500 words a day ...

A blog I subscribe to posted about a 31-day, 500-word challenge, with the goal of (you guessed it) writing every. Single. Day for 31 days.

And so I’ve decided to jump on the bandwagon.

And with that, I’ve got 34 words.

Why? Because, as  I’ve previously mentioned, I’ve lost the drive to write. Blog, actually. I still journal. And that’s well over 500 words (almost) every time.

I want to get back into the habit of writing.  I enjoy it, it’s a good outlet for me, so I figure why not?
And now I’m stuck for a topic. And I will have just under 400 words to go when I reach the end of this sentence.

Drat.

Honestly, I thought the words would just flow out of me, kind of like a stream of consciousness or something. Because the rules state that I’m not supposed to edit anything.  Nothing. Nada. I just keep writing. But of course, I stop to fix spelling/spacing/grammar errors.  I don’t want to look that ridiculous online.  I can do that with just my word choices!

Or not.

Anyway, I figure this is a good use of my lunch break, seeing that it’s raining outside. So I’m typing words between bites of homemade chili.

Seriously, 30 more days of this? I don’t know which is worse: me having to type this, or you having to read it?

And up until today, I always thought 500 words was too little. I still remember submitting papers in university with microscopic footnotes and almost non-existent margins so that I could get the right page count in; it seems I always had something to say!

“Five hundred words?!” I said to myself this morning. “Pssht. That’s easy-peasy.”

Now I think I get what some of my students went through when they struggled to complete a page-long assignment.  I remember them skipping lines, writing in really big letters, and still only filling half the page with their thoughts.

Oh. My. Goodness. I’m not even at 400 yet.

And I just cheated for the first time by deleting an entire sentence and writing this one instead.  We’ll allow me a mulligan every now and again.

Mulligan. I wonder where that word came from?  Huh. Apparently there was a Canadian golfer named Mulligan who, in recompense for weekly driving his four friends to a golf club in Montreal, received an extra shot.

Personally, I’d prefer gas money. Or at least food.  I guess maybe I’m not a die-hard enough golf fan to appreciate that particular gift…

Yes! Less than 400 words to go!  Almost there!

Words are fascinating, truth be told.  I’ll often describe myself as a “word nerd” and even so, there are words that I have never heard of or used that I come across on a regular basis.  Yesterday, the word I learned was “Maven” which means “Expert.” And after I learned what it meant, I heard it used at least once on the radio.

Funny how that happens.

And with that, I’m over 500.  Hooray!  Let’s hope my next foray into writing (tomorrow) will not be as all over the place.