Positives:
1. I like the accountability for writing every single day.
2. I like knowing my writing will have an audience.
3. I do find myself generating more ideas to write about (though I struggled with this today).
4. I find myself discussing my writing with my students more regularly, and I think their attitudes around writing have improved as a result.
Negatives:
1. I am a compulsive editor/reviser. I hate to have anything published that is not perfect, and not having the time to do that is killing me a little bit (but is also helping me get over my inhibitions that might otherwise prevent me from writing).
2. This is not my favorite genre of writing. My writing usually lives in a strictly fictional world, and making the time to write the slices is starting to feel like it is keeping me from pursuing other projects. (Are there similar challenges out there for fiction? Poetry? I imagine there must be...)
3. There are very personal things I feel drawn to write about that I do not necessarily want published online for anyone to stumble upon. There's nothing stopping me from writing about those things anyway, but making time to slice every day means less time for that other writing.
I have had a really positive experience with the SOLSC so far, but after a personally draining day, I am feeling a little frustrated. Looking forward to some relaxation tomorrow to recharge and think up some better material for our last week!
I am glad you posted today, despite having a difficult day. I have a couple of thoughts that might help with some of the negative aspects of the challenge.
ReplyDelete1. Why not apply some of your fiction writing skills to a slice? You can focus on a small scene from your day (or your past) and write it out.
2. I don't out really personal stuff on my blog. Parents and students might read it. I save that stuff for the handwritten journal I keep by my bed.
3. We all post knowing that these are mere drafts.
I am glad that the SOLSC has been positive for you so far. I hope tomorrow is a better day.
Such interesting thoughts! I often have a lot of ideas for writing during March, but slicing keeps me from pursuing most of them. Some days do feel like a grind. I am trying to be a little more creative with format on those days so that I can still be happy about my piece. I hear you on the need to keep editing/polishing. In my first year of the challenge, I usually posted later in the day just because I couldn't stop editing! In April there's a great daily poetry challenge, in December a daily haiku challenge. I don't know about fiction beyond NaNoWriMo. But those are some daily writing challenges you might enjoy.
ReplyDeleteBlogging is different kind of writing for sure. I don't always "count" it as my regular writing either. There is some freedom in the format and remember you can go back and edit and revise certain posts later. This helps with my mindset that if I write and publish too early I can fix it!
ReplyDeleteYou are doing great and I have enjoyed all your posts immensely!