Community Profile
Join
Watch
Add Note
Post
Track
Send V-Gift
600 Seconds - 10 minutes, once a day, for 365 days...
Get into the habit of writing with a purpose
Created on 2004-12-18 05:28:36 (#5485185), last updated 2007-04-16
2,321 comments received
Basic Account [Gift]
463 Journal Entries, 1 Tag, 0 Memories, 0 Virtual Gifts, 1 Userpic
Basic Info| Name: | 10 minutes a day, 365 days a year |
|---|---|
| Membership: | Moderated |
| Posting Access: | All Members, Moderated |
About600 Seconds
It's really not that long. 10 minutes a day. The time it takes to check out of the average supermarket lane. The time it takes to smoke a cigarette slowly. The time it takes to get through the drive-thru at a fast-food joint. The time it takes to get 1/3 of the way into a sitcom only to realize that you are wasting your time...
This community was created as an experiment. A source of encouragement, a daily prod. It's a 'workout support group' for those who wish to exercise their writing muse rather than just their bodies. During 2005, we got through one prompt a day. In 2006, we were on hiatus. As 2007 begins, we start anew.
They say the key to good writing is doing it constantly. Repetition. Practice. Focus.
They also say that successful writers have a habit of writing.
The point of![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif)
600seconds is to provide a forum for people who want to get into the habit of writing, "tone" their writing skills along the way, and find their inner muse.
The Rules are as Follows:
~ Every day for a year, starting January 1st, ONE post will be made with a topic or writing exercise. If you are participating that day you will need to do the following:
1) Set a timer for 10 minutes (600 seconds) - no more, no less.
2) Open a Comment Reply window - or a text editor that you can copy and paste from. Make sure that your comment is a new response to the main post. Other people may comment underneath it, so you want yours not to get lost in those replies.
3) In the Title Box put your LJ User ID!!! please make sure to do this, it makes it easier to see who is writing regularly...
4) Write for exactly 10 minutes... if you aren't "done" with your thought, essay, story, whatever but want to continue it, you can do so elsewhere... you need to post here what you have written in that 10 minutes.
5) After you have posted, feel free to read others' entries for that day. Comment if you think you have something *productive* to add. (Please see below for commenting dos-and-dont's!)
6) Come back the next day and write again!
-------------------------------------------------
Commenting Dos-and-Don'ts
Commenting on poor spelling, bad grammar, or any structural details is frowned upon... This is a Writing Practice community. Few people can or will edit something during a 10 minute writing exercise, nor do we expect anyone to 'spell check' before posting... The objective is to write for 10 minute stretches daily - expect to read entries with typos, run-on sentences, poor punctuation, and occasional lack of coherency. The writer knows this about his/her own work if posting here - and doesn't need you to point it out.
Comments under an individual post should only be used for encouragement, or insight... such as "Gee ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
yndy that's the third time this month you've written about mountains - is this a recurring theme for you right now? Maybe you ought to explore it further..." or "Hey yndy I really love this piece because you put me right there in the action..." or "Hmm... maybe you could've told this from first person singular rather than 3rd person omniscient?"
Commenting without participating is discouraged. The point of the community is to get in the habit of writing daily, and maybe to get some material that might be reworked into something more substantial at a later point... Not to provide entertainment for the masses. The point of commenting is to support your fellow writers as they support you. If you aren't participating in the writing regularly yourself, you should refrain from commenting regularly until you are.
Personal, derogatory, insulting or attacking comments will be deleted. The poster will be warned once - and banned upon a second violation. This will be strictly enforced - as this is a safe haven for writers, not a "drama spot." Please contact the moderators if necessary.
Something to keep in mind: responses to your pieces may vary. Sometimes, the most amazing pieces will receive no comments at all, other times you may find your inbox flooded with the response. Please try not take silence as an insult - some folks may read your entry and feel they are out of their depth to try and respond, other times there are simply no words to describe our reaction. Keep writing. We're all doing this for ourselves, after all!!
Other rules may or may not be added as required down the line - but a community post will be made to let you know of any updates.
