Is it too difficult for you to come up with 500 words a day? You’re not alone, if you believe that.
Many people see that number, and freak out. “How can I possibly write that much every day?” Well, my answer is that you probably already do.
Do you tweet? Have a G+ account? Maybe Facebook? Surely you have an email account. If you do anything other than forward content from someone else (And really, if that’s all you do, please stop. We’ve all probably seen everything you’re forwarding, anyway.), you’re probably writing more than 500 words a day. Depending on your chosen mode (computer, typewriter, pen, chisel, etc…), 500 words could be just 2 typed pages (less if you use a small font, or single-space), or just a few hand-written pages in your notebook or journal.
One of our members suggested the other day just writing for 30 minutes a day. If that also seems like a lot to you, you could try starting out with 5 minutes, or 10 minutes a day for a week, then increase by 5 minutes a day each week. When I tried that, I discovered that I had more to say when my 5 or 10 or 15 minutes was up, so I kept writing.
You could also try “word sprints” – getting as much written as possible in the time allotted. This is quite possible when you think of it as a game. It becomes great fun to give yourself a limited amount of time, and see if you can beat your previous word count.
Give it a try. Challenge yourself. If you miss a day, come back tomorrow and try again. The words will still be waiting for you.
So, you want to get back to writing, but not sure where to start? How about some kickstarts?
You can try some flash fiction (short stories in under 1,000 words).
How about some prompts? Try Google Images on some random topic, find an image that you like (or hate, it doesn’t matter), and write a scene around the image.
Or pick a random (or not so random) word or theme.
Blocked? Write about how or why you feel blocked. Better yet, write about how a character might feel blocked (or imprisoned).
Write about a cloud.
Write about a flower.
Write about love.
Write about war.
Write about protests.
Write about some news headline.
The point is this: write about something. Write in your journal, in your blog, on social networking sites. Write a love letter to yourself from God (or whomever you might or might not pray to). Or write about how hard it is to find words to write. Just. Write. Something. Anything.
It took me about 5 minutes to write these 240 some odd words or so. It wasn’t difficult. I just sat down and started. It may not be great. It may not even be inspirational. But it’s true, and I want you to know that you have something important to say to someone. If you don’t write it down, that someone may never have the chance to read your words, words that he or she really needs to read.
Now, go. Write.
Suddenly, you blink, and realize that three years have gone by.
Suddenly, you go back to a project that you loved, were passionate about, lived and breathed for three years, and wonder what happened that made you leave.
Three years ago, life happened, and I had to make some choices about how I spent my time. To be honest, it was a difficult choice. My family had to come first, then my job (a means to help my family live a more comfortable life). At the end of the day, I just didn’t have the energy for this site, which was a full-time job in itself at the time.
Today, I am recommitting myself to this site, and this project. I will live the NILTOY promise of a little bit of time and effort every day. And I will finish a novel in 2012.
Join us as we reinvigorate the site, and start our next best-selling novels in January 2012. Become an active participant in the project. Share your ideas, and help others realize their dreams at the same time. We are here to encourage each other, critique each others’ work, and be a cheering section for others (and ourselves).