Loading…
25
My old English teacher told me in 2011 to write 10 minutes a day no matter what, and I finally tried it
Back in 2011 my 11th grade English teacher, Mrs. Palladino, told me the only way to get better at writing prompts was to sit down for 10 minutes a day and just go, no editing, no planning. I nodded, forgot about it, and spent the next decade waiting for inspiration to hit. Last spring I found her note in an old notebook while cleaning my garage in Sacramento, and it basically dared me. So I started doing 10 minutes every morning with a kitchen timer, and the weird part is the prompts I hated at first turned into the ones I finished fastest. I wrote 47 short pieces in 3 months, and maybe 6 of them are any good, but those 6 never would have shown up if I kept waiting for the right idea. Mrs. Palladino was right and I hate how right she was, because now I cant skip a morning without feeling off. Curious if anyone here runs a daily prompt habit, and what do you do when the 10 minutes is up but the piece is finally getting good?
1 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In1 Comment
max2231mo ago
When the timer goes off mid-piece just keep writing. The timer's job is to get you started, not to be your boss. Some of my best stuff came from blowing past the 10 minutes and riding whatever momentum showed up. What works for me is a rule: timer ends, but if I'm still in it I give myself 5 more minutes max, then I stop wherever I am, even mid-sentence. Stopping mid-sentence is the trick. It bugs you all day and the next morning you sit down already knowing where to pick up. That's how a crappy 10 minute habit turns into actual finished things.
4