Today’s prompt word is Drama  (https://lindaghill.com/2018/01/03/one-liner-wednesday-jusjojan-daily-prompt-january-3rd-2018/), and “Since today is Wednesday, I challenge you to make your JusJoJan post a one-liner.”  Nope, can’t do it ’cause these Jots are not only my 500-words a day challenge, but also part of my  Ultimate Blogging Challenge challenge (http://ultimateblogchallenge.com).

So, today is challenging in its own way, with no one-word to guide me.  What to ramble on about today?  Well, the email from Jeff Goins, who heads the 500-word challenge, talks about how getting up early is a good way to get your writing in. Morning typically is quieter, and like exercise, getting something done first thing in the morning can a) give you a sense of accomplishment (and man, sometimes what I do first thing in the morning feels like my ONLY accomplishment for the day) and b) means you don’t have to drag your ass to the gym (or outside for a run in the pitch blackness that is our lives after work in the winter) at the end of the day.  Am I equating writing with exercise?  Well, yes.  I am.  Exercise is work, but it makes you feel good when you are finished. Now, I think it’s similar with writing, except you aren’t perhaps “finished” in the same way – if you write to publish, there is rewriting, revising, editing, etc., etc., etc.  Exercise isn’t quite the same, unless you are training to complete something.  So, wait.  Then there is exercise for exercise sake versus exercise that also trains you to complete a marathon.  And there is writing for writing sake (which is what I am doing now…let’s face it, I am not spending a lot of time revising and editing these posts for “publication’), and writing to finish an article or a book.  The regular, daily exercise (physical or writing) keeps you in shape, and improves performance, for the longer-term “finishing something significant” side of things.  Well, what do you know?  I found something to write about!

So, here I sit this morning after reading some blogs and doing a short meditation, making a change and working on my writing.  Starting out with rambles and hopefully as I work through these posts this year, learning how to better formulate my sentences, choosing better words, and framing my thoughts in a more engaging way.  Like exercise, there is a lot to think about when you are writing.  It’s not just about squatting, for example.  You have to think about your knee alignment.  And not just “are your knees going beyond your toes?”, but also “are your knees collapsing in or out?”.  When you are doing rows, are you pulling with your shoulder or your shoulder blade?  Are your lats engaged?  Is your back flat?  Are you breathing?  Same when you are writing.  Have you started that sentence the same way you start all your other sentence?  Are you using a verb?  The right verb?  Modifiers?  Too many modifiers?  Is that comma really in the right place?

At a certain point, exercise becomes more second-nature.  You still must be mindful of how you are doing them, but you can concentrate more on adding more weight, or doing more reps, and generally getting stronger because you understand your form.  I guess the same is true for writing.  The more practice with your form in mind, the stronger your writing becomes.

And now, as I finish my 500 words for today, here is a picture of ducks.