The Friends & Members of 750 Words

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Whilst I’ve not written every day during lockdown, 750 words has really helped me to stay sane in an age where everything appears to be the exact opposite! It’s kept me from depression and calmed my anxiety.

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I want to say this: that for 12 months of lockdown, 750 words has been my reliable companion, my trustworthy confidante: my journal, my outlet for venting, my window on to a world of the mind where I can still fly. Today is my 365-day streak and the first day of my second year in lockdown. I have read, written, thought, panicked, shared, written, campaigned, been brave, been afraid, been resolute, been terrified: but all the while writing my words, each day, every day.

I hope to meet you again next year with a two-year streak, but out of lockdown at last. Thank you, 750words.

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Never would I have thought I could stick to a writing schedule so consistently for over a year, but thanks to this site I’ll soon be up to 500 days in a row.

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It really is like dusting off my brain! I like waking up with typing. Its wakes up my brain and I’m going through the motions of “working/being productive” while doing something I enjoy. I’ve really come to use it to decide what I am going to do next. Having a daily confrontation about where I am in my progress is wonderful.

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365 days in a row. Thanks for creating the tools and community to make this possible.

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It helps me keep doing this on a daily basis. To keep doing this everyday. And prove to myself that I’m a professional with no days off.

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I wonder how might we contribute to 750 words on the go…

Frequently, I need to take a break, meditate, nourish my body thru the day. However, I don’t always have the thought or inclination to utilize 750 Words. I wonder how might we prompt Users such that they can contribute to their daily writings on the go? For example, perhaps there is a way to submit Themes or Notes to be reminded of and write about in-full later.

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Besides practicing yoga and meditating, this one simple habit has seriously changed the way I experience my emotions and voice my truth. Because of this awesome site and habit, I also started writing emails to my subscribers once a week and fell in love with writing again. I am so grateful you created this site! Thank you for inspiring and encouraging me to WRITE every single day!

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I have been writing on here for at least a decade (?) and my metadata page is super messy from all of the accidental caps plus colons I have written. (I do a lot of outlining on 750.) I would REALLY like to be able to edit my metadata words and get rid of the flubs! Thanks!

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750 Words as had an undeniably good affect on my writing habit. I am devoted to it. I find that I can work out ideas, or even vent about personal issues, on the pages. Words flow through my brain too fast for me to effectively get them down with pen and paper. It’s not that I don’t journal in that manner, but I love that I can type like a maniac to get stuff out on the page, it’s exceedingly helpful. Inspiration does come from the free flow character of the website. I recently had a poem accepted into an anthology. I credit this website with keeping me inspired and willing to write! Thank you.

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I used 750 words a couple of years ago and it was such a fantastic way to begin getting words to paper, when I felt stuck. As a copywriter this has been an amazing tool. I came back as a paid member when I remembered the difference writing 750 words has made for me. Thank You!

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I use my phone to log onto the website when I travel, but I am sure a well thought out app would streamline the application.
Thanks

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I have been a part of this since 2011 (10 years) and completed wonderful streaks and slipped, learning that everything is relative. The log of my stream of consciousness over the years is amazing self-care, as is the compassion for “screwing” up a streak and then achieving them all over again. What an amazing gift you’ve created here. Stay safe and be well.

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I’ve been using 750words for over a decade now! Never consistently but it has always been there for me when I just needed a place to dump my thoughts. I’m finding lately I want to write more and am glad that this platform exists to help motivate me!

Keep writing, take a break, come back, write some more…just keep going!

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I have been using this site for over five years now. It has seen me through the loss of my son, the loss of my mother, the loss of my beautiful daughter-in-law and the loss of my marriage. This site is one of the reasons I am still sane (more or less). I still have a childish love of giving myself the equivalent of gold stars, and this site fulfills that need and at the same time has piloted me through some dark valleys. Thank you for this service

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My first diary was a gift from my father for my birthday when I was turning 9 years old. It spawned years of consistent journaling… then puberty hit, life went into fast forward and I stopped the practice. I would constantly buy journals promising myself I would start again but NOPE. Procrastination and inconsistency had a good grip on my life.

