I posted an update about my daily writing practice sessions only a few days ago. Well, I wanted to do another one because today, the day that I (originally) wrote this, was officially one month of my daily writing practice. And I wanted to celebrate that.
How am I feeling?
At this moment, not great. No, it’s because I’m not a fan of a couple of Chanel ads that have played repeatedly when I’m on Hulu, and that’s what’s playing at the moment of writing. I would, well, I don’t have the ad-free version because I get Hulu for free through Spotify (it was a previous promotion that they no longer offer but have grandfathered in all remaining users from that promotion). I usually don’t mind the ads; in fact, I tune them out, but the Chanel watch ads bug me. Whatever, the ad’s over now, and the show is back on.
How’s my entertainment schedule going?
So far, so good! I’m enjoying watching M*A*S*H on Mondays through Thursdays. It makes me feel like I’m progressing on that show, though it was going slowly at first. When I started, I pretty much only did 30 minutes of writing a day, so it makes sense why I wasn’t moving far along in the show. I have since changed to writing for an hour Monday-Thursday. For no other reason than I simply want to get through the show faster. I have more tv shows I’d like to watch as well while writing.
Fridays are nice because I can switch things up with a movie, though it can take me a little time to decide what movie I want to write to. In fact, it’s Thursday as I’m writing this, and I have no idea what I’ll be playing tomorrow. I keep track of what I’m watching, from TV show episodes to movies to the music I play during my writing sessions, to ensure I have something new as much as possible.
Saturdays are nice because they can be wild card days. I know I explained my schedule in the last update, so I’ll recap shortly here. I enjoy the flexibility of having the option to watch a movie or listen to music. Sometimes I need another movie, and sometimes I need the faster variety that comes from a song playlist.
Sundays are often quieter since I try to keep to movies that are more “Sunday-appropriate.” A personal choice, but one I want to keep nonetheless.
What do I want to see if I keep writing?
Actually, while it might be helpful to plan out my entertainment schedule more than I already do, I fear that even if I were to choose movies and songs in advance (the songs are almost always from random shuffle), I would end up wanting to choose something different during the writing session anyway.
How’s the writing going?
I am getting my butt kicked for sure. It’s not that I can’t crank out the words; I’ve hit anywhere from the mid-600s to over 1100 words in a single session. The problem is that I’m learning that I don’t know how to write compelling blog posts. I know how to write but did not learn much about writing effectively in school. Or if I did, it was a lesson that got mired in the academic writing I had to do that I was terrible at (apparently, I have too much voice for academic papers, and toning back the voice was difficult to do).
It’ll take baby steps, and luckily I have time to improve. But the fact that I’m writing daily now, actually writing daily and not just saying that I will, is already moving me in the right direction. I’m already seeing how I want to improve, or at least the areas I need to adjust and change. It’s helpful, but it’s also painful. Not painful, but very uncomfortable.
Why is it uncomfortable?
Because it’s essentially cleaning the mirror of my writing. What I mean is that I actually am seeing what my writing is looking at, not just how I think it is. I’ll read excellent, well-written articles, and think “that’s what I want my writing to be like.” Still with my voice, but a piece that’s written with purpose and heart that effectively carries my point across to the reader.
Someday I would like to have articles published in other publications, including major publications like National Geographic, and not that I’m dismayed by my current level of writing skill, but my eyes are much clearer now than they were before I started writing daily.
One final question, how’s my face doing?
At the end of Toy Story 2 are a bunch of bloopers. High-quality entertainment (Pixar should bring the bloopers back), but there’s one, in particular, I want to mention. The final one has Tour Guide Barbie waving to the audience and giving a spiel. When she learns that everyone has left, she drops her smile and starts rubbing her cheeks and talking about how they hurt from smiling so much. Yeah, that’s basically how my face is when I’m writing.
Except when I’m writing, I’m not smiling. I go into RBF mode and have to remember to relax my face and open my mouth wide periodically to wake my face up a bit. It also means that I look disappointed or upset in many of my writing videos on TikTok because my face is the last thing on my mind when writing. Though, I don’t show my face as much anymore. Now I zoom in so that the computer screen with the current day’s show or movie appears larger, and you can still see my hands and keyboard. I might consider showing my face again, or rather my profile, on those Saturdays when I play music.
Do you have a daily or weekly writing practice? What helps you write? Let me know in the comments below!
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