Day 1: Writing Challenge

A photo I took in Spain (2014). I’m including it because I’ve been thinking a lot about how my life felt like such a fresh, new adventure at that time, much like how I feel at the start of every new year.

I’ve decided to embark on a writing challenge. Every day during the month of January 2022, I will be writing and publishing a new piece on Medium. I’ll also be including a song and a picture I’ve taken with each piece so you have something visual and sonic to stimulate the rest of your senses. Music and photography are often where I draw inspiration so it feels fitting.

Why am I doing this?

First and foremost, I want to form a habit for myself by forcing some consistency into my writing approach. The month long challenge is because I’ve never been able to finish something without a deadline.

I also want to give myself the chance to broaden my writing. The last few years I’ve mainly been focused on writing standup and satire, but I want to put other forms of writing out into the world too. Some pieces might be long, some might be brief musings, others might just be lists or poems, but everything goes.

Writing has always been a great comfort for me. My love of writing is what made me want to try standup, it’s what’s helped me process grief and childhood anxiety, and it’s also been a joyful escape for me ever since I can remember. In fact, every dream job I had as a kid was just another form of writing: journalist, lyricist, tv writer, author. It’s taken me a long time to understand that it’s intrinsic to who I am as a person and what helps ground me and process the world around me, so I hope this challenge helps me grow as writer too.

I hope you enjoy this journey with me!

Song: So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings by Caroline Polachek

It’s fitting to include a Caroline Polachek song to kick off my writing challenge because I fell in love with music and lyrics through catchy pop melodies. (Fun fact, this song is also co-written with the incomparable Teddy Geiger.)