It's hard to believe in two short months it'll be 2010. I feel like we were just ringing in 2009!
One of my New Year's resolutions was to consistently maintain a blog, and I think I've done OK. Granted, the posts haven't been as frequent lately, but I blame that on the fact that I've been staying home a lot for budgetary reasons. I really can't blog about things I'm doing if I'm not really doing anything, right?
One project I started recently was a writing blog. OK, I know what your're thinking, isn't this a writing blog? Well, yes, sort of. I prefer to see this space as more of a this-is-what-I've-been-up-to blog. It basically exists to let people know I'm alive since I'm not on Facebook or Twitter. I don't really know how many people are reading this, but I'm pretty sure I can confirm that I have four regular readers and maybe one or two who stop by occasionally.
Anyway, I got the idea for this new blog while reading someone else's blog. Basically, she's reading this book on writing called A Writer's Book of Days by Judy Reeves that offers daily writing exercises. These prompts are completely random and are meant to get your brain moving--kind of like mental exercises--so you can get over whatever issues you have with writing and just write. Well, considering I've become a cheapskate lately, purchasing the book wasn't really an option, so I decided to create my own plan.
I searched the Internet for seven different writing prompt sites/generators for each day of the week. It's kind of fun because I never know what I'm going to get. Although, I will admit to occasionally cheating. If it's one of those generators that allows me to hit a button for the next one, then I will if I think the current prompt is completely lame. So far I've been sticking to this plan, with the exception of the time I took off for my Maine vacation.
Some days I'm pretty excited to get home and see what my topic is for the day, and of course, on other days it's the last thing I want to do. On those days I pretty much force myself to get something up on the site even if it's just a short paragraph.
I think the reason why I've hit a huge block with my writing is because I've basically psyched myself out. I need to remember that whatever I write does not need to be perfect, and that the most important thing is to get my thoughts out before they disappear. First drafts are supposed to be imperfect. Sometimes they're not even supposed to make sense--that's what the editing process is for, which is something I forget sometimes since I spend most of my time being an editor.
I didn't really mean to make this whole post about writing, but it is what I've been doing lately. I haven't added this blog to my list at the right mainly because it's one of those things that's raw and full of mistakes and incoherent thoughts, which I suppose isn't too different from this one or the TV blog.
I've realized that in order for me to get anything done in my own life, I must set deadlines. I'm not good at being self-disciplined or self-motivated, at least not anymore. As I've gotten older I've become more complacent--used to the life I've created for myself. This doesn't exactly translate to happiness or feeling fulfilled. Of course, this falls into my hands. If I want that, I've got to do something about it, right?
So, the only thing I can think of that may work is to create personal deadlines. I've always been able to meet them in my professional life and I seem to respond to them, so why not try them in my personal life? Now, I realize I've created deadlines and life plans in the past, but that's not what I'm talking about. I've tossed aside the idea that I need to get married by a certain age or start having babies at a certain point. Yes, biology plays a factor in that last one, but planning those things isn't realistic. There are so many factors outside of my control that it would seem silly to put a deadline on all of that stuff.
What I need to do is start small (writing five pages a day) and work my way up to the bigger things (moving back to CA). If I can get myself into a regular schedule of deadlines, then maybe, just maybe I can begin to get things accomplished again. My mind has been zigzagging all over the place (which I believe can be blamed partly on my work environment), and I just need to find a way to create some sort of order.
The other day I had another horoscope that seemed right on for the day. Actually it pretty much described every day: Getting through the workday will be a bit of a battle -- not because you're fighting with anyone, though. You just won't want to be there. You'd much prefer to be home, either alone or with the one person on the planet you feel comfortable enough to be completely silent with. It's not that you're tired -- you're just drained. You've been burning the candle at both ends lately. It's okay. Even you need to rest every now and then.
Although that's pretty much how I feel every day, the feeling was particularly strong on that day because I went to bed at 2 a.m. and I woke up to rain. Yes, I would have much preferred being at home.
