It’s been a while since I have turned on this laptop. The familiar heat being absorbed into my lap is both anxiousness producing and comforting. You see dear reader, I have decided it is time to return to writing. I have said that before and inevitably a few days or months later the commitment falls by the wayside. You may be wondering why I have decided to pick up the torch again. The only answer I have for you is inspiration.

Recently, I was asked by a friend, someone I respect, to read a writing project he had been working on. Like myself, he occasionally feels the drive to put pencil to page and write down a story, an experience, or something pressing upon the heart to be written. When he asked me to read his work, I could feel the trepidation in his request. As much as he desired feedback, there was anxiousness around how the work would be received. I understand that feeling all too well. It’s hard for me to share my written works with others. It’s fear. Fear of how my work will be received by the reader. When I finished reading my friends work, I was genuinely impressed. He had crafted something truly wonderful. A snippet of a story that left me salivating for more. Descriptions engaging my imagination, allowing my minds eye to journey with him. Reading my friends work renewed my desire to create. It reminded me I too have an inner writer screaming to be released into the universe. I have said this before. I have stories, worlds, universes, and characters within waiting to take my readers hostage, much like my friends work took me hostage. That said, I don’t think I can simply return to my former creative self with a flip of a switch. I have lost much in the years I have been away from the craft. However, I have a plan.

I have decided to attempt to write dailies. I plan on writing daily for at least the month of October. It has been said if you do something for at least thirty days in a row, it creates a pathways in the brain encouraging habit formation. I want return to writing, making it a pillar of my daily existence. So this is the plan, I am committing myself to writing daily for at least an hour in October. I have looked at my life post-graduation and realized I am not accomplishing anything meaningful with free time I have after work. Writing for at least one hour a day will give some much needed structure to my free time, and it’ll allow me to slowly return to writing form. Practice makes perfect.

So, what can you expect from these writings? Well, the sky is the limit. These dailies will be much like the free-write exercises I did growing up. Others may call it a brain dump. I’m going where the writing takes me without plan or structure. There may be entries that have a journal flair to them, much like this one. There may be entries full of random descriptions of worlds, vistas, cities, or systems. There may be entries full of character interactions, discussions, or arguments. There may be entries that allow me to process real world stressors. Who knows? The goal here is not to hyper structure the entries but, to allow for ideas to freely flow for an hour. There may be entries that make no sense and, that’s OK. The important part of these exercises is to allow thoughts to flow freely. Eventually, my proficiency for writing will increase and, I’ll become a better writer. That’s the goal. My characters deserve the best writer I can become. And soon enough there may be a novel or a short work ready for general consumption.

That’s a scary thought. Spending hours writing a single work for an extended period of time, full of complex characters and scenarios. Eek. One step at a time. Lets just focus on one entry at a time. Who knows where this will take me. I do know this. Sometimes a blank page can be the scariest thing in the world. Paralyzing endless possibility. You wouldn’t think those words fit together well. How can possibility be paralyzing? Think about it. Writers can take a blank page and craft whatever their hearts desire. There’s a very specific brand of pressure that comes with this freedom. A freedom that engages the creative side of the brain. Sometimes creativity refuses to flow and you are left staring at blank page for hours. In a very real way the exercise I am about to engage in gives the writer permission so simply write. That is the point of this exercise. To simply put pencil to page and let the words flow for an hour. In the process proficiency will hopefully grow.

I confess. I have checked my writing timer at least three times over this hour. All at points where I thought I had no more to say. It turns out, I just needed to continue writing. Now, however, the timer has officially ended. Thus, this entry is complete. And would you look at that, its a coherent thought with a beginning, middle, and end. It is possible to write a complete entry in an hours time that makes sense. I look forward to this exercise and what it may produce in the end. I hope you will join me along the way.

Till next we meet.