500 Words — Day One: Writing Itself
The problem with forcing yourself to write 500 words is that you could write a pretty dogshit 500 words. I mean there’s no quality requirement associated with that word count. So, I can spew a bunch of useless nonsense and pretty much get away with it. But if I am the only one holding myself accountable, then what does it matter that I write the words or not? I think the hope is that I become a better writer. The reason I run almost every morning is not to parade myself on social media as a runner. Although running does help with the physical appearance. I am no longer am thirty pounds overweight. But just because I’m a better writer doesn’t necessary mean that anyone will recognize it. I have to do it for the art itself or hope that I become a good enough writer that people will want to read whatever I have to say. Anyways, I think I am coming up pretty close to that 500 word requirement, so I think with that, I’ll sign off.
Will you look at that? Only 179 words in the previous paragraph. It would appear that I greatly underestimated the sheer magnitude that 500 words actually is. Just like most people greatly underestimate how long a mile is when you are walking it or how long a half an hour is when you are waiting in a line for some service. You think that you are almost there, but you are nowhere near the final desired destination. Honestly, the fact that you are so preoccupied with the final end goal makes the act of getting to the finish line even harder. Sure writing down a few words is pretty easy, but coming up with enough to get to the end. It’s a whole hell of a lot of work and energy. Sometimes, however, you find a good flow and can really find a nice groove in productively and you realize that the biggest hurdle in accomplishing your goals was just getting started in the first place. Or in this case, getting restarted after being away for so long. So this is how fat people feel when they try to start running again for the first time since they were in grade school. Enlightening.
Alrighty, then. We only have 100 words or so to go. What is the best way of wasting enough space and still getting something out it? Is it to continue to ask questions that don’t really matter? Or to make statements that simply exist to take up time and space and nothing more. It all sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me, but that how so many people end finishing their workdays, or their careers, or their lives (yikes). My favorite part of the Hollow Men is the way all worlds end. Not with a bang, but a whimper. Like damn, you thought you were special. Good thing by the time anyone remembers to check you, the you that they were going to check on is long gone, replaced by shell wandering the void that is the modern existence. Your face screaming for help but not getting any because everyone else feels the same way, but are afraid to look up and make eye contact in the low probability case that they might actually be wrong.
