Why do 52 Short Stories?

Now that I've explained what 52 Short Stories is, I suppose I should explain why I decided to attempt this experiment.

I strongly believe that the hardest part of writing is starting. Quite aside from the cliche of the blank page and the impossible writer's block, writing anything seems like such a monumental task, that it is easy to put it off to tomorrow, or the next day, or next week when things won't be quite so busy at work, or next year when I may not have a job at all, or...

52 Short Stories is a motivation to get writing done (call it my little nod to David Allen's Getting Things Done productivity cult). I have been writing for a long time, but I have never been able to devote as much time to it as I would like, because there is always something else that comes up. Something else that is more important.

You can think of this blog and this experiment as a productivity tool. In one fell swoop, it creates strict deadlines (I have to write 52 short stories in a year, you don't think that's a deadline?), and by making this blog public, it makes me accountable.

Furthermore, I'm a strong believer that only occasionally does brilliance strike in a "Eureka!" moment. For the vast majority of people, we need to produce a whole lot of crap to find a single gem. That being said, I fully expect much of what I produce over the course of this coming year to be crap, however if amidst all that crap there are a few gems, I will be satisfied with that outcome.

I'm also a strong believer that writing, just like many crafts, takes a lot of practice, and practice happens on the field. If you never get out of the dressing room, your skills will never improve. At the end of this year, I fully expect to be a better writer than I am now. If I'm not, then this whole exercise will likely have been a waste of time.

Now that you have some insight as to why I'm doing this, here are a few reasons that are not part of my motivation.

I am not doing this to publish stories. I already stated in my previous post that this blog could easily be entitled 52 First Drafts. After the year is over, if there are some worthy pieces, I may polish them and try to sell them, but that is not my primary purpose here.

I am not doing this to make money. You may see some ads on this blog, but I have no delusions that I will build a thriving business out of this. There are far easier, and less time consuming ways to make money on the internet. Keep reading this blog, and I might even point you towards a few.

I am not doing this to break into the field. Again, if you are new to writing, and are looking for ways to break into the field, I don't recommend following the 52 Short Stories. There are smarter ways to do it.

So, in a nutshell, I am doing all of this to:

1. Motivate myself to write more;
2. Create accountabilty; and ultimately
3. Become a better writer.

If there are any brave souls out there who'd like to try this with me, I'd love to hear from you. If there's anyone who's tried something similar in the past, I'd love to hear how it went. And if there's anyone out there who thinks I'm absolutely insane for doing this, I'd love to hear from you, too.

Leave a comment, or via e-mail: me [at] adamdistefano.com.