Any writing herein is the private property of the author, and all standard copyright laws apply. DO NOT REPRODUCE OR DISTRIBUTE ANYTHING IN THIS COMMUNITY WITHOUT THE PRIOR EXPRESS, WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR!!!
Current moderator isyndy. She will be responsible for posting each day's topic. If you have a great idea for a topic, please email 600seconds @ livejournal.com with your suggestions.
PLEASE NOTE:
All posts to the community are automatically screened. If you have something important to say community wide, it will be screened prior to posting for relevance to this community's aims. All comments by NON-MEMBERS are automatically screened - if you'd like to post your writing where everyone can see it, you'll need to join first by clicking here or using the link at the top of this page!!
Should the need arise, this community and it's entries may be converted to Members Only - to respect the privacy of it's writers. If you are a member, and know someone who *should* be a member, please bring it to our attention so they can be invited to join!
**************
If you don't have a good physical timer, you might want to try this:
Cool Timer - it's a freeware program that allows you to set a countdown timer and alerts you with a .wav file of your choice when it's time to stop.
**************
On the time restriction
The whole reason behind the time limitation is three-fold:
1) because it spurs tighter writing - if you know you are limited in time, you tend not to drift off on tangential, long-winded things that you might later delete in an edit...
2) For the other readers/writers in the community. Depending on how fast you read or write, it's a rule of thumb that it usually takes less than 1/5th of the time it took to write it to read something - 10 minutes means that you spend 2 minutes or less reading everyone else's entries. As we grow, this will make a difference.
3) Writers (published ones that is) often work on deadlines - and there's something to be said for getting into the habit of writing under pressure, as well as knowing how much you can fit into a 10 minute session.
Due to popular demand - a supplemental community for600seconds has been created.
600seconds_plus is a completely open forum for posting anything you want to about 600seconds
including fleshed out stories/essays/writing from here, commentary, socializing, all the normal community banter and what not.
Membership in that community is by no means required for this one or vice versa - but it gives us a place to be social as writers!
It's really not that long. 10 minutes a day. The time it takes to check out of the average supermarket lane. The time it takes to smoke a cigarette slowly. The time it takes to get through the drive-thru at a fast-food joint. The time it takes to get 1/3 of the way into a sitcom only to realize that you are wasting your time...
This community was created as an experiment. A source of encouragement, a daily prod. It's a 'workout support group' for those who wish to exercise their writing muse rather than just their bodies. During 2005, we got through one prompt a day. In 2006, we were on hiatus. As 2007 begins, we start anew.
They say the key to good writing is doing it constantly. Repetition. Practice. Focus.
They also say that successful writers have a habit of writing.
The point of
600seconds is to provide a forum for people who want to get into the habit of writing, "tone" their writing skills along the way, and find their inner muse.The Rules are as Follows:
~ Every day for a year, starting January 1st, ONE post will be made with a topic or writing exercise. If you are participating that day you will need to do the following:
1) Set a timer for 10 minutes (600 seconds) - no more, no less.
2) Open a Comment Reply window - or a text editor that you can copy and paste from. Make sure that your comment is a new response to the main post. Other people may comment underneath it, so you want yours not to get lost in those replies.
3) In the Title Box put your LJ User ID!!! please make sure to do this, it makes it easier to see who is writing regularly...
4) Write for exactly 10 minutes... if you aren't "done" with your thought, essay, story, whatever but want to continue it, you can do so elsewhere... you need to post here what you have written in that 10 minutes.
5) After you have posted, feel free to read others' entries for that day. Comment if you think you have something *productive* to add. (Please see below for commenting dos-and-dont's!)
6) Come back the next day and write again!
-------------------------------------------------
Commenting Dos-and-Don'ts
yndy that's the third time this month you've written about mountains - is this a recurring theme for you right now? Maybe you ought to explore it further..." or "Hey yndy I really love this piece because you put me right there in the action..." or "Hmm... maybe you could've told this from first person singular rather than 3rd person omniscient?"Something to keep in mind: responses to your pieces may vary. Sometimes, the most amazing pieces will receive no comments at all, other times you may find your inbox flooded with the response. Please try not take silence as an insult - some folks may read your entry and feel they are out of their depth to try and respond, other times there are simply no words to describe our reaction. Keep writing. We're all doing this for ourselves, after all!!
