You know that it is time to start blogging again when you have dreams where you are feeling guilty for not blogging in a while… Yes, I dream about my blog. I think that my life is now officially inextricably linked with the internet.
It really has been an age since I wrote anything, hasn’t it? I’m almost not sure how to start back in. I do know that the old-style Bright Meadow where I waffle on for 2000 words at a time about something possibly isn’t sustainable much longer. The joy has been gone from the Sunday Roasts for a while, and I always said I would stop doing them when they were no longer fun…
*hides behind the sofa whilst people throw things*
I know, I know, you all like the Sunday Roasts! And I’m not saying they will never return, it is just that – for now – I need to think through how best they can be made to work. The problem with moving to a new city to get the dream job and get a life is that, well, you run risk of actually getting a life! Lots of stuff to blog about, not so much time to actually do so.
Also, I have to admit right now that I am writing this post, in part, because my father told me to. It’s like I have to do my homework before I get a cookie, which really isn’t helping the whole “fun” vibe 😛
(Love you Dad)
Shall I catalogue my reasons/excuses for not blogging? Two instantly spring to mind: Twitter and writing. My twitter stream has taken over a lot of the things that might, once upon a time, have become blog posts. I know I am not alone in being seduced more and more by the speed, ease, and community on Twitter. I find it hard to fit in an hour to craft a blog post, but I can easily spare thirty seconds to tweet something. As for the writing… Oh, the writing. Well, we’re at 10,186 words, six chapters, and growing on a daily basis by between 300-500 words. It will be a finished manuscript, I promise you. I have totally committed to it, even going so far as to show what I have to date to a tame(ish) editor-friend and my brother. I kid you not, of the two, I was more scared about my brothers feedback! (For the record, he liked it and wanted more *sigh of relief*) What it will become once it is a finished manuscript is another matter entirely, but I will help these characters tell their story. I will.
And that’s it for my reasons. Other than that I am still, at heart, a lazy cow. And going on lots of dates does tend to take up the evenings as well. I don’t know – have three dates with three different guys in one week, and they start to think you’re a hussy at work! 😉
Life, frankly, rocks right now. There was a small wibble back in February, but it really was a minor wibble compared to what went before. Minor wibbles are to be expected and are, perversely, a good thing. Everyone wibbles and the fact I can wibble now without falling apart is a good sign 🙂
Wow, think there’s a limit on the number of times you should use the word ‘wibble’ in a paragraph?
So what for the future of Bright Meadow? Well, if my dad has anything to say in the matter, I won’t let it die. I don’t want to let it die for the truth of it, I love it too much! I am totally split on whether a strict schedule is a good thing or a bad thing. Let’s face it though, I’ve tried the whole “blog when I feel like it” modus operandi, and it’s not been doing too hot lately. So perhaps it’s time to try a different approach? Maybe shorter daily posts?
Hang on, I’ve got to go and open the door. It’s the Blogger Police. They want a word about over-use of the word “wibble”. Assuming they don’t decide to lock me up for crimes against the Internet, I promise to be back in a few days 😉
Cxxx
Every time I read the word wibble I got a picture in my head of Blackadder with pants on his head and pencils stuck in his nostrils.
You gain a new audience on Twitter but you also lose some of your blog readers. Though it might just be me you lose, and your dad. 😀
As I’ve said before, Twitter feels far too much like stalking
These days with RSS (you could turn on email subscriptions via FeedBurner too for the less RSS-y people), people can go months or years without posting but will re-appear on the radar once they do at some later date. I’d say the best approach is not to worry about it, do what you want when you feel like it – you’ll enjoy it more if you’re writing because you want to rather than because you think you have to.
Moose – WIBBLE!!!
And I am positive that I can tweet and blog. I’ve just got to work out the best mix. That mix might be doing somekind of insert-tweets-into-blogpost deal, but I’m not sure…
Plus, as you point out, the stalk value is rather high!
Dave – not worrying. Yes sah!
I agree with the good Mr Wild that RSS should bring people back quite effectively when you post something (Hi!). If I were to make one suggestion as a non Twittering member of the public I wonder if the link to your twitter account could be a little more obvious (just spotted it when I came to post this). At the risk of making the penguin jealous perhaps you could put a cute little blue bird icon in or something. 🙂
Hi Spooky! Long time no see 🙂
Hmmm. I shall ponder a better way to integrate twitter. Maybe promoting it to the sidebar? (Last time I did that, the service was really buggy, so kept crashing the load. It’s a bit more stable now…)
Ugh, I feel the same way – even just starting it up again it now, there’s half of you who loves it like it were your own little rugrat, and there’s the other half that says “how am I this old and still doing homework?” A conundrum indeed.
I’m starting to get some ideas burbling up in my brain again, which is nice. But it’s the writing them down! I need a computer that takes my thoughts and automatically blogs for me.