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Julie Vick's avatar

So true that sometimes streaks are helpful for me but sometimes not. And if I’m in a mode where I need to revise more than just get words down they are not.

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Caitlin Kunkel's avatar

Yup! Revising streaks always break me.

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Jill Gallagher's avatar

Oh man, I love a good streak. I love doing #1000words and setting myself up for mini writing challenges. And I'm not gonna lie...the 75 Hard challenge sounds...HARD...but I kinda want to do it because I think I need something that hardcore in my life. Maybe in the fall when not drinking will be easier? I find writing streaks challenging as well because hitting a word count every day just isn't the way I tend to work, but it definitely should be sometimes.

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Polly's avatar

I am *very* proud of my meditation streak right now, which I know is totally counter to the goal of meditating (which is to be present, not in competition with oneself!). To prove (to myself) that I'm becoming a Buddha, I will not share how many days long my streak is. :)

I *really* struggle with revision streaks. I get distracted and blab out generative stuff in projects that are in development phase, and tell myself that's OK because it's still using writing time for writing, BUT I think it's time to intentionally block off time for revising, and not "cheat."

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Elise Seyfried's avatar

Great article! I tend to be a "streaker"--have done NaNoRiMo, various humor writing sprints, etc. While some have been less than fantastic (that novel is NOT destined for NYT bestseller list), I have found them all to be valuable in helping me get mentally unstuck. I have written a new 500 word essay as a blog post every week since 2011, and I get tired at times, but feel like I don't want to disappoint my readers, so I persevere. As for the 75 day fitness challenge, I'll pass:-)

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Caitlin Kunkel's avatar

Agree that they can be so good for getting unstuck, as well as proving to yourself you have a ton of words and ideas inside of you. I will also pass on 75 Hard haha.

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Chrissy Hennessey's avatar

I love the idea of an "idea" streak to strengthen the brainstorming muscles! Once I finally finish my WIP, that'll be my next experiment.

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Caitlin Kunkel's avatar

I saw her notebook, it was inspiring!! She had different categories she could brainstorm in like sketch ideas, longer work ideas, characters, settings she could set a story, etc.

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Pia Owens's avatar

I have found the same thing — changing it up is key, and recognizing when the streak is serving you and when you need to try something else. (Personally, I cannot relate at all to hardcore daily challenges! But I salute the people who do them.)

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Caitlin Kunkel's avatar

I would fail the first day of 75 Hard when I threw up the gallon of water in the second workout haha

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