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This is the perfect place to mention one of my favorite websites: http://750words.com/ http://750words.com/ 750 words is really fantastic if you want to practi

This is the perfect place to mention one of my favorite websites: http://750words.com/ http://750words.com/ 750 words is really fantastic if you want to practice writing every day, especially if you want to practice writing quickly. The site keeps a live word count and pushes you to write 750 words (roughly three pages) every day by tracking your streaks and awarding badges for hitting certain milestones. On top of that, the site tracks how many interruptions you have while writing your 750 words and how long it takes you each day to write. I had a 149 day streak broken when I lost track of time and forgot to write until after midnight one day, but I'm back up to a new 40 day streak. I was shocked to learn that I'm usually able to write 750 words in under 15 minutes, and on some days I like to push myself to try to write as quickly as possible (I've gotten as low as 8 minutes one time). Of course, writing quickly sometimes means writing somewhat lower quality, so I don't always "race the clock". If you have any interest in improving your writing skills, I can't recommend 750words.com enough. I started less than a year ago, and I've written a total of 185,022 words that I probably never would have written otherwise! Of course, by writing so quickly I've spent only 56 hours writing on the site, so I have a long way to go before I reach the 10,000 hour mark.

bdr 15y ago
Do you find that you're writing a structured piece, or moving aimlessly from topic to topic?
- alanfalcon 15y ago
  It really depends on the day. I like to try to think of topics during the day, often new game ideas. Then when I sit down to write (I usually write towards the end of the day) I'll record the ideas that I like and usually I'll come up with new related ideas while writing, so I'll write those too. These are probably my favorite days. Often, though, I'll just write stream-of-consciousness and then I can end up jumping from topic to topic. This can still help me to organize and make sense of my thoughts and kind of bring closure to my day, plus these entries can be interesting to re-read (to me: I doubt others would be so interested). My brain likes organizing topics and finding connections, so I'm not sure I'd call even this "moving aimlessly from topic to topic" as I like to throw in some kind of segue. Those are the entries that I write quickly. I have some ideas for fiction stories I'd like to write some day, and so sometimes I take more time in my 750words entry and do a bit of world building or character development, or I'll just write down some of the difficulties I'm facing in proceeding with a story idea, and that can help. Sometimes I'll google writing exercises and find one that looks interesting and do that for the day's entry.
  - bdr 15y ago
    FWIW if you come home after midnight again some day, just change your time zone to Hawaii (and then back).
markmccraw 15y ago
I'm also curious what exactly you are writing about. I'm interested in writing non-fiction and opinion pieces, and I find that it takes me a very long time to write about stuff that requires research, math, attribution of sources and the like. However, writing opinion pieces that are entirely sourced from my brain go 3-4 times faster.

bdr 15y ago

Do you find that you're writing a structured piece, or moving aimlessly from topic to topic?

alanfalcon 15y ago
It really depends on the day. I like to try to think of topics during the day, often new game ideas. Then when I sit down to write (I usually write towards the end of the day) I'll record the ideas that I like and usually I'll come up with new related ideas while writing, so I'll write those too. These are probably my favorite days. Often, though, I'll just write stream-of-consciousness and then I can end up jumping from topic to topic. This can still help me to organize and make sense of my thoughts and kind of bring closure to my day, plus these entries can be interesting to re-read (to me: I doubt others would be so interested). My brain likes organizing topics and finding connections, so I'm not sure I'd call even this "moving aimlessly from topic to topic" as I like to throw in some kind of segue. Those are the entries that I write quickly. I have some ideas for fiction stories I'd like to write some day, and so sometimes I take more time in my 750words entry and do a bit of world building or character development, or I'll just write down some of the difficulties I'm facing in proceeding with a story idea, and that can help. Sometimes I'll google writing exercises and find one that looks interesting and do that for the day's entry.
- bdr 15y ago
  FWIW if you come home after midnight again some day, just change your time zone to Hawaii (and then back).

markmccraw 15y ago

I'm also curious what exactly you are writing about. I'm interested in writing non-fiction and opinion pieces, and I find that it takes me a very long time to write about stuff that requires research, math, attribution of sources and the like. However, writing opinion pieces that are entirely sourced from my brain go 3-4 times faster.