#97: The 15-minute Challenge

Things are always getting more complicated. I’m going through a hectic period of life right now. I’m splitting my time between several projects that I’m unable to drop for various reasons. Not that I want to complain. Things are going pretty well. However, over the last few months, I’ve noticed a rising tendency to push writing away from my schedule. And I don’t like that at all.

Having lots going on is a convenient excuse to skip the session. Perhaps too convenient. If I keep letting things slip like this, it will be extremely difficult to clamber back up. I’m getting a little nervous about that. The last thing I want is to lose touch with writing. That’s why I’m doing this challenge.

Last year, I started reading one short story a day. In a month, it became a habit, and now I’ve read close to 300 short stories in a row. It’s such a simple thing that I haven’t skipped once. Over time it became so ingrained in my routine that I don’t question it. Like brushing my teeth and drinking coffee, it’s something that I do.

I don’t see why I couldn’t do this with writing. If I scale it down to the bare minimum so that I don’t even have to think about doing it. The point isn’t how many words I write, what I write, or how good it is. The point is to keep writing every day.

Here’s the challenge: for the next month, I will sit down to write for a minimum of 15 minutes every day. I’m pretty busy, but if I cannot spare 15 minutes daily, then how important writing for me truly is?

It’s fine to write about the trees that grow in front of my house. And it’s okay not to have any words at the end of a session. No rules, no expectations, and no exceptions.

I’ll report back next week.

What I Am Reading

I’m still a few chapters short of the end of Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson. I have to admit, I’ve been skipping reading recently. I know I shouldn’t, but I am often so drained by the time I get home in the evening that I fall asleep as soon as I pick up the book. It’s a great read, and I will get to the end at some point, I promise!

The Collected Stories by Ernest Hemingway

I picked up this Everyman Library edition of Hemingway’s Collected Stories. I’m a big fan of the typography and binding of this edition. And I’m also excited to be finally reading virtually all of Hemingway’s published short stories. Even the idea of being able to put all stories by an author into a book scares me a little bit. How long will be my hypothetical collected stories book?

Short Stories

I read the following short stories this week:


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