The Friends & Members of 750 Words

750 Words exists because of mutual good will between the people that run this site (Buster & Kellianne) and the people who use it (you). The site wouldn't exist without the generosity, patience, and humor of everyone involved. For the first 3+ years that the site was running (Dec 2009 to May 2013), the site was free to use but with some encouragement to donate. That served us well (and most importantly, generated enough income to keep the site up), but as the site grew the need for support also grew.

On June 12th 2013, all existing users of the site were given lifetime free accounts (we hope you'll continue to donate when you can). New accounts created after June 12th, 2013 are now required to become members within 30 days after signing up in order to keep writing. Everyone will always have access to previous writings, stats, etc, even if they choose not to become members.

We're listening to your feedback and want to make sure that first and foremost, we offer a friendly and safe place for people to dump their private thoughts. I expect that we'll continue to adjust the way this all works for the near term. Thanks for being an awesome community!

Who runs this site?

Our names are Buster and Kellianne, we live in Berkeley, California with our two sons (Niko and Louie) and this is something we've built and run in our spare time.

Badge.latte<a href="https://750words.com/auth">Sign up or log in</a> to buy Cups of Patronage

Notes of inspiration from members

10 cups

I’ve not been here for a while. I think I missed one day in a challenge and then gave up because i kept forgetting.. I decided to come back so here are 10 cups o’ patronage to you all for managing to complete the challenge – never managed it.. I remember at midnight usually!

One Month Challenge Bounty from Teigh-Anne Shave on Mon, Jun 03
6 cups

Sixth monthly challenge of the year, so here’s six cups towards the bounty! Good luck, everyone!

One Month Challenge Bounty from AC Wynn on Mon, Jun 03
10 cups

To everyone in the July One-Month Challenge, WRITE, WRITE, WRITE!!!! Keep writing no matter how you feel! Good luck!

One Month Challenge Bounty from Anonymous on Mon, Jun 03
1 cup
More badges for accomplishments
New Feature Vote from Fiona Wilson on Mon, Jun 03
1 cup
More badges for accomplishments
New Feature Vote from Fiona Wilson on Mon, Jun 03
1 cup

What’s the first thing I do when starting a new monthly challenge? Sign up for the following month’s challenge. See you all at the top, those who decide to climb this mountain. I’ll be there with you, each step of the way, each and every day, and I have my eyes fixed on the next peak, too.

love, geophf

Testimonial Note from geophf on Mon, Jun 03
1 cup

I am so thankful that 750words.com exists! At one point in my life I wrote daily blogs (woohoo livejournal), and those blogs both got my brain juices flowing and helped me get things off my chest. After having taken a long hiatus from writing, I am using 750words.com to motivate me to work on the book I am currently writing. Even if I do nothing but write character notes some days, I have the impetus to do something on a daily basis. The anonymity and privacy afforded me by the site also ensures I am unafraid to write exactly what I am thinking. My ultimate goal is that 750words.com sees me through to a completed work of fiction! Thanks for all you do!

Testimonial Note from Amalie C. on Mon, Jun 03
1 cup

Em apoio aos usuários em Língua Portuguesa, eu digo: vamos escrever cambada. Escrever até os demônios serem todos expulsos e a paz reinar no mundo da arte. Uma palavra de cada vez.

Testimonial Note from Joelton Nascimento on Sun, Jun 02
2 cups

I had a bit of a drought from writing. Two and half years actually since I fell out of writing regularly and even then, I was not very motivated. Since I joined 750words, I have written significantly. Some of it has just been me spilling my guts out, others have been rough drafts. Regardless, this site has given me my motivation to write again.

Testimonial Note from Jalaperilo on Sun, Jun 02
1 cup

I’m one of those people who hoards notebooks. I have a shelf full of them, beautiful colors, exquisitely smooth paper and nice pens…and I am afraid to write in them, feeling that my words aren’t, well, worthy of those beautiful covers, that my thoughts and ideas are banal or ugly or stupid.

This site, though, simple, stripped down, and with a double motivation of wordcount and badges, has done what that shelf has never done: got me spilling into myself.

Some days my words give me the start of a blog post or story, some days it’s me plotting out my day or talking about a movie or book I just finished, some days I’m thinking about current events, some days, emotional spew. The site doesn’t care what the words are, only that they are words. The site is a non-judging friend who listens.

It’s been just over a month and I can’t tell you what an improvement this site has made on my life, my moods, my processes. If I get angry or upset, I tell myself I’ll put it in words here…later, and that helps me navigate the present moment; it’s gotten me trying things I wouldn’t have before—since starting I had the idea to write a blog and posted regular entries, plot out craft projects….

…in short it’s given me space to GROW, in 750 word babysteps.

Testimonial Note from Alexa Dacre on Sun, Jun 02
1 cup
An iPhone/iPad app

Well, here’s my vote. I would also love to see an Android app, but I’d be happy with just an iPhone app either way.

