One of the most difficult - and most rewarding - things I have done in recent memory was in 2020 when I made it a goal to post something every day.
Looking at my posting history, it had been leading up to that the point: I had easily been posting every other day (or more) from 2008 to 2017 and then 2018 to 2019 were years I almost hit that mark (but not quite). Originally it was simply a challenge to myself; only later did I find it to be an excellent discipline and practice.
That said, it came at the cost of something - in this case, the writing of other projects like short stories, the occasional manuscript, and even some other blogs or blog-like structures that I had going or were planned.
Given my foray into Essentialism this year and the fact that I do believe that writing is essential to who I am and what I do, I am looking for ways to 1) Keep the discipline of a post a day; 2) Build in buffer for other writing projects (an average blog post takes around 20 to 30 minutes, plus editing); and 3) Automate the process to the extent to which I am able.
To that end, I am working on more of a formal "writing menu".
I have that here somewhat already: Tuesdays and Wednesdays have become travel days, Thursdays are The Collapse, Sundays are God Thoughts. That leaves three days - Monday, Friday, and Saturday - which are not otherwise pre-programmed.
To those that have never done it, generating an article ex nihilo can be a mentally exhausting task. Sometimes you find the subject or words. Sometimes you just look at a blinking cursor.
To that end, this is the schedule I intend to start with:
This gives me five days a week that I "know" what I am writing about, a great help in content creation. The other two days? Things happen in life; it is good to leave some time for them to document them. It also - from practical experience - gives me the longest lead time to think about the "undefined" subjects (a work week and then a weekend).
This is all tentative of course, subject to how things go and if this works at all. Who knows: maybe another day gets "pre-programmed", or Monday becomes something else. But it is at least a framework to help with continuing to give me the discipline to write as well as freeing some intellectual space and time up for other projects.
Thanks as always for your patience and continued support.
I remain,
Your Most Obedient Servant, Toirdhealbheach Beucail
Thank you for all of your efforts to keep us entertained and informed of what transpires in your Life. I don't know how you folks can stay on task for so long.
ReplyDeleteAnon. - Thank you for the kind words.
DeleteHonestly, this is something critical to my existence and I do not know what I would do if I could not write. To that end, I am trying to find ways to make it easier for me to write (writing this blog as a thought exercise and online journal has been good for me) while trying to expand my writing portfolio. Hopefully this gives space for both.
I admire your ambition. I used to blog every day for nearly two decades but found myself feeling like a slave to my blog. I decided to dial it back to just three days a week and I've enjoyed that much better. It also allows me to write posts about two weeks in advance of when they publish to give me some more time to change my mind and edit them a little. Occasionally though, I do have quite a backlog of posts and I break the three day a week rule to fit them in a timely manner, usually stemming from vacations.
ReplyDeleteEd, I had thought about scaling back to something more manageable like three days a week (and may do so at some point). The thing I do like about a daily post is that it keeps me writing and does not allow me to "slack off" in making sure that I keep writing.
DeleteLike you, this is an idealized list. A calendar is already about 30% built out and there are some days where other things will simply intervene.
Revealing to read that there will be a method to the madness .....:) For all the time, thought and work put into this blog thank you TB, grit you have. Good luck with your other writing efforts.
ReplyDeleteNylon12, I sort of thought that I owed that to everyone that reads here regularly. I try to be up front with what I am thinking and writing, and hopefully that will now not catch folks "by surprise" when they only see certain things on certain days. It also helps me be sure to vary may writing subjects, which is good for my creativity.
DeleteThank you for the well wishes. Like almost everything else, I have the beginnings of a plan that need to be manifested...
I have often wondered, TB, if you have a plan for what to write about when. I am impressed at your discipline to post regularly, and have wondered how you come up with so much varied and interesting content. Thanks for sharing a bit of your process.
ReplyDeleteBecki - You are welcome, but I assure you this has been a long time to arrive in this form. I actually tried this format a bit two years ago, but the way I was doing it did not really work for me. Given what my upcoming year looks like and other plans I would like to put in place, I simply needed to develop more structure.
Delete"To those that have never done it, generating an article ex nihilo can be a mentally exhausting task. Sometimes you find the subject or words. Sometimes you just look at a blinking cursor."
ReplyDeleteIt's one of those things that seems quite simple on the surface of it - Just write! How hard can it be? - until you find yourself a third of the way through and at a temporary loss on the subject. Or as you say, stalling out before you even start, mental wheels vainly spinning in a mire of tangled thoughts, 'till tread at last bites down or frustration forces you to step away.
I've completed a small number of personal projects and have one I'm in the midst of (and dragging my feet on), the first of which I told myself to update weekly; both took the better part of a year, but the first was much more smooth with that self-imposed impetus. I might not understand your woes, but I like to think I can sympathize a little at the least.
Which, while it is on the mind, have you heard of (or participated in) National Novel Writing Month before? It would not surprise if so, but I don't want to eat into my mandated allotment of sweeping assumptions so early in the year.
P_P - It is a deceptively easy thing to say, "just write". And sometimes it really does work well. Other times, I struggle - not so much to write once I get going (after almost 20 years, it turns out I can write about almost anything) as to generate that initial idea.
DeleteGood on you for completely your projects! As I have to remind myself, good project structure makes for excellent execution.
I have heard of Nanowrimo. I took a stab at it twice and actually completed it once. For me, 50,000 words in a month was about 1,500 words a day. It was a good practice, but of late my November's have been a bit too unpredictable, especially with having to be away at least one week for my parents. I would like to give it another go - maybe this year, now that I am more "settled".