Feeling Priveleged: Reflections on "A Story Every Day" So Far (March Edition)

I've been lucky to have some time off work toward the end of the month. This meant I could write several entries to the Whispering Woods challenge, and still do a micro every day. Fitting for March, for a few days, I really did descend into a kind of madness, writing thousands of words a day. Something I'd wanted to do for weeks, and hadn't been able to.

Having time, energy and brain-space to spare to write, to create and express... It's a privilege. It shouldn't be, but it is, unfortunately. That is the reality in a lot of places and for a lot of people. If you are struggling to write, keep this in mind. It is hard. It's possible, but by gum it's hard.

That's not to say, oh it's hard, don't worry if you can't. It's just acknowledging that it's difficult. You need serious gonads to meet the challenge. It's understandable if you're completely knackered, if you feel drained. Please show up and do it anyway.

The Nuts & Bolts

• As of the last day in March: we are ninety one days in to the yearlong Story Every Day challenge.
• I've posted a short story every day this year so far. Whew.
• Some of them follow on from each other, but my own personal rule is as long as they can also be enjoyed as a stand alone story, then it counts. A few have had crappy endings, which some might argue are no ending at all. At least one was more of a monologue than a story, but I stuck to the word count and submitted it anyway. The main thing here is daily practise. Getting creative juices going, and forming a daily habit.

• Aside from daily micros, I also posted some challenge entries in March. This included five entries to the Whispering Woods challenge, almost all of them skating close to the upper word limit (2500). I did one tongue-in-cheek poem (Tea, is it?) for the Snacktime Sonata Challenge. I've also done a couple of reflective pieces, including one inspired mby Mike Singleton. (Why Do I Write? Let Me Count the Ways.)
• My word count for March: 26,281 (I never count the author's note at the end of my micros).
• I've been getting about ~1k reads a month lately, and I've dipped well under that this month, despite almost doubling the amount I've written. I definitely have been busier with paid work, and had less time to devote to social media. (If you've sent me a message on Facebook... sorry!) Sharing on social media channels seems to make a difference 🤔
• My total read count is hovering a bit under 9k.
• Three Top Stories this month; this seems to be a regular thing! Pretty sure I got three in February, and three in January as well. This month, Vocal decided to recognise: Get Out, I Sing To Them, and Tea, is it? Three appears to the the limit I'm allowed. No more, no less.

This Month I 'Ave Mostly Bin Writin'

I've set you a challenge!

In March, I was back on dragons. I started a fantasy series on the 12th, a tale which now has eight segments.

The story about my dream-stalker continues as well. I've done five more about her.

I've written about grief (Little Broken Things), memories (A Feast of Memories), the underbelly of humanity (We Aren't Monsters), unbending morals (The Trapdoor), and I've revisited that glorious "clip clop" sound (I Sing to Them).

I've drawn inspiration from existing legends (Viridescent) and romantic relationships (A Tangled Web).

I've written about writing (The Madness of Writing), stories (Can I Get You Another?), and the nature of fictional characters (We're All Mad Here).

How Am I Finding It?

I am still enjoying it almost all the time. There have been days I regretted starting it, and dreading sitting down to put pen to paper, or fingers to keys. I guess it's like physical exercise. Not least because, even though sometimes I drag myself to do it, afterwards, I stretch out the aches and feel pretty good.

Reflection

Spring is in my fingertips, I think. It's easy to look out at the blue sky peeping at me through the branches of The Little Tree and look for the better side of people to write about.

There's been a couple of times when I've cursed myself for starting this thing, when evening rolls around and I've not had time to write anything yet, and nothing in the tank to post. I've thought, maybe this is it. Maybe this will be the day I don't post anything. Because I can't, because there's nothing left. But you have to try, right? So far, that's been enough.

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Thank you for reading!