I admire anybody who has the guts to write anything at all.

—E.B. White

The dreaded blank page. The crippling "writer's block." The agony of a story unfinished. These are a few of the problems that plague writers of all kinds, preventing them from completing the stories they want to. Whether one has trouble seeing a piece to the end, can't find a starting point for a story, or is such a perfectionist they can't put a word on the page and ruin it, many potential authors have trouble writing in general. Whether one is looking for the perfect words or is just looking for a place/moment to start, one of the most recommended bits of advice for budding and experienced authors is to write every day—to generate ideas, the keep the brain and imagination limber, and to get material down for observation. Very few authors, however, do this, and even fewer stick with a long-term project by accumulating words.

This is why this group exists. In Words-A-Day, you have the opportunity to record a certain amount of words every day on a project you want to work on. These words don't have to be great; they just need to exist in order for you to work on them in a later draft. They don't have to be made public; the point of writing freely on a project to create a first draft is to get all ideas down, and then test and rewrite as needed. This group is basically meant to serve as a jumping-off point for a project, and a daily reminder that you are working towards something big.

Here's how this will work:

1. In a personal thread in the group, you will post your name and either the title of your desired piece or a short-but-sufficient description of your desired piece.

2. You will then provide a description of the piece that you wish to write. Tell us what it's about without giving too much away (I've read in many writing books that giving away too much about a story is detrimental to its completion, as it takes away the passion of writing it down on paper). Who's in it? What will he/she/they/it be doing? If relevant, what location and time is this taking place?

3. If applicable, indicate whether you would like help with an aspect of your story, including but not limited to brainstorming, organizing, keeping on track, editing and critiquing.

4. Write down how many words you plan on devoting daily to your desired piece.

5. Try and write down, in the same thread, how many words you managed to write that day.

6. See the words in your story rise higher and higher.

Once all of this is done, you will ultimately be responsible for committing to the number you put up. Failure to do so may lead to reprimand by the group, but you won't be punished for it. This group exists more as a kick to the pants in order to get your rough draft complete.

You will write some bad things. You will be critiqued. Your story might not get a lot of attention. But writing daily will make you a better writer, if you're willing to work hard at it. Also, you have to write a lot of bad things before good things emerge, and it takes commitment to improve. I can only offer you a place to finally get started, and encouragement to complete the story you want. Granted, one doesn't need a group to write daily, but if you need a proverbial kick in the pants, this is a group devoted to that.

One more quote:

Abandon the idea that you are ever going to finish. Lose track of the 400 pages and write just one page for each day, it helps. Then when it gets finished, you are always surprised.

—John Steinbeck

So if this sounds like the group for you, feel free to join!