The Habit of Writing + My Writing Goals

Establishing habits are difficult. I know this. And as quickly as a habit is established, others may fade, and the new habit can easily be lost if you are not careful. Nevertheless, I am excited to be writing each day- 750 words, give or take a few, to be precise.


Each morning I get up and write for about 20 to 40 minutes. This writing is off the top of my head, stream of conscious style. I have been doing this each day since the third week of June, with the exception of a week-long family vacation. I like that I am doing this, but I want to do more than just write whatever I am thinking for 30 minutes each morning. I want to hone my writing skills, to become a better writer.



Many lists of tips for writers say actually writing every single day is a huge step in the right direction. I am doing that. So I am ahead of people who say they want to write and never actually write. I am, indeed, writing. And the other day I printed about 7 or 8 pages of my words. It was a few thousand words, and I was impressed with the fact that I have gone from no writing, other than on the job, to 750 words each day. Keeping a habit like this going when school resumes is always a challenge, but I am up for it.


This week I am going to tinker with my habit a bit. My goal is to produce a weekly blog post that I publish on Friday that is between 400-500 words in length. It will be on a single topic and focus on the type of writing that I am trying to develop, which is in the areas of persuasive writing and current events and education.



I am thinking that after my Monday morning 750 word session I am going to decide on a topic and a tentative thesis statement. Then, during the week, I will continue focusing some of my writing on this theme, while developing my research skills. This way I can add some focus to my morning writing, while at the same time preserving much of the spontaneity of mind that this habit induces.




This week’s theme is health care.




My tentative thesis is as follows- A completely free market approach to health care is neither politically practical nor, if put into effect, desirable. (Not the most controversial thesis statement. I will refine this)

Tuesday's update of thesis- A system of health care based on profit seeking will not lead to universal coverage and quality care for all.