I have always enjoyed writing. I have been writing poetry ever since I was a child. It really bothered me my that my current condition makes it difficult for me to sit up and type for an hour and maybe edit for another half hour. I took a challenge upon myself to write everyday of this month come what may in as many communities as possible. I am proud to say that I have crossed the halfway mark.
To be honest this journey hasn't been easy. Even when my post mainly of photographs I always make it a point to edit my images and describe them ensuring that my post contains a minimum of 700 words. Some days have been tough, and I struggled to hit the publish button before bedtime. Yet, I did it day after day and I believe its all a case of mind over matter.
I remember ten years ago I took up a challenge of writing 40,000 words in the month of November, posting a chapter each day on a Fiction writing site which has gone kaput. This was so much fun as many of my friends from one writing site joined this challenge. Most of us except a couple had written a novel by the end of November (don't ask if it was good or bad, we just did it.) Things were so easy back then.
The problem now is not the writing, it is the sitting. I guess I can still write. I struggle with my vocabulary these days. If you think I struggle with uncommon words that's not the case, I struggle with common everyday words. The other day I wanted to tell the hubs to switch the kettle on but I just couldn't remember the word 'kettle'.
When I complained about this issue to my son he suggested that I try to write every day. Well let me explain this a bit here, my son is a Neurosurgeon, I go to him with most of my problems as I trust him more than any other doctor. My son also suggested that I play scrabble and other word games online. I opted to write and that was the beginning of this challenge.
Things haven't improved drastically, but I have found that the rhythm and flow of writing is slowly coming back. I still struggle with words. English isn't my first language so I could blame it on that, sadly this happens even in the vernacular.
Writing on Hive has helped me rediscover my passion for writing. I love to write poetry, but I guess the audience for poetry is very limited. A writer loves to be read, I guess there is no writer, no matter how bad he / she is, who wishes that no one reads his/her work.
I love to write on any subject, but I am often stuck with which community I should post my content in. I started to write this post and realized that it didn't fit in anywhere, so I did a bit of restructuring to make it fit in the self improvement community. Gardening and photography are my favorite subjects, but to think of it I used to write so much on self-improvement for years and ran my own website on the subject.
Writing helps me in so many ways not just to keep my memory intact. Writing helps me to keep my mind busy. I think for hours about what I should write every day. It takes my mind off things that would otherwise stress me out. I am looking for fresh ideas wherever I go. Writing also takes my mind off the boredom of doing mundane work around the home.
I remember I used to keep a list of topics earlier in my journal I just had to look into it before I start writing. I have fallen out of that habit and I guess its time to go back to it. Maybe I could record my thoughts as they come in my phone.
There are days when I have a few dozen ideas and can't make up my mind on what to write. On other days my mind draws a blank and refuses to come up with anything. Even if I get an idea my mind refuses to cooperate with me and my writing doesn't progress beyond the first paragraph.
I believe that I need to enjoy what I do, I hate stressing myself out about writing, I don't want to lose the joy of writing. The whole purpose of this challenge was to get into the habit of writing. I know for sure that anything you do for a period of 21 days or more becomes a habit and I need to get into this grove, for my own mental health's sake.
I've got another 14 days to go and I hope to keep up this energy and interest. There are days when I tell myself, "It's okay, I will write a couple of posts tomorrow," but who knows what will happen tomorrow. I had a few half written drafts which took me through the first week of this challenge, but the second week's content was freshly written everyday. Things got a bit easier as the week went by.
The struggle goes on, but I believe I can put mind over matter. I believe I can do this just for myself. I am sure my confidence and faith in myself with go up by a notch at the end of this 30 day journey.
Happiness, I believe is each individual's responsibility. It is not your circumstance or your situation that determines your happiness. It's being able to take control over your emotions and being able to enjoy the little things life offers you even in the most difficult situation. As always I am determined to be happy and do what I love, so here I am writing day after day.
So send me your good thoughts and wishes. I need them to keep me on track. Thank you for all your help and support. I appreciate it very much.
Images and words used in this post belong to me.