write daily

I’ve only missed two days: December 4 & October 30 since this streak began on October 11. That’s 62/64 days for those of you keeping score at home. I’ve set an alarm on my phone to go off at 9:45 pm to remind me to write something for the day. This has been very useful on days when I otherwise would have shrugged it off.

If I can keep up this streak for six months, I will consider this goal complete. If my average days of writing stays above 95% through April 11, 2010, then I’ll check off this goal as finished.

Over the last week, I’ve taken time to write down what I consider my “daily inspiration” – the one thing that has spurred my creative spirit that day more than anything else. Tying these two goals together has really been beneficial. Recording inspiration is a natural way to start a journal entry without recounting the entire day’s events.

Last night I uploaded a four paragraph “note.” It is the second time that I’ve put any significant amount of personal material on facebook. I am becoming more and more comfortable sharing my ideas and writing. I am going to aim to upload a new note every week on Sunday or Monday.

I also just learned that my library has a copy of Writers Market 2010 – which apparently is the industry standard for freelance writers. I have a few ideas of publications that might be interested in carrying something I’ve written -hopefully this book can help me connect the dots and start selling my work.

I am finding that this goal is one where I need to hold myself accountable. Nobody is going to force me to make a written record, to reflect with some insight, to develop my own style. By writing down my daily sources of inspiration (see the other goal), I have to write more than simply a list of the things that happened each day. Another idea I have is to write short essays in my facebook notes each week. This way I can become more comfortable sharing my work with the world.

I really don’t know the root cause of it – possibly meeting with people who I hadn’t seen in a while, maybe just the mild thrills of long car rides or maybe the anticipation of my final year of formal education. The challenge now is to keep up my pace.

What I need is something to write about. I have never had the patience to simply record the events of each day. I’m not lacking the tools: pen and paper are always close by. Is it a gimmick that I am looking for? What will hold my interest and help me expand my writing?