Fast forward to present day… I am going through the hardest thing I have ever endured: my husband was diagnosed in 2018 with ALS and his health is steadily declining.

There are so many emotions that come with this situation and though I have a magnificent set of humans that support me emotionally, I found myself crying by myself more often than not. My sister mentioned this site. At first, I thought I prefer writing by hand but had to question that gumption since I hadn’t been journaling at all for years. I decided to give it a shot. I just completed my first month of 750 words in February.

This site has been such a blessing. It is the only thing and I mean… THE ONLY THING that I have autonomy over in my life. It is the one thing I do consistently and I am so very grateful for this platform. It allows me the space and privacy to have emotional diarrhea and affords me a feeling of accomplishment and peace each and every time I do it.

My initial motivation in writing this was to get a badge, lol… but truth is, I truly hope that my message touches you if you are grieving and/or are in a dark place in your life. Here’s to hoping that it gets better (as they say) but in the meantime, get it all out of your system… be a self-cleaning oven.

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Today is my 10-year anniversary of starting to write at 750 Words! Coffee all around! : )

Over these 10 years, I’ve written 1,332,016 words. That fact alone is a huge lesson for me. It is a testament to what I can do with a little bit of (sometimes) consistent effort over time. I’ve only written here 43% of the time for the past 10 years and I still managed to write over a million words. If I had tried to explain that to myself 10 years ago, she would still be laughing.

For the heck of it, I went back to the first entry I ever wrote to see what was going on 10 years ago. I love that I can go back to any entry from the past 10 years and pull it up (and export it for good measure!) Thank you!

I love that I can search 10 years worth of writing for a particular phrase. Not too long ago I did that and found everything I thought would “light me up” for the past 10 years. It was insightful. Again, thank you!

Because I can : ), I’ll leave you with a line from what I wrote 10 years today. The sentiment is as true today as it was then, if not more so.

“It’s feeling like reading about 750words today wasn’t an accident, like it was a piece in this cosmic puzzle I’m living, a big, important edge piece maybe.”

Thank you, Friends! Keep writing : )

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I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how liberating this way of writing is. I’ve been here about 4 months now. I’ve unearthed new depths of honesty with myself, about the way I feel, and about what I truly want. I love data, so getting to see things like how many words I’ve written, where my mind is at, what my thematic key words are- it all gives me an insight that doesn’t come when I do my annual reading of all my journal entries for the year. Plus being able to tag my writing and then do keyword searches has helped me learn how my thoughts have changed over time; likewise I might think I’ve been stuck on something but then a search tells me how much movement there has been. This writing practice has been a great anchor for me, and I’m excited to see where it takes me.

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Does anyone have any tips for how to write in a “Certain” manner? I am “Uncertain” almost every single day. I wonder if contributing factors are questions marks, and the word “maybe.”

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I love this site. 52 days and going strong!
I still need to have some kind of contingency plan in place in case I miss a day, as I don’t want to beat myself up about it.
I never thought I would be in a position where I was enjoying writing again and writing regularly without having to grapple with the incessant inner critic telling me that it’s not good enough.
Thank you 750words.com!

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It would help me to write ‘on the go’ if ideas come to mind and then I could revisit them later.

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Writing is the first thing I do every morning. It’s like a form of meditation for me. Doing this one thing every morning clears the mind of clutter and sets the tone for the rest of the day.

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It’s been very here cold with subzero temperatures at night so I decided it would be a good week to challenge myself to reach for the penguin badge. After all penguins are cold weather birds. I arrived at that at few days ago. Tonight we’ll see -20 F, and then a warm up will begin. That inspires me to aim for a flamingo! I enjoy the badges more than I thought would and I’m grateful to be journaling daily. Thanks!

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If you asked me to name the most romantic species of bird I could think of, I can promise my mind wouldn’t go immediately to the rooster. (Actually, now that I’ve posed it, I’m low-key wondering what the answer to that question is. The loon? The turtledove? The swan, maybe? Thoughts, anyone?)

