Time for a self indulgent blog post. Well the whole blog thing is self indulgent, but this one will be especially so due to the recursive nature of this post. But if I’m gonna start blogging regularly I thought I should explore why.
This week’s exercise in blogging has been inspired by Seth Godin’s constant selling of the exercise of daily blogging. As he points out, there will always be at least an audience of one, and apart from trying to gain a wider audience he swears that the practice daily blog forces one to sharpen their mind and think more clearly. And thinking clearly is definitely one thing I’d like to get better at.
How about a daily journal? I’m certain it works for other people, but such an exercise never appealed to me and after a failed attempt after reading Essentialism, I’m pretty sure it would never work for me long term. I think the threat of a wider audience will be key in making sure I get to the “clearly” part of thinking clearly.
As for what to think clearly about? I’m not sure. The blog will certainly be a repository for anything longer form that I post elsewhere (book reviews, extended boardgamegeek comments, etc). I don’t mind freely giving away my content to other platforms with a wider distribution, but it certainly seems silly to trust their archives. Xanga, anyone?
Beyond those specific targeted writing exercises, I have been pondering what else I would write. The easy thing would be to fall in line with the classic American prose genre, the fast food of non-fiction – self help stuff (with an emphasis on architecture). In fact, I’m certain that if I was still in private practice that’s what I would have done, but I just got a new job the state which is essentially a terminal position. If Nevada is gracious enough to keep me aboard for the next thirty years, there isn’t much else to hustle for unless I get bored enough to change the scenery. I mean, it would be nice to develop ever increasing prominence in my profession, but this gig lets me accomplish that just by doing a good job at the office. While I won’t refrain from posting snippets of self perceived wisdom, I think focusing the blog on work stuff would be ultimately unsatisfying.
Which brings me back to creative non-fiction – observations of life as its lived. This is where I did my best writing, in those Ray Lifchez ED101 seminars in undergrad. They were longer form 3000 word essays, submitted once a week, and took some real effort. Maybe I’ll get back to that schedule someday and bang out some rigorous stuff, but not now. For now I’ll default to the old tagline I’ve had for this blog for some time – “poetry, art, and whatever stuff catches my attention”. But this time, do it every day.
This might be a cop-out but for those times when I don’t feel like writing, maybe I’ll also use the blog as a repository of interesting stuff. If I’m not going to write for the day, it better be cause I was was ingesting something more worthy than such a thinking clearly exercise. So, I might as well document it here. (I had originally cross posted the blog with my FB account so that stuff that got posted on the blog would end up in FB’s “memories” feature over the years – but my social media autopost plugin stopped working and I’m trying to unaddict myself from FB, so that now seems like a doomed endeavour).
I suspect its premature to think too hard about what this body of work will become. At it’s essence the blog is definitely an expression of freedom. Now that I don’t have to worry about angling for the next job, and now that I have a modicum of control over my daily schedule (aside from the demands of my children!), I feel mentally free to commit time to explore again. Accomplished internet personalities often try to comfort up and cominers by telling them that they are envious of the nobody’s freedom because they don’t have a demanding audience to cater to. I think I’ll take them up on their offer and embrace such freedom. There is always a danger of melting into a puddle of undirected energy, but that’s a danger whether I write or not.
The other big question where am I going to make the time? I’m a dude that needs my sleep. Then I got eight hours of work plus commutes and I have to take a lunch break to maximize my efficiency for my employer. Of course I got two kids whose lives I don’t want to pass by. And I already need to spend more time every day exercising. The one thing I can sacrifice is aimless web and social media surfing – which I intend to do, but it is one helluva drug to kick! Aside from freeing up wasted internet time I’ve also started to try writing in my head. As a kid who grew up on the computer, I’ve always written my essays on the machine. Except for meeting minutes, I’ve never written notes longhand in advance of typing it up. But with a five month old, I am spending a good amount of time with both of my arms and hands engaged, often in a dark room. So I guess this is the time to develop this skill.
I have a pretty epic track record of picking up and dropping hobbies (boardgames, martial arts, rock climbing, harmonica, banjo, ukulele, cooking, baking, hand drums, photography, hell this site was originally a very short lived webcomic) so I have no idea how long this will last, aside from knowing it will certainly end at some point (maybe as soon as next week). But its worth a shot right?
