A Little Background

In October of 2015, I heard about the Write31Days Challenge: To commit to writing every single day in October. I decided to try it. As I limped through the first few days, recycling old writing I had never published, posting poems and other filler, I found that I really I liked seeing the numbers on the blog calendar change color when I posted.

The goal of getting something posted every day gained momentum with every day that I managed to throw something out there, no matter how unpolished it was, or how close to midnight I finished it. Only one day on that October blog calendar is not highlighted, and the next day has two posts; my proofreading took me a minute too long, and I  hit “publish” at 12:01 am the next day.

I started not worrying so much if my thoughts were perfectly organized and expressed, if my topic was weighty enough to warrant publishing, and if every single sentence was absolutely true for ever and ever. I just had to write and post, every day, all month.

It was fun.  I couldn’t believe the sheer volume of words I generated.

I think my writing became more honest, more alive. Sharing my thoughts, though–whether with one or two people or just tossing them into the great cyber void of the millions of little blogs out there–was new and intimidating. As the days went on, I got into a rhythm and forgot about being self-conscious.

Afterwards, when I wasn’t caught up in the race to find a topic, squeeze some words out and hit “publish,” I suddenly felt shy. I felt  exposed. Especially when I found out later who had been reading it, the silent ones that never leave comments (that’s ok! But I love it when you comment!).

October 2016, I took the challenge again, ending up a few posts shy of the 31 day goal. As I did the year before, I basically clammed up for the rest of the year. That silence lasted right through October 2017, when I just could not get it together. I’m ready now to try again.

The topic for 2018 was very loose–it has a title, but I didn’t worry too much about sticking to a particular theme.

The Write 31 Days challenge has ended–2018 was the last year. I’ll move these posts to their own page when I get some reorganizing done…

Write 31 Days Challenge Posts

2015  Nest Half Empty

2016  Water Under the Bridge

2018 Endings, Beginnings