As a writer I know the value of free writes, or timed writing, also known as stream of consciousness writing. In her book, The Artist's Way, Julia Cameron calls  the process Morning Pages.   And I endorse this practice on a daily basis wholeheartedly!  Unfortunately, I don't always put into practice that which I believe.

I first started following Natalie Goldberg's method for timed writings which she detailed in Writing Down the Bones and Wild Mind back in the 90s.  When I decided in January this year to resurrect my writing career I pulled out her books and the old notebooks and started the process once again.  I think the ultimate goal is to fill a 70 page composition book monthly.  A timed writing requires only a pen, paper, a minimum of ten minutes, and your subconscious.  Goldberg provides many gut-digging prompts in her books as well as some lighter fare.  But alas, I didn't move to my second notebook until six months later.

I discovered 750words.com at the beginning of July.  And this innocuous unassuming place on the www is doing it for me.  I'm hooked.  Started by Buster Benson, it's tagline says it all:  private, unfiltered, spontaneous, daily.  Why is this working for me when the Goldberg method did not?

1.  Simplicity.  As simple as pen and paper is, grabbing my ultra thin ultra light laptop, closing my eyes and letting it rip is simplier.  I'm old-school and like the connection between paper, pencil, and brain, but I'm developing a stronger connection with my Mac.
2.  Privacy.  My handwritten notebooks aren't really private and that's inhibiting.  I could die and my heirs would have assess to my dark side, and anything I've written about them.  So I scribble very quickly and messily in my notebooks so anyone glancing through would have difficulty deciphering them and maybe give up. But the problem is, I often have trouble deciphering them myself months later. At password protected 750words.com, I am assured that no one sees my ramblings. 
3.  Incentives.  Buster has developed a monthly point system and I like earning points.  I can also earn badges such as penguins and flamingos based on the number of consecutive days I write.  I know that writing in itself should provide me enough intrinsic motivation to write daily, but sometimes that just isn't the case. But I am a competitive animal and like sizing myself up to the others following the monthly challenge.
4.  Reminder email.  Buster sends me an email daily at 7am that I need to write 750 words today.  He also tells me how many days in a row I've written and the number of points I've earned for the month, two motivating helps.  I'm a person who is driven to check items off a list, or move emails to the trash as quickly as possible.  Buster's email is not trashed until my writing is complete and the sooner the better 
5.  Clean Slate.  I start each month with a clean slate.  I didn't start the July challenge until the fourth day of the month.  So I'm not one of the top point winners in July.  However, I am one of the 262 members out of the 782 who started the July challenge to finish!  That makes me feel better.

But today is August 1 and my slate is clean. And Buster has a new trick up his sleeve this month that I really like. 

We have the option to set a tangible reward for ourselves if we write every day in August.  I've often used tangible rewards to motivate myself to exercise or to lose weight, so this isn't new to me.  But what is new is the penalty component.  We can create a penalty for ourselves If we miss even one day.  For example my reward for writing every day in August will be a 90 minute massage.  My penalty for missing just one day will be a donation to 750words.com.  It could be called putting your money where your mouth is. 

I'm sure this will provide me even greater motivation than earning a penguin.  Why?  It's called loss aversion, a principle of behavioral finance that says that we will go to greater lengths to avoid losing money than we will to gain an equal amount. The challenge is on!

The site also offers other cool things such as metadata, which tracks the various emotional content of your subconscious through your entries and compares it with the world.  I'm not convinced of its scientific validity, but it is fun. 

I love 750words.com so much that I might be motivated enough to make a donation anyway, even though I don't plan to fail.  It's that's good.