Other rules may or may not be added as required down the line - but a community post will be made to let you know of any updates.
Any writing herein is the private property of the author, and all standard copyright laws apply. DO NOT REPRODUCE OR DISTRIBUTE ANYTHING IN THIS COMMUNITY WITHOUT THE PRIOR EXPRESS, WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR!!!
Current moderator is
yndy. She will be responsible for posting each day's topic. If you have a great idea for a topic, please email 600seconds @ livejournal.com with your suggestions.PLEASE NOTE:
All posts to the community are automatically screened. If you have something important to say community wide, it will be screened prior to posting for relevance to this community's aims. All comments by NON-MEMBERS are automatically screened - if you'd like to post your writing where everyone can see it, you'll need to join first by clicking here or using the link at the top of this page!!
Should the need arise, this community and it's entries may be converted to Members Only - to respect the privacy of it's writers. If you are a member, and know someone who *should* be a member, please bring it to our attention so they can be invited to join!
**************
If you don't have a good physical timer, you might want to try this:
Cool Timer - it's a freeware program that allows you to set a countdown timer and alerts you with a .wav file of your choice when it's time to stop.
**************
On the time restriction
The whole reason behind the time limitation is three-fold:
1) because it spurs tighter writing - if you know you are limited in time, you tend not to drift off on tangential, long-winded things that you might later delete in an edit...
2) For the other readers/writers in the community. Depending on how fast you read or write, it's a rule of thumb that it usually takes less than 1/5th of the time it took to write it to read something - 10 minutes means that you spend 2 minutes or less reading everyone else's entries. As we grow, this will make a difference.
3) Writers (published ones that is) often work on deadlines - and there's something to be said for getting into the habit of writing under pressure, as well as knowing how much you can fit into a 10 minute session.
Due to popular demand - a supplemental community for
600seconds has been created.600seconds_plus is a completely open forum for posting anything you want to about 600seconds including fleshed out stories/essays/writing from here, commentary, socializing, all the normal community banter and what not.
Membership in that community is by no means required for this one or vice versa - but it gives us a place to be social as writers!
ConnectInterests (20):
creative writing, focused writing, habitual writing, honing writing skills, inspiration, journaling, motivation, muse, poetry, practice writing, storytelling, stream-of-conciousness, timed writing, writers, writing, writing challenges, writing discipline, writing exercises, writing habits, writing prompts
Administrators
Members [View Entries]
Members (189):
