My 500 Words

The other day, I came across an article that made something in my brain “click.”

Jeff Goins, a writer and writing coach, has an excellent blog geared towards people who want to be writers. I’ve checked out his blog many times and always enjoy reading his writing advice. I usually find his writing to be very helpful, and often motivational.

In his article, The Secret to Developing a Regular Writing Habit, he writes that most people fail at becoming writers simply because they don’t actually write. “They talk about writing, think about writing, even read about writing. But they do not write,” he says.

This really hit home for me. It struck me how often I do all of these things, except for the actual writing part! All of a sudden, I realized how ridiculous this really was. Luckily, there was something I could do about it.

In this article, he encourages writers to try a 31-day challenge called “My 500 Words.” Every day for 31 days straight, you must write at least 500 words, regardless of whether you publish them or not. Every single day, you have to get up, put your fingers on the keys, and write something. It doesn’t matter what you write about, or even what you write. You just have to write.

When I had finished reading this article, I knew something was different. Rather than just reading the words on my screen and trying to log away snippets of his advice for future use, this time, I felt compelled to act. This idea was the motivation I needed. I knew I was ready to accept this challenge!

After all, what do writers do? They write.

Starting tomorrow, I’ll be tackling this challenge one day at a time.

I have no idea what the next 31 days of writing will bring, but I’m looking forward to finding out!