Image by Vlada Karpovich via Pexels
As I was thinking about this post, I was going to use yard work as a metaphor for writing, in that planning and thinking is all well and good, but nothing happens until you stop thinking and start doing. And that's where the metaphor fell flat, because that's true of literally everything. Duh.
I tend to spend much more time on this blog in the fall and
winter, because there are fewer reasons to be outside, and my publishing
schedule can be somewhat regular. Then spring comes, the outdoors beckon, the
yard needs attention, and the schedule falls apart. I remember reading that Dilbert
creator, Scott Adams, said he published on his blog "approximately whenever I
feel like it."
I've always liked that...it works for me. Although it might be
more accurate to say I publish when I have something to say. Self-promotion is
a daunting task for an introvert, and social media a necessary evil. I started this
blog to have a place to point potential freelance clients who might want to see
for themselves that I can in fact string words together in a coherent fashion. But
one can't launch a blog in a vacuum, so then comes the sharing on social
platforms, and it starts feeling less and less like what I really want to do.
It also takes away from what I think of as actual writing time.
I want to write stories, not write about myself. And yet...why do any of us write? Are we all writing about ourselves in some way because it all comes from our perspective? Is it possible to completely leave your personal point of view behind? Who knows? I don’t. What I do know is that I'll keep writing as long as my muse sees fit to appear. And that will be my way forward.
