100 x 100: Will you commit?

After telling a friend that I struggle to find time to write, we had the following conversation.

HER: Do you send text messages?

ME: Of course.

HER: Write tweets?

ME: You know I do.

HER: How many in a day?

ME: I know where you are going with this, but –

HER: How many?

ME: Two or three, usually.

HER: How long does it take to write a text message or a tweet?

ME: A few minutes, but –

HER: No buts. Can you commit to write the same amount toward a novel each day?

ME: What will that prove?

HER: What about we just see. I challenge you to 100 words for 100 days.

I did not commit to anything yesterday. I needed to think through what my friend was saying. It turns out that 100 words for 100 days can be quite productive. 100 x 100 is 10,000. That is approximately 1/8 of a novel in about three months. Even if I did not write one word over 100 each day, if I did it for a year I would have 40,000 words.

We all know that if I write 100 words I am likely on many of those days to hit my stride and keep going. If I keep going on even half of those days and if that nets me 500 words on those days, I have a novel in less than a year.

For context, note that the conversation I recalled above is 113 words. It took me seventeen minutes to write and revise.

I timed it.

And then I committed to writing 100 words per day for 100 days.

Now I challenge you. Will you commit to writing 100 words for 100 days?