Thursday, December 10, 2009

The cliche of writer's block

It's kind of a cliche, really.

You finally get the time, and the space, and, hell, the permission to just sit down and write.

And nothing happens.

You stare at your list of prompts and to-dos, and you just can't care about them. This one is stupid. That one is hard.

You open up something you got halfway through, and you can't for the life of you remember where you were going with it.

You get defeatist. No one is going to read it anyway. No one reads it now. Why bother?

You get nervous. The plan was to work on your writing, and then do something else. Something else? Not getting done. Because you can't write.

You can't write.

And hell, if you could do anything else -- if you wanted to do anything else -- well, you'd have a day job like a normal person, wouldn't you?

Self-worth comes into question. The Depression monster -- which already finds you to be delectable prey -- starts creeping around the edges of your territory. You can see it, hear it, smell its breath. Its teeth are sharp, and wet; its mouth is watering.

It will devour you if you don't fight.

Better to whine about having to fight than to be eaten for not fighting, you decide.

So you hammer out the kind of essay writers have been writing when they lack better ideas, pretty much since there have been both writers and ideas.

It's kind of a cliche, really.


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Monday, November 2, 2009

In which I seek a Blogging Buddy

Crossposted from Life is (not) Boring [link]

Darren Rowse at Problogger did his 31 Days to Build a  Better Blog program a while back.  I'm not doing so well at the 31 days part, but Looking at it as 31 steps has been immensely helpful.

Day 15's (http://www.problogger.net/archives/2009/04/20/find-a-blog-buddy/) task is to find a Blog Buddy -- a fellow blogger with about the same level of success as you who will share resrouces, trade guest posts, give feedback, link each other back and forth, and so on.  Ideally, this partnership would elevate the talent -- andreadership -- of both bloggers. 

So, my personal ad:


Small- to mid-size blogger seeks same for Blogging Buddy.   Review, writing, and day-in-the-life bloges preferred, (as that's what I do), as well as personals finance, green, happiness, and dog blogs (Which I enjoy reading, but don't really write about as much), but not mandatory, although I prefer your topic be something of which I have at least a vague understanding.   Buddy should read my blog(s) regularly and allow me to do the same, and comment regularly and expect me to do the same.   Links should be exchanged, particularly when we write things relevant to each other.

I'm willing to guest post for you with sufficient notice, and I would likely be calling on you for the same.  Proper credit and links would be given, of course, and I'd expect the same in return.

Blunt feedback is welcome, although kindly-phrased feedback is even better.   I want someone who will kick me in the pants when I slack off, so while I'm willing to do the same for you, if you're not serious about this, don't bother.

In return, I'm willing to provide the types of feedback requested (although not fine-tooth-comb proofreading or copy-editing -- that's very time-intensive and I charge for that!).  Your blog will end up on my blogrolls on the sidebars fo my blogs (and I'd hope for the same).


Any takers?  Preference would be given to people I know IRL, but it's not a strong preference, and there's no rule saying I -- or you -- can't have more than one Buddy!

Friday, October 16, 2009

NaNoWriMo: Prep

Ok, National Novel Writer's Month starts on November 1, and once again I'm going to participate.  This year, I'm actually hoping to finish, even.

But, as usual, I can't decide what to wrote about.  I'm hoping you can help.  I was going to describe the ideas I had, but in my experience, the more I talk about my writing projects, the less likely I am to finish them.  So, without any actual information, please help me decide:



The poll closes on October 31, so I can jump right in November 1.

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Monday, August 31, 2009

To Do: Blog

Google Calendar is a contact- and time-managem...Image via WikipediaI love Google Calendar. The Tasks list -- which is also connected to Gmail -- allows me to keep track of what I need to do at work, at home, any time I'm near a computer, and, of course, when I'm blogging.

Whenever I come up with an idea for a blog post, I break that idea down into basic parts, then add each part to my to-do list on Google Calendar. Then, I just pull the next task in, write it up, and if I finish a post ahead of time, awesome: I just pre-schedule it for another day.

I've never been ahead of myself like this before. It's pretty sweet!

What do you do to keep on top of your game with blogging or other writing?


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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Seeking PenPals...

