9 things I learned from blogging every day for 100 days

Over the summer, I set myself a challenge to write and post 100 blogs in 100 days. I wrote the final post in that series in late September. It felt great to achieve that personal writing goal. Here, I want to reflect on what I learned from that practice. You can read about my reasons for setting myself the challenge in the 100th and final post of the series. But, for the purposes of writing and editing, I want to reflect on what I learned about my writing practice. Maybe the lessons I learned can be of help to you.

1. Inspiration wasn’t a problem: I never lacked ideas. In fact, I still have another ten or fifteen draft blogs that I started to write early in a day but that were superceded by something else I wanted to write about later in that day.

2. I noticed more: Directly related to the matter of inspiration, I became aware that I started to take more notice of the details in the world around me – the texture of tree bark, the shape and colour of clouds, the tone and idiosyncracies of a loved one’s voice, the mannerisms of a stranger at the next table. My senses were heightened as everything had the potential to be written about.

3. Technology is my friend: I generally shy away from technology but this time I leaned in. I downloaded the WordPress app and took my phone with me every time I went for a walk (something I don’t often do). My best ideas always come to me when I’m out walking; so, rather than lose them, I spoke them directly into the app and saved them as drafts. Later, I could sit down and edit them. In this way, I captured my thoughts when they were raw. The blogs, therefore, are as much my spoken words as my written words.

4. It wasn’t always easy: Time was my biggest challenge, especially when I was travelling or spending time with my family. Often, I found myself in bed at the end of the day, not having written that day’s blog. I always forced myself to do it anyway.

5. Something was better than nothing: There were times when I was simply too tired or too busy or something unexpected cropped up that prevented me from writing. Even on those days, I posted something – even as little as a captioned photograph or two. The point was, I wouldn’t allow myself to miss a day.

6. Perfection wasn’t the goal: I made mistakes. There were typos. I wrote ‘east’ when I meant ‘west’. I wrote ‘blue’ when I meant ‘red’. Sometimes, I’d read back over a post the next day and spot multiple glaring mistakes. Once, a friend messaged to say she was following the blogs and she’d noticed lots of typos and, well, given that I’m an editor, it might not be the best look. I agreed with her. But, I was writing for me, for the practice of writing, for the challenge, so I was less concerned about getting it right and more concerned about getting it done.

7. I had an audience: I didn’t know if anyone would bother reading what I wrote, but they did. Readers engaged with me publicly – via the blog comments or social media – or they responded to me privately, telling me their own heartfelt stories. When I reached #100 and said I’d be taking a break for a while, readers got in touch to say they’d like me to write more, to keep going. Knowing I had a sympathetic and interested audience was a huge motivation to keep writing.

8. I have material to use elsewhere: Building on #6 and #7, above, writing for 100 days has given me material to use elsewhere. I’m now in the process of going back over the 100 posts and choosing some for broader dissemination. I want to try my hand on other apps. I want to expand, revise or tidy up some posts to submit for magazine publication or story competitions. I want to include some of the memories to chapters of my memoir-in-progress.

9. It felt great: At the end of every day and at the completion of #100, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment. I had started something. I’d stuck to it. I’d done it entirely for me. I’d set a little time aside every day for my own personal project.

Since completing the 100 day challenge, I’ve found it easier to complete other projects or tasks I’ve set myself. I’m also better at finding time to write. In a Desert Island Discs scenario, the tip I’d save from the waves would be #5: Something is better than nothing. Chip away at your writing every day. Find time to write something, even if it’s only one line. You know you can do it!

Photo by Kaitlyn Baker on Unsplash