31 Posts in 31 Days

An exercise in consistently creating

I spent much time and energy writing in March. The goal I set was to write and publish 31 new pieces in 31 days. My latest project has been a poetry series brought to life on a manual typewriter. Simple stuff really, but not always easy. It seemed that that closer to the end of the month I got the less my muse wanted to hang out. At one point I was going to quit, take my 26 completed pieces an call it a month. Close enough, huh?

But in the end, I took myself on a guilt trip — just me and I on a ride through the hill country. The scenery consisted of broken down dreams and goals left on life support. A saddening thing really; to see the many things left unfinished. For no real reason either. Some projects were just given up on.

Much is happening in the world and for me writing makes it a little more bearable. I like myself more when I consistently sit and put pen to page. Upon return, I found my desk and hammered the page until the deed was done.

Well, now the 31 days has come and gone. I hit my goal. What did I get for all my hard work?

Not a catapulted career.

Not $10,000. Spent money.

Not an influx of followers. In fact, I lost some.

Not a bunch of raving fans.

But, none of those are the point anyway.

Now, I own a new habit. There is power in consistency and momentum can break even the worst case of writer’s block.

Now, there are 31 new pieces out in the world that did not previously exist. Some of them I loved. Others even I wasn’t a fan of. And that’s okay. An artist is often his own greatest critic and won’t be fond of everything he creates.

Now, I know I can do it. For over a year, I struggled to publish a single piece a week. The resistance tore me down and killed my creativity most days of the week. I began to believe that writing just wasn’t my craft, but that’s not true.

Anyone can be a writer. Anyone can be an artist. We all were at some point, weren’t we? Somewhere along the line that voice convinced us otherwise, though.

Mine was sent on permanent leave without pay.

“Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten. Then when you hit puberty they take the crayons away and replace them with dry, uninspiring books on algebra, history, etc. Being suddenly hit years later with the ‘creative bug’ is just a wee voice telling you, ‘I’d like my crayons back, please.” Hugh Macleod

I’m not sure what clicked in February that made me choose my goal March, but I’m happy it did. This month, the goal is less concrete: maintain momentum. I’m going to be shifting a bit to focusing on crafting tiny tales, too. Like this one. If you have a neat idea or topic I should tackle, let me know in the responses below.

If you enjoy stuff like this, I recommend checking out Topher Kearby and Jake Kenneth Banks on Instagram. Cool guys. Let them know I sent you. Just kidding. Always wanted to say that. Then if you want, you can follow me, too.