Thank you for this website. It’s gotten me writing after ages of not being able to get a single sentence written.

New Feature Vote from M. Belle on Sun, Jun 02
1 cup

Being a beacon of light for many throughout the world deserves bountiful abundance. Kudos for creating a space for passive accountability. Love it!

Testimonial Note from Tina Brinkley Potts on Sun, Jun 02
1 cup

I don’t really write much. The only things that I would write are emails and technical documents. I rarely post long things in my social networks. So after seeing that this website was going to have a paid system by May 1 2013, I jumped on the opportunity of getting this service while it was free. I didn’t really like the site’s concept since I didn’t really write but I’m competitive, so the badges kept me motivated.

I may not write the best stuff but I think I am improving and enjoying it. If I keep on working on this I may end up self publishing my own fiction book. Who knows.

You don’t need to be the best writer to enjoy the site but working on your writing is better than just flat out giving up on it.

Here’s to hoping I get all the non-time based badges in the future (I’m asleep during those times).

Testimonial Note from Francisco Guzman II on Sun, Jun 02
1 cup
Customized Writing Goal

Perhaps this could be added to the settings area or somewhere else, but I wish we could change the writing goal from 750 to 1000 or more. This would help me reach my novel writing goal and make me more productive, since I tend to lose momentum or stop completely once the alert tells me I’ve reached 750 words.

Thanks for this site!

New Feature Request Note from Srey Khoy on Sat, Jun 01
1 cup

What an achievement it feels like to manage a month challenge and actually turn the words in. I have wanted to write a book on organs for years and now it is well on the way. The more I write the more is unlocked “behind” the scenes.

Thanks Buster – what looks like a simple idea IS changing lives! Keep writing you June Challengers!

One Month Challenge Bounty from David Howard on Sat, Jun 01
1 cup
A better mobile site

an app for the android would be amazing, i have a galaxy s 3 and would love if i could take this on the go a little easier.

New Feature Vote from Natasha Semans on Sat, Jun 01
1 cup

i have dealt with a lot in the last year.. so when i got my computer up and running again, i said.. what the hell and wrote. it was hard at first because i would run out of things.. but it helped me get over my depression and my eating disorder. this is an amazing website.

Testimonial Note from Natasha Semans on Sat, Jun 01
1 cup

When I first started on this site, I didn’t use it very much. I actually forgot I had one. It was right before May started where I actually thought to myself “I need to write more”, just so I can say “I wrote something today.” This site truly helps you let out anything that you’re keeping inside, and with its simplicity and helpfulness, it’s definitely beneficial to any and all writers.

Testimonial Note from Skarlett on Sat, Jun 01
1 cup
Secure server for writing
New Feature Vote from Adele Jacko on Sat, Jun 01
3 cups

I use this site to process my feelings and record my days events. As an aspiring writer 750 words encourages me to write every day. Even if I don’t do any other kind of writing I know that I’ll get those 750 words in.

Testimonial Note from Crystal Lachman on Sat, Jun 01
1 cup

I love this website. I find myself coming back to it throughout the day, once I’ve completed my words, whenever I have an issue I feel like I need to work out. If I don’t write in the morning, the ideas in my mind make focus on anything difficult all day.

Testimonial Note from Alexandra Sourisseau on Sat, Jun 01
1 cup

Bounty hunters? We don’t need their scum. I’ll complete the June challenge alive, no disintegrations.

One Month Challenge Bounty from Charles J on Sat, Jun 01
2 cups

I was introduced to 750words just last month, at one of the busiest times of my life. So far as daily writing is concerned, it was exactly the incentive I had been sub-consciously searching for. However, my first thought was that it had arrived at the wrong time. I debated postponing further engagement with the site until later in the year, when the other demand on my time would be less pressing. Further consideration (in the shape of my very first 750 words) led me to do otherwise. I was just in time to put myself in for the May challenge and signed up without further ado.

The past month has presented many challenges in the shape of finalising and defending my master thesis, finding a new apartment, searching and applying for jobs, preparing for interviews (in another language, one might add), and moreover struggling with the endless paperwork necessary to become a real person in Sweden. It could have been called foolish, to add another commitment to the already-teetering stack. However, far from the Straw that Broke the Camel’s Back, the act of writing my words each day became a cool oasis of tranquillity in the broiling maelstrom of stress and tension. The time spent on this site was a serene dome of glass between me and the shrieking ravens of detail that otherwise pecked and shredded my nerves. Far from aggravating my burdens, the daily writing helped me to cope. It gave me time to talk through things with myself, time to solve problems and plan the best use of my time. I made it through the whole month and have acquired a beautiful, if somewhat melancholy turquoise horse as a reward and souvenir.

