I’m stealing an idea from Catherine Lacey. She writes 144 word long essays. I googled “random number generator 100-200.” It gave me 181. So this essay will be 181 words long.
In the words of Amy March, “I want to be great, or nothing.” Unfortunately, that’s been my motto lately. I go back and forth between being extremely fulfilled or unsatisfied with what I have done creatively. No inbetween. I’ve found my self esteem relies heavily on my creative process: I feel most myself when reading and pouring my energy into writing. My identity is intertwined with what I consume and create. So when I’m not reading or not writing, I lose who I am. When I can’t do either, I fall apart.
I haven’t come to any revelation yet. 181 words is not a lot to do so. But for days when my creativity is low, it’s something. It’s more words than yesterday. And while my novel dances around its topics and issues, these 181 words look at them dead on. It’s direct, honest, concise. It’s different. I like it.
I loved Lacey’s thoughts behind writing an essay of so few words, and decided to try it out! As Lacey said, it’s a lot like writing a postcard: attempting to fit all these big, huge thoughts you have gathered along your journey onto a few inches of space. Meticulous, and a bit silly, but rewarding! And, like a postcard, I slip it into the mailbox of the internet and hope it arrives safely to wherever you are. Onward!