How I Wrote 750 Words a Day for a Year
By: Cheney Meaghan
Tags: Inspiration, Creativity, Advice, Writing, Writing Tips

On May 20th, I passed the 365 day mark on writing daily at 750words.com.

750words.com is a website with one purpose only — go there every day and type out 750 words, and do it as many days in a row as you can.

It’s just like Jerry Seinfeld’s Don’t Break the Chain mentality, along with a dose of Julia Cameron’s morning pages, because 750 words is equal to about three handwritten notebook pages.

I love the idea of morning pages, but have never been able to stick to a good morning routine that lends itself to notebook scrawling, so I love 750words.com because I can write any time of day I want and still get the same benefits of daily journaling.

But, because I do my 750 daily words online, I do a lot more than just journal.

750words.com is the place where most of my Medium stories begin. It’s the place where I brainstorm story ideas, it’s the place where I track my daily mood and book I am reading, and the place I go to vent my darkest frustrations.

The five dollars per month I spend for 750words.com is the best five dollars a month I spend on anything next to Medium, and I’m here to tell you why:

It gets you to show up every day.

Signing up for 750words.com, knowing that you have a purpose to go there and write every day and not break the chain, teaches you to show up and write no matter what.

Part of it is knowing that I am spending $5 a month for an online journal that no one is ever going to read, but the biggest part has to do with setting and reaching little goals — another thing the website helps you do along the way.

As you reach milestones in your writing, you receive badges of honor — for meeting thirty days, 100 days, 365 days…

There are also badges for the number of words you’ve written, how fast you write, how often you write early in the morning…there are tons of little goals built into the journal that are fun to try to reach, and my goal to get to 365 days was surely the thing that kept me going this long.

It gives you the freedom to write anyway.

Knowing that this is a private journal gives me the freedom to write whatever I want, whenever I want, so there are a lot of things in there that aren’t things I’m willing to share, but they’re definitely things I needed to get out of me.

When they say that writing is better than therapy, this is what they are talking about — a place to write where you are free to be who you are and to share everything you want without THE FEAR.

This is the place where I give myself permission to be free and write whatever I want, whenever I want, like this article right now!

Let’s face it, there are always going to be things that we feel like we have to say but aren’t able to share, and 750words.com is a great place to do it, knowing that it will always be there and searchable for you if you need to come back to those words.

It holds you accountable.

As I mentioned, it helps to remind yourself that you’re paying for the privilege of writing on 750words.com, and that you are working to not break the chain, but it also helps you set and meet small, manageable goals.

Once you start writing there and seeing those green X’s at the top of the page, you’re going to want to get more badges.

Tell yourself you’ll write every day for ten days.

Then tell yourself you’ll write for thirty days.

Then one hundred days.

You can do it, you can keep showing up and writing and meet all of your little goals.

Try going for 100,000 words, then 250,000, then on to a million!

How could you not keep going when you see all of your words piling up and up before you, days and nights of writing, whether you are going to share all of these things or not, at least you showed up and wrote all of these words.

Anyone can write 750 words a day for a year.

This is one of those If I can do it, you can do it type things.

Don’t worry about the time — you will find it.

I write on average between 60 and 80 words per minute and it takes me about fifteen to twenty minutes tops to write my words if I am just stream of conscious journaling.

If you want to make writing every day a priority, you will be able to carve out those twenty to thirty minutes to dump your brain, and if you have more time, you’ll be able to make real magic happen.

But that’s what it takes — making writing a priority.

One less Friends re-run.

Staying up or getting up a little bit early.

Saying no to things that aren’t as high a priority as getting your words done.

Saying yes to doing the thing you are here on this earth to do — write!

I am not at all affiliated with or compensated by 750words.com — I just love it and think it’s a great tool for all writers!