Here it is. Day 7. I hope you're not bored, yet.
You’ve made it one week! Reflect on what this newfound practice has been like. Getting through the first seven consecutive days is truly the hardest part. Have you enjoyed it? Has it been difficult? Has it been what you expected?
What it has been is constant. I hope someday to translate this time into fiction-writing time. The habit, after seven days, is still fragile. Most habits are. I have a bad history of starting things, and no matter how long I last on the quotidian, it takes one day to derail me and drop a habit for months. Constancy is not my thing.
I have enjoyed it, even on Monday when I wrote privately. I look forward to re-reading these entries down the line, to see what's changed. Then I'll really be able to say if this is successful or not.
As for expectations, I kept them low. I picked up a phrase from my father: "We'll burn that bridge right before we cross it." I don't know if this was something he said pre-Josh, or if he was making fun of my pessimism. I tend not to look forward to things (he says one paragraph after looking forward to something) as events, because my expectations are never quite met. It's easier not to expect details and let myself be surprised.
I write that and think that this is a hell of a thing for me to say. My friends, back when we socialized often, found it easier to get me to come over to do something, instead of just hanging out. I don't hang out except at home. I am lucky in that I have that one person with whom I can be silent with in the same room and not feel any need to communicate all the time.
As for surprises, I am shocked at how open I've been. I feel more exposed doing this than any time in the eight years or so I've had this journal. I've been writing online since 1996 or so. I don't think I've ever done this totally open thing. At least, when I have, in retrospect it felt like a call for attention, and this, so far, has not been.
The challenge has been finding focus. I'm not editing these entries. I fix typos, but I don't massage the text once it comes out. When I'm good at it, I turn it around and touch the opening idea, and form a rough draft of a personal essay. Otherwise, like yesterday, it's a ramble. Today is a bit of a ramble. I'd blame the prompt, but that's just me being lazy.
Source:
http://joshenglish.livejournal.com/236332.html
The Late News from http://funyhalloween.blogspot.com