This post is blatantly cross-posted from my other blog, Life is (not) Boring.

Havi at The Fluent Self has a weekly ritual in which she postspersonal ads for the things and people she wants and needs in her life. I love the idea, so I am heretofor going to rip her off.
Prolific communicator with endless opinions seeks same for penpal relationship. Let's keep the centuries-old tradition alive and count among the last great correspondants.
Topics unlimited. I am not easily offended, but be sure you are likewise and can take what you give. Sample topics might include books recently read, life lessons learned from daily tasks, updates on major milestones, progress towards goals, and explorations on topics not discussed in polite society.

Regualr correspondence is a must, although "regular" may be defined as anything from a short note once a week to an encyclopedicmissive twice a year. I tend toward the latter but am flexible. Ideally, holiday and birthday greetings would be inlcuded in the correspondence (but would not count toward the "twice a year missive").

The ideal candidate already has my home address, as I do not give it out online. I begin all replies immediately after receiving a letter; long repsonses will take longer to finish.

No dabblers, please. Apply by post; I have sent letter that have recevied no repsonse, and would like to weed out such candidates.

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Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Prayer Intentions

The Assumption of Our Lord Jesus Christ Cathol...Image via WikipediaSo I had mentioned ages ago that I wanted to write the prayer intentions for my wedding.  Well, I finally finished them and got them approved, so I thought you might want to take a look:
  • For all the Church in the world, that we may come together, not in dispute over our differences, but in love and devotion to our Lord Jesus Christ.
  • For all people of faith, and all those who seek meaning, that they may find Truth.
  • For all deacons and ordered religious, all priests and ministers, all bishops and conference chairs, all Popes and Patriarchs, and for all men and women who are called to be shepherds, that they may lead their flocks in Christ's example.
  • For all parishioners of N----- Church, and for the former congregation of F----- Church, that the values and love they have passed on to Chris and Laura may continue to guide them and those their lives touch.
  • For Barack our president, D---- and E----- our governors, and all elected and appointed officials, that they may lead and serve their people with love, courage, and compassion.
  • For peace in our world, and comfort in those regions suffering turmoil.
  • For our men and women in uniform, both stateside and overseas, who serve justice, protect our freedoms, and keep our lives safe.
  • For all those who wish to marry before the Lord, that their unions be blessed.
  • For all those who work with the law, that they may act with justice and mercy, guided by the Law handed down Moses and realized by Christ.
  • For all those who work with the written word, that their pens and their hearts may be guided by the Word made flesh.
  • For all members of the H-----, Grow, O-----, and Nyberg families, that God's blessings on them and on all families may continue.
  • For friendships, the families we choose, that we may strengthen one another in times of difficulty, and celebrate together in times of joy as we do today.
  • For all who are sick or injured, whether physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually, that they may find strength in their suffering, comfort in this life, and eternal peace in the next.
  • For all of our loved ones who have passed from this life, that we may celebrate with them in the next.
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Thursday, June 11, 2009

Elevator Pitch

I'm a little late in the game, but I'm going to be working (slowly, no doubt) on ProBlogger's most recent version of the 31 Days To Build a Better Blog Challenge.

Now, I'm not going to be working on this blog -- I might, eventually, if the Challenge works out, but not yet. My primary blog is Reviewing Whatever, so I'll be concentrating on that.

Day One's challenge is to Write and Elevator Pitch For Your Blog.
You can get reviews of the newest and hottest books, movies, and restaurants anywhere, but where do you go to hear about chain restaurants, library finds, several-year-old DVDs, or even tourist traps? Just because it's old or ever-present doesn't mean it's not new to you -- and you deserve to read the reviews in advance even then. So if it's new to me, I'll tell you what I think.
Thoughts? What's your elevator pitch?
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Monday, June 8, 2009

Writing For Happiness

So since I've been in a mood-slump lately (partially explaining, but in no way excusing, my long absence), I decided to start my own Happiness Project. I don't want to get into it too much at this point, but one of my goals/plans for the Project is to recreationally (no work, no forums, no emails) write at least one paragraph daily. This counts!

Does forcing yourself to write increase your happiness, or just increase your stress? Or both?!