I agree. In fact, we eventually dropped the whole idea of having a punishment when we realized that letting your partner down is the real punishment. (Also, at one point, one of us had racked up 5000 words in punishments and this became something of a disincentive to work on the project at all. At that point, we wiped he punishment record clean.
Is writing easier for me now? YES. Largely because I destroyed a lot of false beliefs/aliefs I had held about what writing requires. Here are some false beliefs I no longer have: “Writing requires long periods of intense concentration.” “You have to be in the right mood for writing.” “Writing dialogue is hard.”
Some of my entries were written on my phone while I commuted. This means some parts were written as I walked between the subway train and the bus that went to my apartment, entailing a near-constant state of interruption. Previously I had held onto the notion that writing required a special quiet place with no distractions and a solid chunk of time. This may be necessary for editing a piece of writing into something really good, but I no longer believe it’s necessary to get a decent first draft.
I’m now much more likely to write out an idea that I have than I ever was before, and that by itself makes the project a success in my mind.
I agree. In fact, we eventually dropped the whole idea of having a punishment when we realized that letting your partner down is the real punishment. (Also, at one point, one of us had racked up 5000 words in punishments and this became something of a disincentive to work on the project at all. At that point, we wiped he punishment record clean.
Is writing easier for me now? YES. Largely because I destroyed a lot of false beliefs/aliefs I had held about what writing requires. Here are some false beliefs I no longer have: “Writing requires long periods of intense concentration.” “You have to be in the right mood for writing.” “Writing dialogue is hard.”
Some of my entries were written on my phone while I commuted. This means some parts were written as I walked between the subway train and the bus that went to my apartment, entailing a near-constant state of interruption. Previously I had held onto the notion that writing required a special quiet place with no distractions and a solid chunk of time. This may be necessary for editing a piece of writing into something really good, but I no longer believe it’s necessary to get a decent first draft.
I’m now much more likely to write out an idea that I have than I ever was before, and that by itself makes the project a success in my mind.