Letter #28: 10,000 subscribers! Thank you!
It’s been just over six months since I’ve started 100 Naked Words. I’ve been writing every day since Day 1 and have had the most wonderful people come along for the ride.
Together, we’ve grown this community in leaps and bounds. It started out as a personal challenge.
There are a bunch of people I would like to thank.
These writers have inspired me with their dedication and the drive to keep coming back, day after day.
Most importantly, they come back when they drop off. It’s really difficult to keep a daily habit, even if it’s 100 words a day.
But that’s the point. I’m a big fan of choosing your own struggles and this is one I’m willing to put through every day for myself. I want to grow and I know that by fighting tooth and nail to get my daily entry done, I will be inching forward towards my mecca.
Special thanks to:
- Sanika Tillway,
- Rémi Ravel,
- Hiong,
- Ronald C. Flores-Gunkle,
- Gail Boenning,
- Brenda T. Ahimbisibwe,
- Ken D. Orlich,
- Lauren Foreman,
- Erika Sauter, and
- Ruth Goncalves
It spurs me on seeing daily entries from you guys. To have support for my vision of a place where more people embrace the writer sleeping inside themselves through hard work.
I have forgotten some people, but the ones who have been writing and contributing the most, you know who you are :).
It all started with one question:
Knowing the power of microhabits, could I build a publication that champions consistent effort?
People from all around the world saw my personal challenge and it called out to them. They too wanted to awaken their inner writer and push through the pain of writers block and consistency to raise the volume of their inner voice.
I’ve faced my share of challenges along the way, one of them being writing consistently. What I’ve found has worked for me is writing in the morning, before I get started with the day’s work. It’s now an entrenched habit I can’t imagine not having.
At the same time, I go through the submissions for the day and publish them. In my writers, I see the challenges all writers face at the beginning:
- running out of ideas,
- burning out,
- finding the time to write,
But to their credit, they go on. They fill the space on the screen and empty their mind of their tangled thoughts.
It’s a beautiful mess — but it’s our beautiful mess.
I was quietly pleased when I got to 100 subscribers. I was incredibly humbled when I got to 1,000 subscribers. I am positively awed to get to 10,000 subscribers.
I won’t allow myself to think about the next milestone, 10 times bigger. It’ll happen if it’s meant to happen.
All I can do is keep writing for you, sharing my love of the habit and passion for the written word.
100 Naked Words in 100 days — get a head start on 2017
I really want you to challenge yourself and write everyday, but I know for a lot of people, this self belief isn’t there.
You want to write a book, start a blog, be a screenwriter or something else, but the first step is to write.
Writing with no end in sight might be too daunting, which is why I’ve modified the challenge for you.
You can join 100 Naked Words if you can stick to the goal of writing 100 words a day for 100 days straight.
This goal will still challenge a lot of people, but it’s a bit more realistic. If I can awaken your writer’s voice, you won’t have to worry about not writing every day. You may very well keep writing after the 100th day!
You need to feel the change in yourself and to do that, you just need to take action. If you want to get a head start on 2017, send an email to 100nakedwords (at) gmail [dot] com and tell me:
- about the work that gives your life meaning, and
- your Medium username.
If you’re a good fit, I’ll add you and you can get started.
Please give a warm welcome to:
Hoping to see your stories soon,
-J.
