As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve decided to start a new blog and it’s been a startling experience. In the last two days, I’ve written four entries. They didn’t require soul searching or deep thinking or effort to write.
And that hasn’t been the case here for a very long time. Often, I struggle to come up with ideas or concepts to write about. That’s a big reason why you get to sit through new features every other day.
But the new bog has a single focus and a single point of conversation to start from. I know what I’m going to be writing about the moment I sit down. And while that sounds constricting, it’s actually freeing. It frees me from paralyzing choice.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still be writing here twice a week, but this other blog has given me ideas about how to energize this blog.
That’s a good thing and I’m looking forward to the next few weeks.
-D-
Tag Archives: blog writing
Starting Anew
Filed under Writing
Branching Out
I’ve been toying with the idea of starting a new blog, in addition to this one.
There are a few reasons why I shouldn’t and not very many reasons why I should. In fact, to be truthful, I can’t think of a single reason of why I should except that I want to.
I’ve been futzing around with a new(ish) hobby for a couple of months now and I want to document it. I always want to document the things I do, but I don’t think this blog could take the burden of yet one more of my bursts of intense interest (see: baseball, beer, boxing, running, horror movies). I want to pare this blog down a bit more, steer the focus more back to what’s going on with my writing and my life and maybe offset my numerous hobby bursts to a second blog.
That means a lot more work. And, if you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, you might notice a surly unwillingness to put any work in this blog. But in order to make this one better, I need to keep tweaking and changing and finding new outlets.
We’ll see. I haven’t decided anything yet. But maybe there’ll be another blog out there with my name on it. I mean, aside from all those Xanga blogs I have lying around.
-D-
Filed under Writing
Modifications
I’ve been considering adding features and things to the blog. As it is, it’s not very structured. Once or twice a week, I’ll update with a random entry. People read it, love it and that’s it.
But I’m thinking about adding in regularly scheduled entries: movie reviews, reviews of any kind, thoughts on pop culture, thoughts on horror, some kind of column that you know will be up every Friday.
At the very least, I’m looking to have a more structured update schedule. Three times a week, say, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, starting next week.
And then we can see how that goes.
-D-
Filed under Everyday Stuff
The End: Entry X
And that’s it.
I have now written ten blog entries in a single day. And they weren’t small entries neither! So no complaining that you were shorted on portions.
If there’s anything that I learned about this whole process, it’s that it wasn’t stressful enough. What I really need to do is twenty-four blog entries over the course of a single day.
That would be the best thing to do.
But first I need a month long vacation from blogging. I’m out of ideas and I have suspicious pains in both of my wrists.
Until July,
-D-
Filed under Writing
The Patterns and Cycles of Writing: Entry II
For me and for any writer, I would imagine, there are periods and time when it’s not conducive for writing.
I know of some authors who have claimed that times of high stress prompt their best writing. That’s never been the case for me. I always need everything to be just right. I need the right music to be playing to fit the mood of the story. I need there to be very little else going on in my life. I need for my beverage of choice to fit whatever I’m writing.
In other words, I’m a pampered dandy when it comes to my writing. I need everything just so or nothing happens. The myriad tensions that can act on me (job, headaches, housework, squabbles with the bird) are a detriment to getting anything done.
Which is not the best way to go about things. I need to be able to write at all times, not just when the situation suits me. I believe it’s possible to train myself to be a better, more timely writer, but it requires, as always, work.
When I operate under someone else’s schedule with someone else’s work, then I can be a fiend of productivity. When it’s my own goddamn stuff, then I’ll be mired in countless, pointless distractions.
For instance, in writing this entry, I took a phone call, checked all three of my emails, checked face book five or six times, signed up for a productivity program and turned on Jay-Z. I have the attention span of a cracked out hummingbird.
And it all comes down to training and discipline and learning how to stay on task.
Maybe today will help prove that I have the strength to write ten entries in spite of the five hundred distractions I have coming for me.
Maybe.
-D-
Filed under Writing
Oops, I Forgot I Had a Blog
I’ve just realized that I’m coming dangerously close to failing at least one of my New Year resolutions. I promised that I’d update this thing at least ten times a month, specifically so that ya’ll would get a regular series of updates during the month.
And I’ve completely ruined that by not updating since the 19th and only five times total for April. I’m depriving you all of informative and entertaining posts! How will you know what’s constantly running through my head on a day to day basis? How will you know about all my many projects that I keep kind of working on? I have two book projects I’ve been chattering about for almost six months now. There’ll be news very soon for both of those.
So the next few days are going to be jammed with updates, blog posts and other random nonsense to help make up for the lack of information. I hope you’re ready.
Cause I sure ain’t.
-D-
Filed under Everyday Stuff
Status Update
I’ve hit a rut. Or I’m in a rut. It doesn’t make much sense to say I’ve hit a rut really, as a rut isn’t a projection that one could run into.
Now I’m digressing. While in a rut.
My blog has slowed down. My writing has stopped. I can’t even really get focused on the book. Which, really, means only one thing.
I need to put my head down and barrel through this like a monkey wired on honey nut cheerios. I need to get my blog’s figures up these next couple of months. I’m gonna break the post barrier. I’m not just going to write 198 blog entries this year, I’m going to go all the way up to 200.
Bam, see that? You just got two more (promised) blog entries from me this year. No more lazing about and watching Bones reruns on Netflix. I’m going to put together my ebook thing and you’re going to buy it and then everyone wins.
Like Rocky said: “Yo, it’s cold outside Paulie.”
Words to live by.
Dylan Charles
Filed under Writing