With the most stressful period behind me, I’m aware that the habit of writing every day might vanish along with the last vestiges of adrenalin. That’s why I have signed up, again, for the next monthly challenge. I must not allow the habit of writing my words to flee when fair weather arrives. It is a practice not yet firm enough to be called engrained. I have made it through the inspiration of a heavy thunderstorm. Here comes the arid desert of an ordinary month. Will it be as easy to keep the pace without the incentive of exhaustion? I think not; but hope to anyway.

Wish me luck!

Testimonial Note from Victoria Know on Sat, Jun 01
2 cups

To all the dissertators!

One Month Challenge Bounty from Christian Smith on Sat, Jun 01
1 cup

I’ve been pleasantly surprised how much I’ve enjoyed and been not-so-vexed by this. As someone who writes two blogs daily, I wasn’t sure I could find a place to fit this into my daily writing. But hey, it’s a good way to kvetch out randomness and shift it around into reason!

Testimonial Note from Virginia on Sat, Jun 01
1 cup

I have just completed the May Challenge and have been awarded a cup of patronage, I have been so helped by this daily feat that I am so grateful to you for having this web page. thank you very much. the way I have found it helpful is that as I have completed the 750 words each day I have seen myself developing in confidence. to begin with it took me over 20 minutes to reach the target and sometimes I felt I was just writing gibberish! but as I gained in confidence I found that ideas were coming to me and I got a flow and some of the stuff I was writing was actually making sense! I started making notes of things that I could stream of consciousness about if you get my drift and it sort of acted as a catalyst to clear my head for my writing project that day. I learnt that the sooner I got my 750 words done the more I got from it. I got a real buzz from earning badges and although friends who I urged to join said aw that doesnt work for me, I dont need rewards well, wait till they hear I can buy my new handbag! way to go! when I started the exercise I was a writer in learning and wasnt sure where I was going, now I am a writer in apprenticeship I see this page as part of my training, I can do 750 words in 15 minutes and find this truly amazing!!!! the fact that it makes sense as well, I can see my way forward in larger projects and know that I am able to complete things, so onward and upward as they say. I am not taking part in the June challenge as I wont have internet access at the end of the month but will look forward to doing the July one. many thanks for your encouragement, am off to sharpen my pencil and count my pennies for my new handbag. oh yes am also humbled to think of lteracry being improved in Seattle by my typing! I was a primary 1 teacher in my former life and love all things to do with young people reading and writing for themselves., Mana Hazlett :)

Testimonial Note from Marilyn Jean Hazlett on Sat, Jun 01
1 cup
Define "distraction"

Explicitly define a distraction as three minutes of no typing, both in the definition of the Hamster badge and in the FAQ. I couldn’t find it anywhere on the site. I found it via Google in a forum post by Buster on another site.

New Feature Request Note from Anonymous on Sat, Jun 01
1 cup

A little extra for messing up last month and keeping me on track for this one. Lets do this June!

One Month Challenge Bounty from Eduardo Loria on Sat, Jun 01
1 cup

Aargh! I blew my streak after 123 days. Oh well. I’m back in the saddle today.

Testimonial Note from William on Sat, Jun 01
10 cups

I just few hours ago finished my bit over 2000 words for today. My streak now stands at 365 days. A full year. It was exactly on June 1st last year when I pledged to not let my streak break off again, like it had so many times before. I had been on this site over a year already by then, but my longest streak stood at around only 100 days then.

Lot has happened in the year since. I started my own video blog, published a non-fiction book on Kindle, even went to Japan and back. I’ve written a bunch of short stories, and even do some paid writing now. I can without exaggeration call myself a writer now.

750words has played a huge role in that transformation. Sure, I’ve cheated by shifting the time zones every now and then to keep my streak alive. I don’t really care. What matters to me is that I’ve written at least 750 words for every roughly 24-hour period. I knew I could always burst out a lot of words at once, but do it only sporadically. 750words has taught me consistency.

It has taught me to come day in, day out to pound in my words. To drip good material out. There’s still lot to improve. I want to be professional, and for a professional 750 words isn’t enough. But without this as a start, I couldn’t have done it.

My journey on this site isn’t still over. I still have some badges to get, namely my space bird and NaNoWriMo badges, and thanks to the ability to customize the color scheme of the writing environment (for some reason I like green text on a black background), it has become my preferred way of writing. The built-in tracking of time, word count and other interesting stuff just makes this site all the more useful.

At first when I heard the service was going to no longer be free I felt I’d not continue using it. Of course, it stayed free for us old users. But reflecting back now, I feel like it still would be worth paying a bit of money. I hope buster has time and inspiration to further build on this site – it might already be the breeding ground of some great writers of the future – and present.

So here I end my reflection. It’s been full year of continuous writing, 679 total completed days, and nearly 600 000 words written. That’s incredible when you think of it. My life wouldn’t be the same if I didn’t discover this site back when I did. It funny how such a simple idea executed well can really change people’s lives.

Thanks Buster.

Jarkko Helenius (you’ll find me on Google :P)

Testimonial Note from Jarkko Helenius on Sat, Jun 01