D. Keith Robinson

If you follow me on Twitter you might have seen me mention 750 Words; a web application by Buster Benson that, for me anyway, facilitates writing, thought and learning.

The idea is simple yet unbelievably compelling: each day you sit down and write at least 750 words. That’s it. You can write about whatever you want, the primary goal here is simply that you devote some time (in my case it looks like 15-20 mintues) to write every day.

Beyond that, the sky really is the limit. When I first looked at it, I simply started writing. My topic was easy: thoughts and impressions of Bayonetta, a video game I’d recently played.

When I was done, I thought, “hey, that was fun” and decided to stick with it. Here I am a week later, my streak still intact, and I’ve written about work, game design, my life, learning and lots of other subjects. All within this non-public realm that really enables creativity and freedom. It’s magical! :)

Anyway, if that weren’t enough, there are some simple semi-competive game mechanics to help keep you motivated. I was too late for the monthly challenge, but that seems like a great one. AND there are all sorts of stats being gathered about your writing. So far they seem more fun than useful, but I can’t say their not interesting and they certainly do get you thinking about what you write.

Today I noticed you could also write up a quick blurb about your day, or what you wrote about, giving a bit of context to the stats. I love that idea and plan to use it well.

Anyway, go check it out. I’ve also made my stats public, in case you’re curious about what I’ve been doing with my 750 words.