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40 cups

I happily read every new note posted by someone in our little community and draw inspiration from their stories and accomplishments, but I very rarely speak up here myself. I confess I’ve been hoarding all my cups for some time – stashing them away like pocket change in a jar until I had some momentous writing milestone on which to spend them all, or some truly profound piece of encouragement to share. Well, now I have one of the two, at least: at long, long last, I have finally succeeded in capturing the fiery Phoenix for myself.

Compared to those awe-inspiring creatures of myth and legend, the Great Griffins, this doesn’t feel like such a terribly impressive accomplishment. What’s a measly hundred day streak compared to soaring so high into the heavens? For me one hundred days has been a tremendous feat of endurance and personal will, though. I have tried many times during my patronage of 750 Words and never gotten beyond the Albatross, all my best intentions notwithstanding. The wide, lonely void between Albatross and Phoenix defeated me every single time, and I always felt so drained afterwards that it would sometimes take me weeks to muster the motivation for another attempt.

When quarantine struck so unexpectedly, though, I decided the Phoenix was the one and only thing I truly wanted out of this surreal experience we’re all stumbling through. And I have learned in the past hundred days that I have it in me to come to work every day for myself, to be accountable to this habit I’m building. To sweat and struggle on even when my personal muse is off wandering somewhere in the wastelands of Siberia – perhaps never to return. Or when there’s some alluring new series on TV. Or when a friend sends me a string of funny GIFs. Or when I’m absolutely convinced that everything I ever have or ever will write is utter trash. I’ve proven to myself that I can show up and plant my butt in the seat and my hands on the keyboard day after day. I can get it done. And if you’re reading this and doubting yourself, I know you can, too.

I read somewhere recently that you can never expect another person to care about your writing habits and goals more than you do yourself. As logical as this is, it was mind-bending for me, and a lesson I don’t think I’d fully grasped until now. If I can’t or won’t make my own writing practice a priority, why would I reasonably expect anyone else to do back flips for me?

So. Onward and upward to the Pterodactyl, I dearly hope. If I fall off my perch now, I admit the landing back to solid earth will bruise me. I’ll lose a disheartening number of feathers on the way down and probably sprain a wing – but at least I will have made it this far. And I know I can put myself back together and do it all again. The proof is right there on my stats page, after all. Staring me in the face. Demanding that I reach for even loftier goals next time.

Off with all of you who might be reading this. Dig deep. Soar high. Sweat. Curse. Weep. Persevere. Get those words down today, and tomorrow, and the next day. Do whatever it takes. Remember that you deserve your daily writing habit. Yes, you.

And yes – I am shamelessly counting this rambling testimonial note as part of my quota for the day. So get on with it. Happy word slinging, ladies and gentlemen. Let’s do hard things together.

100 cups

The effect of 750 Words in my life has been little short of magical!
I started writing on these pages in 2011 and had little expectation of persisting with the practice. That after all, was how most of my good intentions finished up: sputtering out like a damp squib. But it didn’t happen with this site and I have to attribute my persistence to the very clever little incentives that Buster and Kerrianne built into this site: the badges to recognize progress and persistence, the regular lists of people writing this month, and the monthly challenges. Then there are the ‘Stats’ and the fascinating analyses of mood, dominant theme, and the regular daily nudge arriving in one’s inbox every evening.
I have always found Kellianne most forthcoming and helpful on the numerous times I have either had to take time off or on those occasions when either my laptop or router has gone caput and I have been unable to maintain my streak.
It remains a mystery to me how Buster and Kellianne manage to maintain a site of growing complexity and increasing membership.
The cherry on the cake is that I have now completed a total of 4 million words since I started and if I live long enough, look forward to adding another four million!
Thank you, Buster and Kellianne for creating and maintaining this site. It has become my regular daily habit and has taught me how to love the craft of writing words!

50 cups

I have just hit 1350 days of writing and more than 1.1 million words in total. The site does a great job of keeping me motivated with badges and metadata analysis. My mind is clearer and my ability to express myself has also improved greatly.