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Writing Discipline
| February 12, 2010 | Posted by Melinda under Uncategorized |
Lately, I’ve had that feeling I imagine any blogger has had, if they’ve blogged long enough.
- There must be a finite amount of ideas to write about in my particular subject…..when am I going to run out of new stuff to say? Will it be today? tomorrow? next week?
- There can’t be that much to say on this subject. Surely I posted on this last year? The horror of horrors – what if what I just posted was a repost of something I already did????????
And….insert mini panic attack.
Because I really really really enjoy blogging. But if I run out of things to write about, that will be The. End. And that would be terrible.
Well, my fellow BB’s, I am here to reassure you that for the foreseeable future (meaning all of next week), I still have things to write about! Amazing!
Blogging has instilled in me a writing “discipline” that will be very handy if I ever write regularly as a career. As I have never considered myself a writer, this is a very novel (pardon the pun) idea.
I carry a writing notebook or my ipod around with me constantly. Three to four times a day I have a fabulous idea for a post and I write down a one sentence synopsis of what I want to write about. This is what my list currently looks like:
- Mugwumps
- Thirty minute criteria thoughts
- Book reviews – ti, black stallion, feet first
- First love, horses and the conscious decision every day to stick with something even with it’s unpleasant. Making the choice daily. How horses aren’t really my escape anymore – they are too much a part of who I am. Music right now provides an escape from who I am – horse person, runner, supervisor etc. The honeymoon period resisting the temptation to move onto the new thing.
- Writing discipline
- Preparing for a hundred
- Sword work
- Essential rain endurance equipment
- Alternative horse media
- Crew bag
- What to expect at your first ride (why it will be different from a training ride)
- Never selling a horse
This is typically the amount of posts in the “queue” to write. Items are added at about the same rate as they are removed (ie written and posted).
Invariably when I sit down to write a post, none of the items on the list are good ideas anymore. In fact, they are all AWFUL ideas. But I resolutely sit down, pick one of the ideas and run with it, because it is a good idea, I just need to recapture the mood of what inspired it. And you know what? It usually turns into a GREAT topic that I have a LOT of fun with. This has happened so many times, I have a rule – once I put a post on the list, it gets written. It may take 6 months – but it gets written. In reality, it’s not the idea that has to be good, it’s the writing and structure.
Thanks to blogging, I have more patience writing on topics that are (currently) uninspiring, which will make me a better writer. (and to be perfectly honest, as this is my THIRD post today, how could I even be worried that I’m going to run out of topics?).
You inspire me to be a more disciplined writer. I actually come up with clever ideas for stuff I could write about all the time, usually when I’m driving. Then the light turns green and by the time I get somewhere I’ve forgotten, and I come home and stare at the new post page for a while and write “My horse still hates beet pulp, and she looks like a yak.” Sigh.
I’m with Funder–a distinct lack of clever ideas. I rely on my life to provide me with something interesting to write about…so far, so good.
Fortunately, my horse loves beet pulp. She does look like a yak, though. Do yaks roll in the mud?
I want to hear about never selling a horse!
Funder’s commeNt made me snort pepsi up my nose! Ha
aarenex- see that’s the problem with posting a list of ideas! People start having expectations. Now I’m crumpling under the pressure!
I have too many ideas, and not enough time. If you need ideas, let me know. I can’t possibly do them all.
On the topic of beet pulp, I worried that I might kill Nannette’s pig today when it consumed Chief’s post ride goodies in an instant….sight…fortunately the vet said it wasn’t a big deal. I’m not used to having to make sure a real pig isn’t going to get into my horses food!
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Lucy
http://dataentryjob-s.com
Some of my favorite posts to read are the ones about personal stories. I’m big on stories. 😀 I have enjoyed your “endurance preparation” posts, and anything that gets a discussion started is always fun. I think you’re doing a great job with your blog. I always find your posts good reading!
Sometimes it isn’t about a new teaching/learning topic, rather the journey…Guess it just depends what you want out of your blog, but I always find you entertaining 🙂
Breanna I actually find the stories the hardest posts fore to write. I am SO much better at “instructional” posts, becausethey easier. My goal is to have a really good story for my hundred in two weeks. The problem with stories is that the character has to develop and change from beginning to end…which means me. And development is painful so those kind of stories mean I learned a hard sand painful lesson.
I think every blogger goes through a lul where they just don’t want to write. As you know, if you can push through that you are gold. I have blogged everyday for over 2 years now and I still have a lot to say. 2 months ago, not so much. I just ride the waves and take advantage of the fact that it is MY blog and so I can write about whatever I feel is interesting!
Just commenting to let you know I sent you an email! Hope to hear back from you when you get a chance. Thanks!