Write every day! - August 2025 - Day 3

[zwei_hexen]

Tally:
Welcome post

Day 1: badly_knitted, brithistorian, carenejeans, chanter1944, cornerofmadness, glinda, goddes47, luzula, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, the_siobhan, trobadora, yasaman, ysilme

Day 2: badly_knitted, brithistorian, callmesandyk, carenejeans, cornerofmadness, glinda, goddes47, luzula, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, the_siobhan, yasaman, yslme

Let us know if we missed you or if you didn't check in for a while, so we can add you. Of course joining the fun is possible at any point.

~ ~ ~

ysilme here: no fic for me today, but a bit over 1,5k of a long diary/morning pages/life reflecting entry.

sylvanwitch here: Today’s words were an entry in my travel journal describing the hike we took yesterday.

Comments

[trobadora]

Checking in for the 2nd and 3rd.

[sylvanwitch]

Yay! Words were made and you made them!

[ysilme]

Words were happening, go you! ♥

[china_shop]

Hi!! *waves and waves* My arms have been bad lately, and I've been failing at checking in, but:

1st & 2nd: a flashfic for fan_flashworks.
3rd: dreamwidth post (minimal actual writing, but some)
4th: 451 words of a new flashfic for fan_flashworks. Not sure if it's working.

[sylvanwitch]

Oh, no! I’m so sorry you’re having such a difficult time. I do hope the pain eases off soonest!

Go, you, for getting in words every day! I hope you’re able to resolve the flashfic issue to your satisfaction!

[china_shop]

<3 <3 <3

[ysilme]

*waves back* So sorry to hear your arms being a bother, but go you for making writing happening on every dey even so! *\O/* I hope they're improving soon. ♥

[china_shop]

<3 <3 <3

Day 3 check-in

[the_siobhan]

Some notes prepping for the next chapter.

Re: Day 3 check-in

[sylvanwitch]

May those notes prove extra helpful for you! :-)

[brithistorian]

Journaling is still words! Way to do!

Day 3: 1014 words of "I Don't Like Your Girlfriend — Remix"! I finished and posted chapter 59; 5 chapters to go!

[sylvanwitch]

Thank you! :-)

Oh, excellent progress! *does the happy finished chapter dance with you*

[ysilme]

Yay for finishing and posting your chapter!

I find journalling in general quite useful as writing exercise in general / a good means to improve my writing - but with "journalling" I mean the kind where text is written, not just listing facts or statistics (I'm also doing a bullet journal but that's something entirely different, at least to me.) Not this time, but often I'm doing it in longhand, which is another kind of writing exercise on top of the content, as I'm writing so much slower with a pen, which makes for a different interaction with what I'm writing, if that makes any sense.

[brithistorian]

I'm doing it in longhand, which is another kind of writing exercise on top of the content, as I'm writing so much slower with a pen, which makes for a different interaction with what I'm writing, if that makes any sense.

That totally makes sense. I keep a bullet journal, which is a combination of appointments for the day, daily affirmation, significant things that happen during the day, books I finish that day, etc. Then I also keep a 10-year diary, where I've got five lines to note the most significant things that happened that day, which requires a different sort of thought. I've done longer-form longhand journaling in the past (which seems to be the sort of thing you're doing), which works well when I'm in a phase of life that I want to do that sort of thing.

I haven't tried writing fiction longhand in a while, but if I did, I'd probably still have the same problem I did with it last time I tried: I can't write fast enough to keep up with my ideas, so I'd get frustrated. (Though I'm sure I could do it if I had no other means available.)

The one writing practice that I've tried that just absolutely, positively did not work for me at all is "morning pages" (a la Julia Cameron). I've tried it — several times — and I don't feel like I have the obstacles that she talks about that the morning pages are supposed to clear. Instead, I found the morning pages themselves to be an obstacle, getting in the way of what I was trying to do that day.

[ysilme]

Yeah, my Bullet Journal is mostly the same, though I gave up on the 10-year-diary as I missed too many entries over time. I'm trying to switch to a monthly entry but didn't manage that as well yet, too. I'm so often short on spoons and energy, so after my daily duties I'd rather write a bit of fic than do a journal entry.

I'm also not usually writing longhand for the same reasons (if I didn't have other means, I'd learn shorthand, but even when I was using an old-fashioned, mechanical typewriter I typed much faster than I wrote by hand ^^ ). The kind of longhand writing/not-really-journalling I'm doing is actually my own version of the Morning Pages. I tried these in the usual fashion, too, but they wouldn't work for me, partly as morning isn't a good time for me for this (and most other things ;op), partly because I usually had the need for such mental release was late at night, or during the afternoon, and partly as it takes a few hours after showering for my skin to no longer be sticky, which makes longhand writing tricky. (I have neurodermatitis and need relatively fatty creams after showering which take a long time to be fully absorbed, particularly since my hand is always lying on the paper as I'm left-handed).
Anyway, so I'm writing these sometime during the day, and also only when I have the need to work something out for myself, get something off my soul or heart, or just put thoughts and musings into writing to feel better afterwards. I'm calling them "daily pages" for that reason, but each time I do them they definitely have also a psychological impat on me, and one I came to really appreciate.

This is also my general approach to things that sound useful or good but won't work for me (which happens more often than not, for various reason): adapt them to my circumstances and my needs, and enjoy what I'm getting out of it.

[sanguinity]

ysilme: that is a substantial chunk of writing!

sylvanwitch: lovely! you'll enjoy looking back on that someday, I bet.

Aug 3. Three hundred words, expanding my alibi sentences of a few days ago into a proper story start. (Because that's what I need in my life: yet another new story!)

[sylvanwitch]

Thank you! I'm looking forward to wandering through my memories someday in the future. :-)

Oh, excellent! A new story! *grins* (Seriously, as someone for whom new stories pop up when I least need them, I empathize.)

[ysilme]

Thanks!
Sympathies about yet another story, ;op but go you for getting a proper story start out of alibi sentences!

[yasaman]

Day 3: 409 words and some comment replies for me today!

[sylvanwitch]

Excellent progress! YAY!

[callmesandyk]

Day 3: wrote wrote. Just a little.

[sylvanwitch]

A few words or many...it all counts here! :-)

[badly_knitted]

Well done both of you for your words!

Aug 3rd - 947 words. Two double drabbles, an expanded ficathon fill, and some work on my unfinished fic. Which is still unfinished.

[sylvanwitch]

Thank you!

Lovely progress on the finished stuff AND the unfinished stuff. I have every confidence in you getting there. :-)

[badly_knitted]

Thank you!

I will, this unfinished one is a challenge fic I started a couple of days ago so I have to get it done this week, but I've had other things to focus on today so it's having to wait a bit.

[carenejeans]

Day 3: Moar noodling! 8-)

[sylvanwitch]

YAY FOR NOODLING! :-D

[ysilme]

Yay for words wording for you! :o) Journalling is such an important part of writing, I believe, even if it might seem mundane (depending on how and what one is journalling - mine often is!). Describing a hike sounds like a perfect writing exercise, too, and inspires me to do just that as a much-needed writing exercise for landscape decriptions in English. (You're probably not surprised that, while I otherwise mostly write in English, my journalling and morning pages are mostly done in German).