1 Jan 2017

Just a quick 500 words

...meh, how hard can it be, right?

Today marks the start of 2017. A new year, a new me. Vomit. How pretentious and predestined for failure and disappointment. A new year, a continuation of the growth of me. Maybe sideways growth. Eugh. A new year, let's do this shit.

So, I've signed up for a writing program - it's called Write500 and was started by a tech prodigy / former colleague of mine. Given that I wanted to be a journalist/writer when I was a wee 'un and have always fancied myself a bit of a wordy sonofagun, I thought "Hey, why the hell not?".

Day 1: your motivational as to why this program important to you.

So here goes.

I have trouble finishing things. There, I said it.

Ever since I was little, I've loved to start a hundred little projects (preferably mostly at the same time), get to a point where it stops being exciting, and then drift off (preferably without cleaning up. I somehow never got this bit right though). I have always had grand dreams and plans of being this creative fiend who inspires others with my magical way with prose, colours, composition etc., but when the going gets repetitive, I lose interest.

Take 2015's project for example: Gratitude 365.
Catchy. You take a pic every day of something you're grateful for, and post it. 365 pics - that doesn't seem so  hard, now does it? But wait! Before you (read: I) can start the project you have to create a blog *cue spending 3-5 days on selecting the perfect template, font, tagging system etc. before you can begin posting.* Then, it must be accessible from mobile so that you can post from your phone. So you (read: I) need to install the app and make all appropriate customisations there too. Ok, now you're a week in and you haven't posted anything yet - but don't worry, they're all saved as drafts so that you (read: I) can style and add text when you're ready.... And you're now more than a week behind before you've even started. Classic me. I think I got to somewhere in Feb with actual, published posts, and drafts went up to somewhere around March (or May, it started with a "M"). 


The year before was the project I started with my little "Gir" action figure: G is for GIR.
I would take him out and position him against various backdrops, taking pics and captioning. It was a project in trying to capture real situations with an unreal subject. So, like, arty and totally like deep, man... I think I took him out twice. *hangs head in shame*




The year before that saw me starting to create a sort of charity repository: Making A Difference in SA [MAD SA].
It was borne out of my initial desire to do something different when I got married, in not just taking gifts but rather giving back. However I struggled to find a legitimate organisation to support. There are so many out there, but how do you know where to find them and if they are what they say they are, and do what they say they do? I found so many organisations with a poor online presence, and knowing that I was looking online for a giving channel I realised they were being disadvantaged in their efforts because of their lack of tech representation. So this little project was supposed to be a "free online portal" for both the organisations represented and the people looking to channel their giving. *cough*


And not to forget 2011/12's project to digitise my poetry and song lyrics: Anastacia's Heart.
This one really was the starter for me - it got my toes wet in the world of blogging. Given that I'm often more comfortable putting my thoughts together in rhyme, it made total sense... until it didn't. Did I really want everyone and their donkey getting access into the intimate workings of my mind? If not, what the hell was I putting it online for? Sure, I could mark it as private, but then, how do I share it? How do I inspire others? Ok, well, I could put it up and try to keep it anonymous. No. It didn't take very long for someone I knew to discover it, and they almost instantly recognised my writing. So that was that project stalled.


As I said, I am very good at starting stuff.

This post seems to have turned into a bit of a self-bashing session, but don't get me wrong, I'm not castigating myself for my lack of commitment. I've long ago accepted that, unless constantly stimulating, it takes a whole lot of ongoing effort for me to stick with something and see it through. Which, I think, is why the blogging thing has never really stuck - there is no end. It's an open, unstructured arrangement, and anyone who knows me even a smidge knows that I am good with structure and rules and process. Not so good with "Meh, take it as it comes" (something my Person works daily with me to re-calibrate, but that's a whole different post). 

And I'm a perfectionist. So, if it's not perfect, it ain't worth it.

So that's why I'm hoping that this project will stick. It's a lesson in commitment; in pushing me to grow; in making it so, not making it perfect. Aaaand maybe in sticking to the brief.

500 words (or more, in this case), every day, for 365 days. 

Meh, how hard can it be, right?


[word count: 926]

5 comments:

  1. Not hard at all - you almost hit a thousand! :)

    And yeah, I'm in the same boat. With me, every idea I had for a project would first require a domain name. At one point I had over 60 domain names in two accounts, with near-zero code written against any of them. I totally get the pain of "starting not finishing".

    Best of luck with Write500! It won't be long before I start adding social and accountability features. Nothing like a little social pressure to deliver on a promise ;)

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    1. Ha! That's exactly what I said to my Person when he chuckled & asked "well, what's so different this time?". I figure that if I know that others know about this, then maaaaaaybe I can stick to it. Thank you my dear tech prodigy/former colleague for getting this started. And good luck to us both!

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  2. OK. I have added a link on my blog and I will start tomorrow! Haha. It's not procrastination (this time)...it is just late and need some sleep. We can try to motivate one another. PS. I am also a super-starter and a great fizzling-outer! Good luck. :)

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    1. Great stuff! I'm already following you so will be on the lookout ;) Good luck to us both!

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    2. It's a tab on my existing blog. :)
      http://500challenge.blogspot.lu/ Have fun! x

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