Someone once accused me of not being a real writer because I didn’t write every day. I took that accusation to heart and have since tried to write daily, whether it’s pages of a script, fiction scribblings, or even a blog post.But as Master Yoda
wisely said, "Do or do not. There is no try." So in 2011, in addition to my no-buying experiment, I resolve to write every day. And I found just the tool at the Writer’s Store to help me stay on track – Jerry Seinfeld’s Don’t Break the Chain chart – a product named after the comedian because it’s inspired by his own method for creative success. Apparently he hangs a year-at-a-glance calendar on the wall and marks off the days he writes new material, feeling the satisfaction of seeing a chain of X’s, which drives his desire to never break the chain.
It reminds me of those bulletin board charts in grade school that my teachers used to track everyone’s reading progress or whatever. My line of gold stars was always longer than any of my classmates’, which gave me a sense of satisfaction I wasn’t going to give up easily. It drove me to continually strive for excellence.So I’m going to do it again this year. Be an overachiever in my own classroom. Won’t you join me? Download your own Don’t Break the Chain chart and resolve to write, paint, practice your instrument, or whatever every day.
I won’t break the chain. Will you?
This is the second time this week that I've read about Seinfeld's chart somewhere. Maybe it's just the thing to help me get unstuck with my novel that's about 50 pages away from completion.
ReplyDeleteYes, I hope it helps! I've felt pretty good about my row of X's. :)
ReplyDeleteAnother inspiring story that might help - Amy Heckerling once said she wrote the script for Clueless by writing one page a night while watching Letterman. Sounds totally doable when she puts it that way, doesn't it? :)