Blog No. 259
With the book launch successfully postponed (It’s Tuesday November 21st at River’s Edge) I’ve gotten back to some basics. It constantly amazes me how much work it is to get back into writing regularly after it’s been disrupted by other work. Even a week of editing or layout can throw everything off. I’ve been working on it though. I still have 9ninty percent of a novella written that was planned to be released in June but put off due to the crime anthology. I’ve also been working on some really early pre-production for season two of Flags and High Fives. If you add Christmas looming on the horizon, it’s still a hectic time (though a lot less so). I’ve still found time to goof off when I should really be working.
The other day I was flitting around the internet, avoiding that work, and I got the idea to go back and look at some of the old posts I’ve made way back at the start (or the second start) of this blog. I found a few things particularly interesting from then (Blog No. 11 or so) to now (Blog No. 259). It was a long road with a lot of early struggles. I still panic most weeks, remembering that I have to write about something, but it isn’t quite as stressful. A major factor is that the blog has become a lot more focused on a single topic. I still venture off from time to time, but because the biggest thing in my life is writing and all the things that come with it, that’s what I tend to write about. It can be a bit of a trap. Over time the structure becomes less fluid and more fixed. The habit has made it a convention.
There is a benefit to that. While I scramble to write something, I’m not scrambling to write anything. (If that makes sense). It takes less effort, but it can be more stale. A big indication for me is the titles. I used to have some really fun titles and now I’m so focused on being descriptive that they are pretty bland. Sometimes that’s what’s necessary, but there is something to be said for creativity. Going forward I think I’ll have to put in a little more effort and mix thing up a bit on this site. I love that I’ve been consistently writing a post every week, but if it’s all the same, what’s the point? I’m sure there will be times when I’m desperately trying to get something out while working on other things (deadlines, am I right?) but if I can get some more of that variety and creativity back, I may find more of an audience. Maybe.
It’s a slog sometimes to put up a weekly blog. I wake up some days with no idea what to do or how I’ve done it so far. I plan to keep it going for now, and I hope to have new things to talk about as I’m trying to do new things (with writing as the focus, still). This may be a bit early for some kind of yearly retrospective, and I’m sure I’ll still do one in January, but I felt the need to say something. Also, don’t forget about the book launch for All These Crooked Streets. The book was a bear to make, but I’m happy with how it turned out. I’m sure you will be too. Plus, you’ll get to read the most inappropriate thing I’ve ever written.
Ben Van Dongen 