One Day Before May.

I was looking for some motivation yesterday, so I looked up writing tips. Something to get me going because it's okay to pursue something that will pay the bills, but I couldn't live with myself if I ever lost sight of the dream I have to become a professional writer.

There were tons of tips:

• Don't edit until your draft is finished
• Kill your darlings
• Short sentences
• Make every word count

And the one that stood out more than anything else,

• Keep writing

Write everyday. Something, anything that keeps you going. I look at it as a way to keep me grounded. In a time where my life seems to be moving a million miles a second, writing seems to be the only thing  that keeps me from hyperventilating in a dark corner.

The tippers go on to explain that it doesn't matter that what you write isn't the best thing you'll ever see. It takes a long time to get to that point and with out trying you have nothing to show.

One other thing I took away from my reading was that You need to get over the fear of writing badly.

I have never had someone say that to me before. Throughout all of my creative writing courses, no one has ever said that you need to just get used to the fact that you will rarely produce something that you are happy with on the first go. This is also where Kill your darlings comes in. Even if you are completely happy with something you write, you're more than likely going to have to select all and press Delete.

Then I remembered a challenge that I took up a couple of years ago which I called "A Prompt a Day in May". It's very simple. Just write everyday for the month of May. It can be anything (I leaned more toward the creative side) and you're able to use prompts for help/inspiration. I remember how impressed I was with myself after completing the month and realized that different story ideas kept popping into my head, even when I felt like they never would. They say that forcing yourself to write even when you think you can't gets your creative juices flowing. After some time your mind is tuned into picking up little details in your everyday life that you can include into your stories are even use for the basis of one.

I found the best way to keep this going was to keep a small jounral with me at all times. Something that you could easily pull out when you notice something that intruiges you, that way you can catch it in the moment instead of risking the feeling getting stale.

This is why I have decided to bring myself back to writing with this challenge once again. I will not become one of those people who gets caught up in life and forgets what they really want to accomplish. Instead of sitting at watching and episode of Greys Anatomy, I can spend that time writing. If writing is as important to me as I say it is, then it's time to stop negecting it.

Hopefully this challenge will not only bring me to start projects, but finish them as well.

So, look out for my daily posts starting tomorrow. Let's see if I can get an actual following because of it as well.

Cheers!