebook I thought it was still in the draft state, but all of a sudden it was posted and I then had to edit it quickly.  That can't happen, thankfully, in 750 words as those words are guaranteed to be private.


I'm not just sure what I will do with this site.  So far I've used it to think out blog posts or just to sort through emotions.  My therapist suggested yesterday that I write letters to both Eric and Pamela (my adult children for those who haven't been following me long), and write the letters that I wish I could write, expressing my real and honest feelings, but letters which I can't send.  I did that yesterday and today and I do think it has helped me to get those feelings out and down on paper, so to speak.  This time of year is never easy for me, and that was a good therapeutic move.


The site is very fun though.  I signed up for the December challenge, to write each and every day without missing.  I get a daily e-mail reminder at a time I pick (10AM), and it gives me encouragement and also lets me know how the monthly challenge is progressing.  As of today, 922 people signed up for the challenge, but only 573 are still in the running, so I am glad to be one of those.  They award cute "badges" for various things, such as consecutive days writing, and at the moment I have a penguin badge for 5 days, and in another couple days, I hope to earn a flamingo for 10 days.  If you sign up for the challenge and then miss a day you go on the wall for misses and you have to wait until the next month to "redeem" yourself.


I don't know where my daily writing will lead if anywhere.  I've thought about a book, but I have no real ideas about that.  Maybe it is just a way for me to write more, since writing is something I really do enjoy doing.  But if any of you out there are writers or aspiring writers, I can really recommend this site as it is encouraging, fun, and very supportive.  That I think is enough writing for today!

2 comments:

  1. That sounds like a very useful website, Daphne. Thanks for sharing it. I plan to start using it after the holidays.

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  2. Thanks, Lydia, and I'm really finding that the site is wonderful. Some days I write for my blog, and other days I write to honor whatever I'm feeling or doing, but it is wonderful. I'm single, so I don't necessarily have anyone, other than my pets, to share thoughts with and I am finding that writing in the morning really sets my day up well. I hope you will enjoy it if you decide to give it a try. Cheers,

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