The WRite Life: Yes, I say you can
I tend to be slow. I write slowly and I rewrite even more slowly. Sometimes I become frustrated with myself.
And yet, I do produce. When I think about it or look around my living room and see stacks of pages from manuscripts or my printed work, I pat myself on my back.
Maybe you are not like me and more like Stephen King who has said that he writes 10k a day. Impressive for sure. Maybe you tend to give up because the work feels too daunting, and if one page feels so painful how and the heck can I write 90K?
Recently, I have taken to writing for The Shortform on Medium. I love this publication because I can write 150 words (the publication will not publish an article that exceeds 150 words) and edit the story before breakfast. I know there are other publications that welcome short readable pieces. Linkedin is another platform where people like to read short articles/stories.
Even if your goal is to write a book, a memoir, or even a short story, it is also great practice and meaningful to write for publications where you are pushed to work quickly and press submit without letting that inner critic red-mark your page.
I will paste my last piece from The Shortform below and create a link to another. If you write and publish the same day, I'd love to hear about it.
“How Are You?”
My consciousness is awakened
Recently when people ask me how I am doing, I say, “I am doing great, thank you.” I have always said this when asked this question. The change is I do feel great. I am no longer simply giving people what they want to hear so they can move on with their day.
Are there still obstacles, pain in my life? Absolutely. My ex-husband has taken me back to court. Relationships with family members have shown themselves to be different than what I thought. I still run out of money.
What has changed is this profound belief that I am blessed. I am learning to see wonders and beauty. Every day something outside takes my breath away, a hummingbird flying inches from my face, thinking I am a flower. A kiss from my thirteen-year-old daughter in front of her classmates.
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