Hold my hand, but not too tight...

This week it looks like I'll be getting a point. 

A few weeks ago, a fellow Dungeons and Dragons twitterer Scott aka TheAngryDM mentioned how little he updated his blog.  This is something I knew all too well, having said back in May or June that I was going to try and update once a week, and following that off with not updating once a week.

So I floated an idea by him.  We keep each other accountable to updating our blogs.  One post a week, 500 words minimum, due by Saturday midnight every week.  You miss a week, you get a mark.  Who ever has the most marks at the end of mid-December donates 50 dollars to Child's Play, if we're tied, we each chip in $25.

Since then, Scott's pumped out a few amazing posts on D&D.  I've...written a story about where imaginary characters go when they're not wanted any more.

But he sent a tweet out earlier today saying he's not going to make it by tonight.  This is the first time either one of us have had hints of missing, and where our buddy system of blogging accountably meets its fist test.

This is on my mind because I've been using this system of "let's suffer together to get stuff done" more and more recently.  A friend of mine in merry olde England is trying to get an 100,000 word novel done by September.  He's set up a thread in the forums we use to track his progress, to help keep him honest, help track his count, and to share bits and pieces with us.  At work, I saw a co-worker had a C25K schedule up.  I mentioned it to her, saying I'd tried it once but stopped when things too tough, and asked her if we could do it at the same time, keeping the other accountable.  Word spread, and starting Monday 15 people from my company will all be starting this.  The e-mail list is already set up to nag and bug each other to stay honest in this.

The hope of this is to be a crutch; a tool to help get me into the correct habit, and that once a certain time is reached I'll be able to remove it and continue on without the need for it.  And I can see some of the good habits already starting to filter their way into my daily routine.

I went pretty much sixteen months without writing, with a failed attempt at a NaNoWriMo the only exception.  I stopped writing, stopped pursuing the ideas, it all just left me.  Now that I have a weekly blog post here, as well as at least 2 posts a month over at RPGMusings, I'm noticing my mind is paying more attention to ideas I would have otherwise let flitter on by.  I have a notebook and pen on me at all times so I can jot down ideas (or record them via voice).  I'm starting to pay attention to all the little This American Life-like moments I'd witness, the narrative structure forming in parallel to witnessing the triggering idea.

But I was like this months ago, and I stopped.  I needed a kick start to get me going, and there's no guarantee it'll stick.  My fear, to extend the feeble crutch analogy, is that the broken bone will never mend, and I'll require a crutch permanently if I wish to continue these desired traits.  It's not a bad thing in itself, I just need to leave my ego at the door and ask for help.

It's the thought that I can't do this on my own that gets to me.  And now that I write it down, maybe it's not a bad thing.  Writing is a very solitary activity, one of the reasons I tend to avoid it is that I'd rather interact with people instead of stare at a monitor in my free time.  Adding the pseudo-social elements into it lessens the isolation factor. 

At any rate, Scott, here's hoping you get all the gremlins worked out and can get back on the saddle next week.  Don't worry, I'm going to miss the week of PAX at least, so things are not bleak.

Update: Scott just made it, we're still even, and things are gonna be interesting 'round PAX time.

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