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note to self: i’ll be there for you, always

written june 6, 2021. Photo by Kristine Cinate on Unsplash I have always looked for myself in other people. I think the idea was that they would somehow hold the pieces of me that I felt were missing. That maybe, if I wrapped my identity up in theirs enough, we would somehow make a whole person. It's not healthy to live like this, but I did it anyway — burning through relationships and searching for something I couldn't quite name. It was never enough, not to be myself, but it was never enough to latch my identity to other people, either. I got close, several times — I thought I had reached the pinnacle of self discovery. I thought I had completed myself. But in the end, relying on other people to help build yourself is never a viable way to do things. It's only recently that I've started to become comfortable with the idea of being enough, as I am, on my own. Several years ago, in this same position, I would have searched for another person to attach my identity onto,...
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Writing Resources: Let’s Talk About Word Wars

Staying motivated as writers can be hard, but I'm here to give you a little secret: aka, the NUMBER ONE RESOURCE TO KEEP ME WRITING THAT I'VE EVER DISCOVERED.

What is it?

Word wars.


♪ Do you want to have a word war? Come on, let's go and write... ♪

What exactly is a word war? (And how do you do one?)

A word war is where you and another friend (or two, or twenty) set a specific time to write for. It could be 15 minutes, it could be one hour, but the most important thing is that you're writing. Once you're done, you come back to your friends and compare word counts. (Word wars can also referred to as a word sprint, and probably other names I'm not aware of. On Twitter, there's a thing called #1k1hour, which is exactly what it sounds like. But I digress.)

I honestly don't remember when I was introduced to word wars, or how, but I do know that they changed my life forever. You may be wondering, why are word wars so great?

1. They keep me motivated
2. It's fun to write with other writers.
3. A little competition never hurt anyone.

Where can I find one?

Honestly, everywhere. You can also find lots of people on Twitter dedicated to having word wars/sprints. One of my favorites is Friday Night Writes, who dedicate the entirety of Friday nights to racking up those word counts. And honestly, I'm always down for a word war at my personal Twitter account, too.

You can also type "Word Wars" into Facebook and probably find Facebook groups dedicated solely to it. You and another writing friend can have one spontaneously if you'd like. You can also word war with yourself at Write or Die. Simply put, it's all about what gets you writing. 

Was this helpful? Have you ever done a word war?

(Be sure to check out my new writing resources page for every awesome writing thing I've ever discovered, and stay tuned for more posts like this in the future!)


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  1. Susanna July 10, 2015 at 8:16 AM

    Wowzers. I've actually never even heard of word wars before. I am an extremely competitive person, so I can see how motivating this would be. I want in!

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    1. Sky DestrianJuly 10, 2015 at 1:56 PM

      Thanks for commenting! It is extremely motivating. I love it, honestly. I'm glad I could introduce you to this awesome concept. We should word war sometime!

      Delete
  2. Alyssa CarlierJuly 10, 2015 at 7:54 PM

    I've seen word wars happening before, and I've participated in one or two, but generally I find it doesn't really work for me -- for one, my writing time pretty much comes in splatters of 5 or so minutes between other tasks, so by the time I've found someone else, I'm not free any longer. I've tried Write or Die too, and it doesn't work because that red screen just makes my brain freeze up. Still, it seems like a really fun activity if it works for you, so go you!

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    Replies
    1. Sky DestrianJuly 16, 2015 at 2:52 PM

      That makes sense! I often don't have a lot of time for them, either, so I totally understand that. When I do have time, they work very well for me. But if they don't work for you, I totally understand! You do you!

      Delete
  3. Victoria Grace HowellJuly 13, 2015 at 11:04 AM

    Word wars are so handy! My friends and I do ten minute sprints which are so helpful! My max is 547 in ten minutes. An hour is a bit long for me. :P But ten minute ones work awesomely. I found out about them from GTW. I'd never heard of them before that. XD

    storitorigrace.blogspot.com

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    Replies
    1. Sky DestrianJuly 16, 2015 at 2:54 PM

      They really are helpful! Yes, I've only done one sprint for an hour. I usually do better with shorter bursts of ten to fifteen minutes, like you. I forget where I first heard of word wars, but GTW was a great help in reminding me about them. I figured some people might not have heard of them, so I thought it might be a good idea to post about it in case it helps someone out there!

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