I think dropping a day or two (for whatever reason) and then coming back to the challenge is great practice, because that’s what “real” writing life looks like. You write. Something gets in the way. You get back to writing. With the challenge, you just have that extra motivator to return. 🙂
I’m liking that thinking about my book or writing anything counts! It doesn’t have to be sitting down and editing a target number of words. The gentleness instruction is helping me not pressure myself.
This challenge has encouraged me to sit at my writing desk for the past seven days, and it’s made me focus on writing a speech and preparing presentation slides for a talk I’m giving next month. I’d been putting it off for a while but finally finished it yesterday! Thank you for all your encouragement and support…
Perfect timing! I really needed to hear this having been away for 4 days and not able to write much. I only properly 'missed' one day due to travel, but the others have been such small things it's easy to discount them, however, I need to remind myself not to. Without this challenge I wouldn't have done anything so I'm calling that a win!
I’m loving the challenge. I’m not in my usual routine because I’m on annual leave (but not abroad or on holiday for the first time) so my husband and I have been doing day trips. In my day to day usual life, I’d have more writing time but this means I show up to write daily so I love that even if it’s only a few sentences. 🫶🏻🤩 Would love to do these at least twice per year. 😂
This kind challenge makes me feel happy writing in all of its forms. For these first seven days, I've written creatively, professionally, and academically. And all of it reads better than it has before because I'm not judging myself as harshly as in the past. I cannot wait to see what happens by the end of the challenge.
This approach, your constant reminder — gentle, curious, compassionate, non-judgmental — has created a bell jar for my writing. You cannot say those words too many times. They protect the tender green of my writing from the harshness of my judgement. I did not understand how much baggage I bring to the table about what it even means to “write”. How can I be agile or create something new if I’m writing out of some tired old expectation? Getting a glimpse of this shadowy self and its preconditions, I understand that it does not appreciate me or even see me. It’s kind of misogynistic, if that’s possible. Anyway, this process is allowing me to re-meet my work in a new arena and I say, “Hello, friend.”
I've been working in a scattered way across lots of projects - so it feels like I'm skipping days because I keep jumping around! Maybe it would be better to focus in, but things have come up recently - deadlines etc - which have made lots of things at once feel natural. But it certainly feels less focused!
I think dropping a day or two (for whatever reason) and then coming back to the challenge is great practice, because that’s what “real” writing life looks like. You write. Something gets in the way. You get back to writing. With the challenge, you just have that extra motivator to return. 🙂
Yes! It's about not giving up and being gently persistent!
I’m liking that thinking about my book or writing anything counts! It doesn’t have to be sitting down and editing a target number of words. The gentleness instruction is helping me not pressure myself.
This challenge has encouraged me to sit at my writing desk for the past seven days, and it’s made me focus on writing a speech and preparing presentation slides for a talk I’m giving next month. I’d been putting it off for a while but finally finished it yesterday! Thank you for all your encouragement and support…
I hope everyone’s writing is going well…🌷
Perfect timing! I really needed to hear this having been away for 4 days and not able to write much. I only properly 'missed' one day due to travel, but the others have been such small things it's easy to discount them, however, I need to remind myself not to. Without this challenge I wouldn't have done anything so I'm calling that a win!
It IS a win!
I’m loving the challenge. I’m not in my usual routine because I’m on annual leave (but not abroad or on holiday for the first time) so my husband and I have been doing day trips. In my day to day usual life, I’d have more writing time but this means I show up to write daily so I love that even if it’s only a few sentences. 🫶🏻🤩 Would love to do these at least twice per year. 😂
This kind challenge makes me feel happy writing in all of its forms. For these first seven days, I've written creatively, professionally, and academically. And all of it reads better than it has before because I'm not judging myself as harshly as in the past. I cannot wait to see what happens by the end of the challenge.
Vicki
This approach, your constant reminder — gentle, curious, compassionate, non-judgmental — has created a bell jar for my writing. You cannot say those words too many times. They protect the tender green of my writing from the harshness of my judgement. I did not understand how much baggage I bring to the table about what it even means to “write”. How can I be agile or create something new if I’m writing out of some tired old expectation? Getting a glimpse of this shadowy self and its preconditions, I understand that it does not appreciate me or even see me. It’s kind of misogynistic, if that’s possible. Anyway, this process is allowing me to re-meet my work in a new arena and I say, “Hello, friend.”
That's so beautiful. Thank you for sharing this!
Perfectly stated. I feel the same way about this challenge!
Vicki
I've been working in a scattered way across lots of projects - so it feels like I'm skipping days because I keep jumping around! Maybe it would be better to focus in, but things have come up recently - deadlines etc - which have made lots of things at once feel natural. But it certainly feels less focused!
So long as you're showing up every day, it's working!