Milestones.

Milestones. They are everywhere in life, first crush, first date, first kiss, first time driving a car, first apartment. So many milestones in life, from birthdays to experiences. Well, I hit a milestone yesterday. I published my One Thousand Three hundred and First... Short Story.

Milestone: 1301. And my original goal was just to publish one story. Then I upped my goal to ten stories. Then, I figured, why not try for 100? And you know where that lead…to 1,302; counting this one, which I shall post under the “True Life” category.

I think there is something profound in my path to over a thousand stories. It is so simple that most folks miss how important it is. I sure didn’t realize how much I learned by just churning out stories.

These three are my biggest take aways:

1) Just start whatever it is you want to pursue or do. I started with just one. One Story is all I wanted to get out there.

2) Set a goal. I did. Write one story and publish it online. It feels good to finish something you started. Or to reach a goal, no matter how small, insignificant, or trivial it seems. I mean what’s so special about putting out one story?

The next thing I learned explains why even one story is special. Or one goal.

3) Keep moving the bar. Yep. When I went from one story to wanting to publish ten stories…I moved the bar. I didn’t move the bar to some unrealistic grandiose point where it is more akin to wishful thinking, or delusions of grandeur. Just nine more stories. When I got to ten, I moved the bar to 100. And soon, I was in the several hundreds…and bit by bit, I passed a thousand stories. Just by moving the bar.

Here is a real life example of setting the correct bar, and moving it along. I wanted to lose weight. I started with one pound. Then five pounds, then ten, then fifteen…but here’s how I went about it.

Imagine if you are overweight a bit. Losing a pound a week, is very manageable. If you are like me though, you tried to lose ten, twenty, or even thirty pounds in just a month or so. And, if you are like me, you probably failed. Or got down ten, and put fifteen back on.

I finally applied the lessons I learned from writing. It took me years to put that weight on. So I changed my timetable from getting thin practically over night. To just setting the bar where I could reach it. One pound a week. And over the last twelve weeks, I am averaging just under a pound a week. No hurry. At the end of a year, I shall have lost fifty pounds…and will have developed my eating habits to the point the weight won’t come back on.

My new Milestone in writing? Yep. You guessed it. 1,400 stories. I already know I can write a hundred stories. Heck, I have done it thirteen times. So setting the bar at 1,400 isn’t unreasonable - for me.

You would think all that writing would have improved my story telling ability. And yes, it did. Because when you think about writing a story, your brain has to come up with more than just the words. It has to come up with a story. Those words have to become the right words for your story.

A powerful lot of thinking comes along with writing a story. You develop a plot, a theme, a character, a situation, a place, and the time it will take for all those things to unfold in the Reader’s mind.

Along with all those things, you have to use grammar, vocabulary, punctuation, and style to invigorate your story. So yeah, it is tough sometimes. Writer’s block is a real thing. And the only way past it, is to keep writing!

Not every story I wrote was a good one. Sometimes the grammar was atrocious. Sometimes I threw punctuation around like I wasn’t aware of the rules. Other times, the story wasn’t clear enough to the Reader…since most Readers cannot read my mind.

The Comment Section would often point out my mistakes, or offer to Edit my next story. Feedback is a great way to learn…and grow!

Occasionally you will meet the equivalent of an internet troll commenting on your story. Don’t even read those. If it starts out belittling you, demeaning your writing, or attacking you personally for your beliefs or storyline…let it go.

Your stories are your stories. Once they are out there in the Public, they are on their own. Some will like your writing, some will not. The ones that do like your writing will make you smile, the ones that don’t…are not your audience. Ignore them.

Either way, your story is out there. You can’t change that. So don’t. Move on to your next story.

And one last thing I have learned when you write a lot of stories. Ideas are everywhere. The more you start looking for ideas, the more story lines you will find.

I wrote a story once from finding a seagull feather in a parking lot. I gave it to a little girl and her Mother who were walking by. The little girl’s smile, and the Mom’s thank you...made me wonder how powerful a feather is as a gift.

Another story came about because one of my grandchildren made this comment: “I don’t know. Maybe everything that happens in life, only happens in your brain.”

Wow. So off I went to write about “Reality.”

Another time I saw a bunch of kids riding their bikes up a steep hill. I did that as a kid with my best friend Ed. So a True Life Story got triggered.

You never know when, or where, a story will come from. So pay attention to your thoughts. If you think: “Hmmm, that would make a good story.” Then tell it! Your way. In your words.

Okay, set your bar. Reach it. Move it a little. Repeat. I am doing that right now.

Smiles, Kevin