Write a Little Something Every Day

For at least the past seven years, I have hated Tuesdays. 

My junior year of high school, I attended the Alabama School of Fine Arts for ballet and lived there in the dorm. My roommate and I decided pretty quickly that our worst classes/rehearsals/everything always fell on Tuesdays, and from then on every time something bad happened, we would look at each and our eyes would say: "Oh my gosh, it's Tuesday, what a correlation!" And thus, my abhorrence for Tuesdays was born. 

Today is Tuesday, but instead of resigning to the horrible state of this glum day, I'm going to make this Typing Tuesday. I'm going to distract myself from all this Tuesday-ness by adding a little something to Projects X, Y, and Z. (Project X: the new novel-in-progress I began three days ago; Project Y: the novel-in-progress I've been working on for about a year, of which I have seven chapters; Project Z: a compilation of all the stories and poems I've started over the years and haven't finished). Putting a little bit of writing out there, even if it's total crap, usually makes me feel somewhat more productive and useful in going about my day. 

Writing a little something every day is great exercise for avid writers. Just like you have to keep your body in shape to play a sport or dance or do gymnastics, you have to keep your mind in shape to be a good writer. I think writers should put out something every day, even if it's just going to be erased later. No one is in their element every single day without fail, churning out Shakespearean works of greatness before breakfast. But you should still write a little something every day, because you may have ten days...fifteen days...a year of crap that finally leads to three days of Shakespearean glory. 

Many times, I will go back ten days...fifteen days...a year later and sift through some of the crap I have saved in folders on my computer entitled "Don't Read This" or "Useless" and find something good that I hadn't thought was good before. Many times, I will take that "something good" and insert it into whatever I'm currently working on. 

Often during the creative process, we need distance to really show us where our work stands. This is always true for poetry and often true for prose. This can also apply to live performances; I rarely watch a DVD of me dancing, singing, or acting right after I am finished with the performance. I try to give it some time before watching, because usually that can prevent (or at least lessen) some of the disaster thoughts, like "Oh my gosh, I should never be allowed to step foot on a stage again, this is terrible." Giving ourselves some time between creating art and experiencing it is a must. 

So writers, write a little something every day. These somethings may not always be gold, but putting forth not-gold is better than putting forth nothing at all. Don't let fear trap your voice inside.