This November, I’m challenging myself to write every day. You can read them all under the “Shorts” category, where each post should be around 500–1k words. Think of them as “less polished” than my usual longer blog posts. This is Day 30 — FINAL DAY.
I set out to write at least 500-1k words every day for 30 days. I chose November because it coincides with NaNoWriMo month. I wanted to think and express myself better while boosting my visibility online, so how did that turn out?
Most of the topics I've written about so far have been around personal growth and mindful productivity, which isn't surprising given that I had a hunch that this would be the case. I thought I could find something else, but I eventually found myself back to those topics. Only by taking action by writing did I manage to reinforce what I enjoy writing about. I'm glad I did though because my thoughts are now up for grabs on the internet. Anyone can get to know me better by reading what I write. It's also useful for me if I need any references, or for my future self to see how much I've grown by tracking my progress and setting a baseline now.
At one point, I felt iffy writing "N ways/signs/steps to" content, but it felt the "easiest" to write for beginner writers (< 1 year experience) and easier for readers to read. However, it had become too formulaic and predictable for my liking. It didn't sit well with me. After putting it out there for the universe (Twitter lol), I slowly found myself moving away from it in the second half of the month. I became more observant and started reading into how other writers I admire write. How did they structure their posts? How did they make one paragraph flow into the next so smoothly? What's unnecessary that can be cut out?
It's about knowing what good writing means to you. It's about cultivating your taste. For example, how do you know what good food is or how to cook good food? You find out what's good food to you by eating good food. The same is true for writing. After writing for the past 30 days, I think I've gotten a bit better at writing. It's not a huge improvement, but I can see a bit of progress. Of course, I'm still honing my craft. There is still a lot to learn, after all.
My SO suggested that I should finish my 30-day writing challenge with a shitpost, but I don't know how to do it with class, I told him. Instead, I'm going to be Very Honest about my whole experience. In my humble opinion, I'm SO GLAD IT'S OVER AND I'M NOT OBLIGATED TO WRITE AND PUBLISH EVERY DAY AFTER TODAY AHHH. Don't get me wrong. I did put myself into this situation, but my god was it still difficult to write every day. It wasn't so much about the writing process itself as it was about the constant battle I had with myself. I wasn't sure if my writing would be good enough to be read. I struggled a lot, but I forced myself to do it and get out of my comfort zone because that's how I can learn better and improve my writing. The desire to learn triumphs all.
Now that I've completed the challenge, I can move on to other focuses. I'll still continue to write my regular blog posts and my newsletter more intentionally. For now, I'm taking a short break from writing. My next post would probably be either on my Q4 reflection or a year in review.
Thanks for following my 30-day writing journey, dear readers!
Stats:
- My blog: There is a slight increase in unique visitors, total page views and duration, compared to the last month, but nothing big.
- Twitter: Even though my tweet impressions increased and I published every day, there is a drop in followers compared to the last month. It's most likely the case because of engaging with lesser people + too many topics (a lack of focus, but I wanted to explore so I sort of expected it).
- Medium: It's my first time posting on Medium, so it's a big win that I have — 463 views, 216 reads, 61 claps, 16 new followers.
As with many things, writing is a long game. If you want to see results, the only way to do so is to keep writing and sharing.
