The Magic Spreadsheet

The first time I heard about The Magic Spreadsheet and all of its sparkly-rainbow glory, I knew I would have to give it a try. It was created by Tony Pisculli who wanted something to motivate (coerce) him into writing everyday. Mur Lafferty picked up on it and claims it has worked wonders. You can listen to Lafferty's interview with Tony Pisculli about The Magic Spreadsheet here. 

It has since turned into a massive Google+ community and shared spreadsheet. Writers can record their daily word count (minimum 250 words a day) and receive points for writing that day and extra points for not missing a day. The more days you go without missing one, the more points add up.

I began using it starting this month and am loving it so far. Although I was disappointed that logging in didn't magically give me writing superpowers that sent me into a keyboard smashing frenzy, the magic of The Magic Spreadsheet is not wanting to break that little, seemingly insignificant chain. It also helps that you can see other people's progress. I can't stand it when I can see other people chugging out a consistent word count when I forgot to write that day.

So no, the Magic Spreadsheet isn't going to instantly make you into a writer extraordinaire, but it will give you that daily nudge that says, "Sit down. Write."