Continuing on empty

Years ago I heard a writer talk about their process of output. Each day they sit down and write, and each day they have a minimum word count they strive for. On days when they feel sick they still write, and looking back weeks later they’re unable to see a qualitative difference in the sick days versus healthy days.

During my years of writing fiction I’d put down 1,000 words/day, 6 days/week. Rain or shine I’d write. Some days I felt up to it, many days I didn’t. Sometimes on the most stressed out days my work felt more inspired because of the constraints and pressure.

There’s been an interesting shift for me in the last few months of writing on my blog. Right now I’m going for 750 words each work day. Often I’ll sit down and put words to page, without really considering ahead of time how I’ll do it. Ideas come to mind and I follow them.

This process is so much fun, and most days it’s a joy to just write. I’m pulling from life experience, pulling from inspirational things around me, and just chasing down ideas. Some times I have a vague sense of where I’ll go, but you dear reader find out with me as we explore.

Other days, though, I’m quite worn out and feeling empty from the experience of life. On those days I’m still writing, but often a little more unsure of myself. Some of my favorite gems have come from those days though, the days where I thought there was nothing left and so pulled from the air. On those days, when everything is just write, it seems the muse strikes and helps me out, pulls something magical out that I didn’t know I had.

That’s why I think there’s value in writing regardless of how we feel, we never know what will come of it.