It’s been a long time since I have written in this way. Long before there were blogs of any kind, I wrote to an email list. People found my life, or at least the colorful version of my life I shared through my carefully chosen words, to be entertaining enough to follow for many years.
Some big life changes put me in a position where I couldn’t get work and still be known as the person who wrote those stories. I was forced to scrub the Internet clean of all versions of myself.
But I miss the special sort of motivation that comes of sharing stories with you, one of the mysterious, unknown and unpredictable people of the Internet. Knowing I would write publicly later, moments in my day suddenly became brighter and lasted longer. I looked at them more closely. I held those moments a little longer in my hands, and words emerged that shaped themselves into poetry and condensed into deeper meaning. These gifts had been there all along, waiting for the light of my eyes and the warmth of my hands to have permission to grow.
And so I am returning. It is good to see you again. And if you’ve read this far, I hope that you consider trying this experiment yourself.
The recipe:
- Set a timer for 50-60 min.
- Type words
- Set a timer for 10 minutes
- Quickly edit the words, shaping them slightly in the short time you have
- Press the “publish” button. That’s right, you don’t get to edit any more. This is where the magic happens. By not being allowed to overthink, you will produce more and learn more quickly. And the world will receive the gift of your perspective and the opportunity to learn from your journey.
The beat poets considered editing to be a form of censorship. You wouldn’t want that, now would you?
