By now, if you’ve been reading along, you’ve figured it out: I’m writing “something” every day for 56 days. Why? Well, I’ll explain in a minute. But first, the vague plan:

I’m cleaning out my folder of drafts (things started and left unfinished for too long), sharing ones that I think might be worth keeping and tossing the rest.

I’m going to write some short, some long, and some in-between length posts. I’ll throw in some short story drafts, just for fun. There might be one or two “picture’s worth 1,000 words” posts, if I really run out of ideas.

I’m going to recycle some things, too; you’ll see the first of those repeat posts tomorrow.

The range of styles and subjects in this 56-day series is going to be big, and there’s just no telling what you’re going to get from day to day, because I don’t have a content calendar mapped out. I’m winging it, at least at the start.

Now to the real question: Why in the hell would any woman in her right mind (I know; debatable…) decide to go from monthly posting to daily writing, with a commitment to making it 56 days straight? Why, in particular, would any woman with children at home and a demanding job decide to squeeze more into each day? Well, I’ll tell you.

Last year on my birthday I made a pledge to work on my physical health by committing to daily exercise and more frequent meditation. I’ve missed only one day since then, and that was because I had a fever (that thankfully was not caused by COVID). Twelve months later I sleep better, my heart rate is lower, I’m stronger, and my knee (the one I elected not to have repaired surgically) works as well as before that pesky meniscus tear, maybe better.

But the lesson I’ve learned from that twelve months of daily work is beyond any of those physical benefits, and it will sound ridiculous because it’s so obvious: Daily practice works, and the more hours logged, the greater the improvement.

I said to a friend, a few months ago: What would happen if I devoted as much time as I spend exercising to something else that I want to accomplish?

So for my birthday this year, I pledged to work on my writing, to write and post something every day, even if that something is completely shitty and hardly worth reading, because this is my place for working those things out.

What’s ahead, in the 46 days to come? Hell, I don’t know. I didn’t make a content calendar, I did make a list – a free-form, stream of consciousness list of “somethings” I might write about (there are more than 56…). No promises to deliver on all of these, and they certainly won’t be in this order, but here ’tis:

Something…

• Funny
• Wicked
• Short
• Long
• True
• Fictional
• Sad
• Sweet
• Happy
• Ridiculous
• Borrowed
• Recycled
• Predictable
• Expected
• Bothersome
• Warm
• Sentimental
• Wanton
• Provocative
• Deep
• Shallow
• Unfinished
• Complete
• Trendy
• Trite
• Useful

Something about…

• My children
• Daughters
• Sons
• Dogs
• Marriage
• Old Houses
• Weather
• Food
• Cooking
• Recipes
• Family
• Friendship
• Loyalty
• Permanence
• Stability
• Construction
• Art
• Creativity
• Road Trips
• Writing
• Sewing
• Printmaking
• Photography
• Teaching
• Age
• Wisdom
• Music
• Cars
• Books
• Home
• Plants
• Gardening
• Companionship
• Solitude
• Gratitude
• Discipline
• Motherhood
• Mountains
• Oceans
• Travel
• Stars
• Stories
• Wind chimes
• Math
• Sleep
• Fury
• Shopping
• Covid

So there you have it; that’s the entire plan. Let’s see what happens next, shall we?

Also: This is the last of the late night posts, at least for a while. Tomorrow’s will be earlier in the evening (because, as I mentioned, it’s recycled from old content). Saturday and Sunday will be in the morning hours, and next Monday we’ll do a round of early morning posts. Why all the changes? To see when people actually read things, silly (but you knew that, didn’t you?).

Sweet dreams.

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This post is 10/56 in a self-directed challenge to write (or at least post) something (SOMETHING) every day – a birthday gift to me from me, because writing gives me a place to put the clutter that lives in my head.