One of my New Year's resolutions was to consistently maintain a blog, and I think I've done OK. Granted, the posts haven't been as frequent lately, but I blame that on the fact that I've been staying home a lot for budgetary reasons. I really can't blog about things I'm doing if I'm not really doing anything, right?
One project I started recently was a writing blog. OK, I know what your're thinking, isn't this a writing blog? Well, yes, sort of. I prefer to see this space as more of a this-is-what-I've-been-up-to blog. It basically exists to let people know I'm alive since I'm not on Facebook or Twitter. I don't really know how many people are reading this, but I'm pretty sure I can confirm that I have four regular readers and maybe one or two who stop by occasionally.
Anyway, I got the idea for this new blog while reading someone else's blog. Basically, she's reading this book on writing called A Writer's Book of Days by Judy Reeves that offers daily writing exercises. These prompts are completely random and are meant to get your brain moving--kind of like mental exercises--so you can get over whatever issues you have with writing and just write. Well, considering I've become a cheapskate lately, purchasing the book wasn't really an option, so I decided to create my own plan.
I searched the Internet for seven different writing prompt sites/generators for each day of the week. It's kind of fun because I never know what I'm going to get. Although, I will admit to occasionally cheating. If it's one of those generators that allows me to hit a button for the next one, then I will if I think the current prompt is completely lame. So far I've been sticking to this plan, with the exception of the time I took off for my Maine vacation.
Some days I'm pretty excited to get home and see what my topic is for the day, and of course, on other days it's the last thing I want to do. On those days I pretty much force myself to get something up on the site even if it's just a short paragraph.
I think the reason why I've hit a huge block with my writing is because I've basically psyched myself out. I need to remember that whatever I write does not need to be perfect, and that the most important thing is to get my thoughts out before they disappear. First drafts are supposed to be imperfect. Sometimes they're not even supposed to make sense--that's what the editing process is for, which is something I forget sometimes since I spend most of my time being an editor.
I didn't really mean to make this whole post about writing, but it is what I've been doing lately. I haven't added this blog to my list at the right mainly because it's one of those things that's raw and full of mistakes and incoherent thoughts, which I suppose isn't too different from this one or the TV blog.
I've realized that in order for me to get anything done in my own life, I must set deadlines. I'm not good at being self-disciplined or self-motivated, at least not anymore. As I've gotten older I've become more complacent--used to the life I've created for myself. This doesn't exactly translate to happiness or feeling fulfilled. Of course, this falls into my hands. If I want that, I've got to do something about it, right?
So, the only thing I can think of that may work is to create personal deadlines. I've always been able to meet them in my professional life and I seem to respond to them, so why not try them in my personal life? Now, I realize I've created deadlines and life plans in the past, but that's not what I'm talking about. I've tossed aside the idea that I need to get married by a certain age or start having babies at a certain point. Yes, biology plays a factor in that last one, but planning those things isn't realistic. There are so many factors outside of my control that it would seem silly to put a deadline on all of that stuff.
What I need to do is start small (writing five pages a day) and work my way up to the bigger things (moving back to CA). If I can get myself into a regular schedule of deadlines, then maybe, just maybe I can begin to get things accomplished again. My mind has been zigzagging all over the place (which I believe can be blamed partly on my work environment), and I just need to find a way to create some sort of order.
The other day I had another horoscope that seemed right on for the day. Actually it pretty much described every day: Getting through the workday will be a bit of a battle -- not because you're fighting with anyone, though. You just won't want to be there. You'd much prefer to be home, either alone or with the one person on the planet you feel comfortable enough to be completely silent with. It's not that you're tired -- you're just drained. You've been burning the candle at both ends lately. It's okay. Even you need to rest every now and then.
Although that's pretty much how I feel every day, the feeling was particularly strong on that day because I went to bed at 2 a.m. and I woke up to rain. Yes, I would have much preferred being at home.
I guess you are not giving out the new blog address. I am interested in the random generator you use. I don't think I've written anything not work-related in 10 years.
ReplyDeleteI'll email the link to you. I apologize ahead of time if anything you read on that blog resembles the writing of a certain former CI employee. Does anyone know what happened to her?
ReplyDelete