The Assignment

This is the third time I’ve written and posted this post. Hopefully, it will also be the last.

I see this post as a statement of purpose. That is to say that this blog is not meant to be just a personal brain dumpster. It has a “higher” purpose. To adequately explain that purpose requires—at least in my mind—the careful application of three questions.

Question 1: Who am I?
I am a writer who needs to learn to write again. I have a recently-acquired college degree in English and I haven’t written hardly anything since finals 7 months ago. I am a film nerd who hardly goes to movies anymore. I am a terrible procrastinator, due in no small part to some low-level anxiety and depression issues. All of this mixed together in my chubby little vessel makes for a cocktail of self-doubt, stagnation, and apathy. These things are not conducive to the creative process. So, I have been trying—for some long time—to devise better methods by which to write more. You see, I say that I am a writer, but I have very little to show for it. I think like a writer, but until people can “read” my thoughts, that doesn’t do me much good.

So, part one is pretty simple: Write more.

Question 2: How?
Here is the problem. Heaven knows I’ve tried to be better about writing everyday, just like all the “experts” say. I’ve read many books on the subject, and in general I believe they can be classified in one of two ways. First, there are those who merely say, “a writer should write everyday.” This is good advice, but not very specific. I know what I should be doing. The problem is how. There’s also the classic “write for 10 minutes”, but again, it’s not specific enough, and I end up staring at my feet after only four. Word limits pose the same problem.  The second category is a group of books that may consider themselves an entire genre. These are the books that give too much information; are too specific. These are all grounded in the idea that there is an entire population of writers who are dying to put pen to paper everyday, poised at the edges of their desk chairs, staring down the elusive and illustrious blank page, and that most days these ballpoint heroes and heroines turn away, defeated. I do not believe this is the case. In my own experience, content is not the issue. My issue is discipline. The problem with this category of advice is when you tell me what to write, I lose interest because it doesn’t feel like it’s mine anymore. Especially if I’m not interested in the topic, there’s just no way I’m going to be motivated to do the work, and then the point is lost.  I know I need discipline, but how do I get that?

Habit.

So, to rephrase the issue at hand: How do I make a habit out of writing, and thus write more. I came to the conclusion that I needed an assignment, like the “write for 10 minutes” or the books full of prompts, but it needed to be somewhere in between: open enough that I could play and experiment, but with some modicum of structure to make me have to think. Something easy enough that it could become a habit, but still open enough for me to play with my own ideas and content. So that’s what I did.

The Assignment: Everyday I will write three pieces. One of these will  pertain to the past, one to the present, and the third to the future. Also, one will focus on a topic, one will focus on a character, and the third will be in the style of a memoir.

So that’s it. The combinations and the content are up to me. They could each be ten pages or two sentences. As I see it, the possibilities are endless and yet the assignment itself is quite simple. What I hope is that the simplicity fosters habit, but the practice helps me continue to grow as a writer all while getting some words on pages.

And last but not least…
Question 3: What does all this have to do with the blog?
When I first decided that “writer” was the profession for me, it came to mind that I would have to stop being so sheepish about letting other people read my work. Comes with the territory. So, for many years now I’ve not only been allowing people to read my stuff, I’ve been begging for it. As it turns out, without the feedback of others, it’s very hard to see the proverbial forest. This blog is for that very purpose. It stands to reason that with three pieces of writing for every day of the week, there will be some that I will hate. However, it also stands that there will be some that I will love. The blog will be a place for me to post those pieces that I feel are successful, either because they are exactly what I wanted them to be, or because they are so abysmally bad that there are lessons to be learned. Not every piece will be posted. I repeat: not every piece will be posted. (I repeat for my own benefit. Otherwise I get stage fright and end up not writing anything.)

The schedule should be thus: Monday through Friday I will do the assignment; Saturday I will pick my favorite(s) and post to the blog; Sunday is for rest. I cannot/will not guarantee this schedule, but if you find yourself on the internet on a Saturday with nothing to do and see that I haven’t posted, feel free to email me a nudge. I may ignore you; I may tell you to go away; but since I’m currently very motivated to do this, I am going to try to stick to the schedule.

Today is January 1, 2009. The assignment officially begins today with this post. Tomorrow will be a writing day, and then Saturday I will post some of the backlogged content I have from my previous false starts. Stay tuned!

As a final note, while I will not be posting anything pornographic in nature, I see my perspective on life as being solidly R-rated. If you are offended by cussing or the occasional reference to testicles, please do not bother to read. I am not interested in hearing about how a “real” writer shouldn’t need such language. Real writers work to create an authentic voice, and this one is mine, for good or ill.