M.H. Norris

I’ve started using this new planner and each month they have a goal. Each goal has a “ritual” attached to help meet each goal.

This month’s goal is Passion and the ritual is to spend 30 minutes a day working on your passion without having any expectations to the outcome.

Of course, my thoughts went to writing. It’s one of my passions and I spend a lot of time on it. As I was sitting there on August 1st, I realized something sad.

I couldn’t tell you the last time I wrote for the sake of writing.

The last couple of years, possibly longer than that, I’ve been writing to get my next book done, or finish a short story with a particular collection in mind, or finishing a script because I might have a chance to produce it.

But when did I last write for the sake of writing?

So I’ve tried to spend some time this month writing just to write with no expectations for the project. I’ve bounced from one project and when I’ve stalled I’ve possibly picked up another idea that I’ve been wanting to do but have nowhere to send it so why spend the time?

Why spend the time doing something you love?

It sounds so simple when I word it that way, doesn’t it?

Perhaps it does until you realize that maybe you’re just as guilty as I am. We writers, we spend so much time honing our crafts, studying it to help push us to be better, learn from mistakes others make so we don’t do them ourselves.

But when was the last time you sat down to write for the sake of writing.

I’ve done it a few times over the last week and it was oddly freeing. For those bits, I wasn’t M.H. Norris, award-winning mystery writer working on her next project. I was Mary Helen, that girl who loves writing and used to do it in school notebooks while in class.

Does it make a huge difference?

Sometimes, it does. I’ve discovered that I put more pressure on myself the further I get into my career. Not only am I pushing myself to continue to get better, I want to live up to and exceed the expectations I’ve set for myself.

And there’s nothing wrong with that.

What might be wrong is how I wrote.

Normally, this is the point in the post where I give you a list of things to help you with the topic of the week. But not this week. This week, I’m doing it a bit differently.

This week, I’m issuing a challenge.

Write for the sake of it.

Whether you write outside of your usual genre, a different medium, start on that pipe dream project that you’ve ignored because you’ll have no use for it.

Do it with no expectations, with no idea where it’s going.

Just write.

And let me know. Shoot me a  tweet at @girlinpink44 and tell me how it goes.

We come to writing for a variety of reasons. But more often than not, we come to it for the love of the craft. We come because of those books we read as children, the escape those stories provided. We wanted to be the ones to inspire others with our stories.

Maybe you’re like me and need to find that passion again. Trust me, if that’s the case, just try goofing off and writing something that you know will never see the light of day. It’s not a waste of time, that’s our excuse to not do something like this, but a chance to find your passion again and work on your craft.

Good luck and have fun!