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Try Something New: 750 Words

If there is anything universally redeeming about writing, it is the ability to delve into the inner thoughts of one's own psyche and come back with perspective on feelings, motivations, and desires. In this way, journaling as the specific form of writing that provides this redemption can be a worthwhile pursuit. One might suppose that the internet world would offer various tools to make journaling simple, easy, and relatively painless, but that has not always been the case - until now.

I came across this from Lifehacker, who was promoting the site back in March: 750words. The site is run by a former Amazon product manager who has an interest in journaling for the creative process and data visualization. Mash those things together, and you have an interesting site that is built around the premise that creative juices get flowing by consistently writing 3 pages worth of stuff on a daily basis, which translates to roughly 750 words. Logging in by using your Google or Facebook username, and you get a blank sheet with a timeline across the top (for when you last wrote) and a word counter at the bottom (for what you have left today). In between goes your thoughts, emotional outbursts, story sketches, and anything else you might think to apply to 750 daily words. And when you get a streak going, you can earn points similar to how a game of bowling is scored. I just earned a turkey today, going three days in a row.

So for those who are not certain about the writing process, try out journaling for is therapeutic affects and 750 words to see what journaling can be in the digital age.

Comments

The concept of writing three pages a day reminds me of what Julia Cameron suggests in "The Artist's Way." She recommends doing it first thing in the morning - even if it's writing nothing other than blah blah blah blah blah. This is to clear the mind and allow for more creativity to flow through. Or something like that. It's been awhile since I've read it. *sheepish grin*
Oh. Heh. If I had just read the first line of the 750words.com page, I would've seen that that's where he got the idea. *facepalm*

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