WRITING
My War of Art: 100 Days of Writing
For the next 100 days, I will send at least one post per day on Medium
In 2002, Steven Pressfield wrote a great book called “The War of Art”. It is about the inner battle we all face when doing creative work.
I have to confess it’s still on my “books to read” list. But right now, going to war is the best way to describe my feelings, as I embark on the challenge of publishing one article each day on Medium for the next 100 days.
It’s going to be harsh but instructive. And today, I want to share with you my initial doubts, hopes, and what I plan to do to win that war. I hope it can inspire you, perhaps even make you want to join this exciting challenge!
The doubts
As I write this sentence, I still can’t believe I will do it. You might think it’s not a bit deal, but for me, it is, and for good reasons.
First, English is not my mother language. These days, I read a lot in English. But I don’t speak the language that often, and I make many grammar mistakes.
Secondly, I am a full-time software engineer, making it hard to find a moment each day to write.
Last but not least, I am a very slow thinker and a chronic perfectionist. My default way of working is to produce very little at a time.
At school, I was notorious for being a slow writer. I would argue that I focus on quality, which sometimes paid off. Like this glorious day in my philosophy class at 16, where the teacher congratulated me for writing an excellent two pages essay, while others raced to write the lengthiest one.
I even became proud of it, especially when I found out Derek Sivers had the same trait. But this slowness won’t be my best asset in a writing challenge.
And I am a little afraid to fall into burnout after a few weeks.
The hopes
By now, you may say: “Alex, why do you do this to yourself??”
I know the picture looks grim:
- My English won’t compare to the great native writers out here.
- It’s going to remove big chunks from my spare time.
- And I’ll be exhausted.
But hey, I’m 42 years old now. And as I age, I will never be as fierce as today to win this war of art.
So why not?
My primary motivation for this challenge is to improve my writing and develop an English-speaking audience, as I have a book in mind.
And I believe Medium is an excellent school of writing:
- It’s got a vibrant community.
- It gives you nice metrics to measure your writing quality level, such as an evaluation of the reading time for each article.
- And it’s got plenty of editors to make you progress.
This is why I became more and more interested in this platform in the past week.
After all that thinking, what I needed was just a spark to light my fire. And I have to give credit to Dr Mehmet Yildiz for helping me decide to embark on this challenge.
Dr Mehmet Yildiz is the creator of the famous ILLUMINATION publication. And he has a delightful way of reassuring someone who feels intimidated.
When I read his article on the 100 Days Challenge idea, I immediately thought it was for me.
Especially when he wrote that you just need to “start with 100 words, then increase 300 words, then 500, then 1000 words, or more later when you gain momentum and stamina.”
Dr Mehmet Yildiz is totally right! I do have 10 minutes each day to write at least 100 words. So how could I fail?
Today’s article is a long one because I felt inspired. But there will be days when I won’t write more than 100 words. And it’s going to be ok!
The plan
Although I will allow myself to write short-form articles, this won’t be my goal. I like to develop my ideas, and I’ll probably aim for 500 words articles.
I know it’ll be hard and that I’ll need some kind of support to help me with this hustle.
Fortunately, my main field of interest is personal productivity. So I know one or two things to successfully carry out a personal project.
Here’s what I plan to do for this challenge…
To develop consistency and motivation:
- I will develop a habit of writing for one hour each morning when I wake up.
- I will do calls with my accountability partner to help me stay focused on my goals.
- I will actively participate in various writers’ communities — currently, I’m part of the Write Useful Books and ILLUMINATION slack workspaces.
To find inspiration:
- I will read medium articles and follow interesting writers that I enjoy.
- I will read a book each day for at least 30 minutes.
- I will do daily walks in nature.
To avoid burnout:
- I will do meditation or take a nap each morning after publishing my daily article.
- I will do vigorous exercise during my walks in nature.
- I will write articles in advance.
To ensure I write quality articles:
- I will never publish an article the same day I wrote the first draft so that I can edit it properly.
- I will use Grammarly to spot my grammar mistakes.
- I will practice writing exercises, such as studying my favorite authors and reusing their writing plans.
I know it sounds a lot. But if I can do at least 50% of this plan, I will be pleased. Hopefully, this will help me get to the end of this challenge.
Let’s do it!
As I write this sentence, I can feel both excitement and overwhelm. A 100 days of writing is a long journey, and I will need to use many personal resources to complete it.
But I know I will be proud one day when I remember this time. And that makes me very happy!
So let’s get this challenge going, shall we? :)