Regardless, I was so, SO excited to see a bright red rooster appear like a vision in my collection of badges this Valentine’s Day morning, looking more cheerful and full of zeal than anything has a right to before nine in the morning. (ANY morning, mind you, Valentine’s Day aside.) In case it wasn’t clear as glass by now, let me assure you: I am NOT an early morning writer. Never have been. Never, EVER will be. In college, I would happily stay up until half past three in the morning making an essay pretty if it meant I didn’t have to set my alarm for six AM to tackle the same task. (Yes, yes, I know – my logic was a little flawed. But such was my thought process back then.) I’ve been steadily nabbing the badges that 750 Words loves to torment and prod us with, though, one at a time – and I wanted that freaking overly cheerful rooster. Fiercely. I’d gotten the Night Bat without even breaking a sweat. Nocturnal writing comes naturally to me, and while I was very happy to have it, I didn’t have to stretch for that particular winged creature. The Night Bat came when I whistled for him and landed contentedly in my open palm, munching a piece of fruit.

The Early Bird, on the other hand, has been taunting me since I first started writing my pages here. I came close a number of times, within a couple of early mornings of success – only to drift back to sleep for “five more minutes” or stare blearily at the blinking cursor for just a few minutes too long. I would let the idea go for a while in pursuit of other things, then drift back to it, annoyed and frustrated that this badge stayed just out of my reach.

Well, early this Sunday morning I am delighted to say I have FINALLY bagged that stupid rooster. He’s mine. MINE!! He will mock me no more! No, he’s no Flying Squirrel, no Great Gryphon. A long way from either of those giants, but I’ve been snatching at his tail feathers for a very long time nevertheless. Small though the accomplishment is, seeing that rooster appear gives me a spark of hope that maybe I CAN wrangle that Pterodactyl I’ve got my eye on next. Maybe I can lasso a Pegasus, snare myself a Space Bird. Who knows – maybe one day I’ll get to ride a Gryphon. If I give up tomorrow because it’s hard, because I’m too tired, because I don’t think I’ve got the words in me, because I’d rather drown all of my doubts in a movie or novel someone else has sweated and worried over, I’ll never know what I’ve got in me, will I? And neither will you, if you’re still reading this far.

Keep going, you guys. No, seriously. Go. Type. Outline. Ramble. Do one more character sketch. Make that grocery list. Whatever it is you’re doing. Keep reaching for that next writing goal dancing just in front of you, and the next, and the next, whatever your personal reasons for showing up in this wonderful space every day. Trust that those reasons are valid and your time doing these words will be worth it. Trust that they matter. I know how hard it is some days to believe you have something worthwhile to say, or that you have the ability to say it well. Show up anyway, put your fingers on the keyboard anyway, because that spiteful little voice is full of lies, and its only purpose is to hold you back. To keep you from taking creative and personal risks. You are so much more capable than you think. So go prove it, to yourself if no one else.

And happy Valentine’s Day one last time, while I’m thinking of it. There’s so much needless emphasis put on one single kind of love today, and one way of expressing that love. If that’s what you’re celebrating, that’s great. That’s wonderful. But if it’s not, be assured that you also have a vibrant and active community here who loves you dearly and is cheering for you, clicking our keys in solidarity as you add one more X to your row of boxes for the month. Thank you, thank you, to the wonderful people who make that solidarity possible for each one of us.

Now I’m off on a Pterodactyl hunt, and hopefully to manage some actual fiction before bedtime rolls around. Wish me luck, ladies and gentlemen! I’m sending all my love and hope and good fortune with you today, too.

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An app on the phone would make journaling easier because you could post entries straight from your bead. If inspiration struck you in the middle of the night, you could write it all down without having to get out of bed and then go back to sleep.

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I love this site! It is such a great place for brain dumping. Recently I had some issues with my wrist (might have been carpal tunnel syndrome) and I couldn’t write for a few weeks. I could just feel the clutter piling up in my brain, which had been so neat and organized after using this website for nearly a year. Today was my first time in a while doing the brain dump exercise, and I feel so much calmer already. Thank you Buster and Kellianne for maintaining this site!

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Today, amid sadness, strife and ongoing uncertainty I did at least one good thing. I hit the 2 million word mark, aptly commemorating the beginning of the year of the ox, a year known for diligence, dependability, strength and determination… so mote it be. On to the next million. Thank you 750 words.

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Intermediate levels between 100 and 200 days, for example.

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