_s_h_a_d_e_s, aalanya, active_apathy, adagiopassion, aithon, alayna, alcesalces, alluringcliche, allwinterlong, amanda_ninja, amenquohi, anayasmom, archway, armandleg01, ashrayne, astonethrow, augia666, auntlet, autorefill, ayoub, babymine, bamusical, banantalis, banderchick, barbaraz, bastette_joyce, beendonealready, black_berry623, bloodylilacs, bluecrate, blueeyedgirl85, boosmiles, burymylove, call_me_harmony, cartwheelsinbed, celtic_rain, chessie_reeves, conandammit, confused11390, consummatum, coruscations, crazylilartist, cruordomina, cyber_bard_, cynderellie, d_darkangel, darkcryst, darko28, deeder55, deftonedpiano, diepretty84, eienyoruame, encee_17, estrella_jenita, evildemonkitty, ewigeliebe, faeriewoman, faizah_writes, firebird5, fireflower314, frek, funnierthan24, glorious, gluedupsidedown, grail76, greydomani, gypsiewriter, heatmusic, hemmingwayscat, heykarma, his_night_sky, hopeevey, innocenteen, intrepidimelda, iolana_khenemet, itrytobeamused, jazzminarino, jeff2001, jood, joshelboricua, jr0124, katie_anna, katy_kate, kellfire, kevelyn63, kimeepower, kiorakai, kitestream, ladigrifon, ladyjaye, ladymalchav, lazyfox, lazywritingbum, leathersammie, leila82, lexydoodle, lindalee_, lit_chick, lne_bird, lokiwill, luwanda26, maggiebloome, majestic_lies, manifestress, maquisleader, mattison, me_ladie, meshell_mybell, midnite_thunder, mjdolce, moody_mcboob, moonfruituk, muse_captive, myrrh, navolla, nca, neversremedy, newmint, notbatman, nyarhotep, odiddlydee, oflowpersuasion, ohdragonfly, ohhjuliet, ohmysyzygy, orangecrush1189, packbat, paradoxymoron, phipersei, phoenixdreaming, playingwithfyre, poacu, portugal_hottie, praetore, predilection__, queencallipygos, r4nd0m, rakosha, rancor4real, rdherman, reinedesetoiles, ringbark, rous, s0weirditskool, sadiecass, scienter, scouseboy, seppuku_files, shesafreak, silent_r_infork, sistersolace, slacker1985, sleepingwulf, slytherhyme, smallelephant, smeddley, sorchax, souredpoison, spicexlusion, sully_is_god, sweetpea86, tacitcat, taintedoffering, tarysande, tendervessel, thrintje, tiye, trishg24, troubleinchina, turning_leaf, violaleeblues, w34v3r, wacky_iraqi, wolfka, wonderlandkat, wordsontour, wwillow, xanthipe, xkiss_shiningx, xlastattemptx, yellowhorde, yndy, yndy_600sec, youbutsweeter, ytilaer, yuyui, zarhooie, ziggy007, zooeyglass03
Watched by (144):
_s_h_a_d_e_s, aalanya, active_apathy, aithon, alayna, alcesalces, alienfreak, amanda_ninja, annarti, archegos, ashrayne, astonethrow, auclairespere, auntlet, autorefill, ayoub, babymine, banderchick, bastette_joyce, black_berry623, bluecrate, boosmiles, bunnydogtail, burymylove, call_me_harmony, celtic_rain, chessie_reeves, colepuma, confused11390, crazylilartist, cruordomina, cyber_bard_, cynderellie, darkcryst, dolcemj, dunesque, elenor_c, emanon1, emotionsplague, erie_potter, estelle, ethernight, eureka_moments, evangeline1138, fairytalesins, faizah_writes, firebird5, glorious, gluedupsidedown, grail76, greydomani, gypsiewriter, heatmusic, helpyoufly, hemmingwayscat, heykarma, hopeevey, infamouskalli, intrepidimelda, iolana_khenemet, jazzminarino, jeva_chan, joshelboricua, jr0124, kandake, katy_kate, kayefierch, kellfire, kiorakai, ladyjaye, ladymalchav, ladymog, lazyfox, lazywritingbum, leathersammie, leila82, lexydoodle, lit_chick, llauren321, lokiwill, maggiebloome, malora, me_ladie, meandstuff, meltyoudown, meshell_mybell, midnite_thunder, mind_phaser, mjdolce, moonfruituk, mslemons_girl, muse_captive, natureswrath, navolla, ndef, notbatman, nyarhotep, ohhjuliet, ohmfggitsamanda, ourobo, packbat, paradoxymoron, perry_madd, phipersei, poacu, portugal_hottie, praetore, rakosha, rancor4real, rdherman, redrovergrrl, reinedesetoiles, ringbark, rous, samhain_punk, scienter, selfimp0sed, seppuku_files, shadowboxer923, shesafreak, sistersolace, slacker1985, sleepingwulf, smeddley, souredpoison, tacitcat, tendervessel, terraswrath, thestormcrow, thrintje, tommyboybbi, trishg24, troubleinchina, turning_leaf, violaleeblues, wacky_iraqi, wordsontour, wwillow, wyvernfriend, xlastattemptx, yellowhorde, yndy_600sec, youbutsweeter, ytilaer
