I’m learning from daily writing

I have a goal to hit publish every day. No quality or length threshold — just hit publish, every day.

I’m writing pseudonymously [I’ve since moved these posts to a named blog], here on this very blog, in order to gain some exposure to reduce the fear and pressure and drive for perfection that normally cripple my publishing finger.

And look: I’ve been at it for 24 days, and I’ve only missed one day. I was drinking that day.

What I’m noticing is that I’m thinking a lot about writing. Not just that I should be doing it, but thinking about craft. How to write well. How to write a headline. How to write a first sentence that gets the reader to want to read the second. What are the elements of a story. Of tension. What are the habits of successful writers. All that shit. My brain is churning on it, and I’m reading about it, and I’m trying to apply it.

All of that is happening because of this tiny habit of “hit publish every day”. Because I know I’m doing that and I believe I’m going to keep doing it, all this energy into writing as a habit is justified. If I weren’t actually writing and publishing, I’d feel silly reading a bunch of stuff about how to be a better writer. But because I am writing, I feel good about it. It’s aligned. There’s synergy.

The daily habit of hitting publish is getting easier and easier. I just do it. And I suspect I’ll soon start experimenting with ways to make the output better. I’ll probably be putting more time into writing.