Five hundred words a day is one of those exercises that writing gurus and English professors like to promote. The idea behind this is that the more you practice writing a set number of words in a day, the easier it will be in the long run. Sort of like how exercising a muscle makes that muscle stronger, or how coaches condition you to keep your goals at the forefront of your mind. But if there’s one reality that needs to become accepted, it’s that practice is hard. Whether there’s a lack of resources or a lack of motivation, sitting down to churn out those five hundred words can slowly become a challenge. The sad thing is that this then becomes a slippery slope to complacency; you missed a day of writing, then you miss a week, and before you know it, coming up with even a page’s worth of text becomes an exercise in futility. The mind is a muscle, you could say. The more you practice it, the easier it becomes to use. The less you use it, the slower it becomes. The neurons of