I did it!

Back on the 15th of November I decided that I was going to try to run at least one mile every day for as many days as I could before I had to take a break. At the time, I was really trying to keep myself moving through the long dreary winter when the days are short and wet and I’d much rather stay inside with a book than go outside and get sweaty.

Once I made it through the winter, I wanted to see if I could make it to 100 days. Then it was half a year. And now that I’ve hit that 200 day milestone, I think I have no choice but to go for a full 365 days!

The side benefit of running every day that I didn’t realize before I started is it really feeds my writing brain. I don’t listen to music or podcasts or audiobooks or anything but the birds and the wind in the trees when I run, because I like to let my mind unwind and wander. And do you know what happens when my mind isn’t focused on anything in particular except keeping my feet moving? I come up with the best story ideas.

Sometimes it’s as simple as the answer to “what happens next?” Sometimes it’s a clever plot twist or a character motivation that leads the story in a new direction. Regardless, I’m always much more motivated to get back to writing after I go for a run.

Which is good, because before I left for my run today, I was completely unmotived to write. And very, very stuck.

I’m trying to get my brain back into a new project. It’s one I haven’t touched for a long time, and I’m really feeling that “I don’t wanna” inertia. Seriously, though, getting back into a project after you’ve been out of it for a while is the worst.

Now that I’m back and showered and feeling extra accomplished because I hit that 200 day milestone, I’m going to do what I do when I don’t want to go outside and run. I’m going to put my butt in my chair, open my Scrivener file, and make myself do something on this project for at least ten minutes.

I’ll let you know tomorrow how it went. And maybe tell you a little more about what I’m working on.

How about you? What’s getting you moving and keeping you motivated today?