Bird by bird

I want to write. I’ve thought a lot about writing since doing a Creative Writing course a year or so back. A course which ironically since I’ve found out by listening to Matt Howey on a podcast with Tim Ferriss is mostly a waste of time as it normalises your writing into some standard production line writing that has no soul or individuality.

Oh well. Still I loved it. I used a pseudonym. Pretended I was someone else.

I want to develop a habit. I don’t really do social well. I don’t like its sugar and candy approach to thought. I want to write long thoughtful articles that are enduring, like Paul Graham. I’ve set a target of three long, enduring articles this year. Seems modest, but its already March and I’ve registered the grand sum of zero.

Deep thinking led me here. I can’t stop thinking about writing. I can’t put a pin in it, but feels to be a scratch needing an itch. So here I am. I plan to write for 15 minutes a day for 30 days straight. Its the same logic I used to quit alcohol. 30 days is usually enough to terraform a change in habit. The trick is to leverage the “don’t break the chain” concept that Jerry Seinfeld uses. The longer you commit, the deeper the debt and harder it is to get out.

I don’t think I have the right timing of my habit yet. Just that I need to do it. Maybe first thing in the day will be better. That’s when my mind is at its best. My sentences still smack of brevity. It could be mostly just how my brain has been wired into distraction.

It’s not for you. There was a time where I cared more about what people would think. But that is less now. If you don’t like what you read then it’s probably not for you. If one person out of one thousand finds it useful, then I am happy with that.