258 posts, 259 followers, 6 years, thousands of words...
Official Blogiversary is a go!
Tag: Blogging
Poor Future TJ
Seven novels.
That’s the plan. A prequel, a trilogy, and another trilogy after that. If I continue on with my current run rate, I’m looking at anywhere between seven hundred thousand to a million words.
A million words.
Nothing makes a person freak out more than adding it all together, instead of breaking it down into manageable chunks. Really, it’s just two series. Present TJ spends a lot of time looking over the lengthy timeline in Scrivener, while poor Future TJ is stuck doing a lot of the writing. Thank the gods for Past TJ. At least that guy got something done!
On the topic of Future TJ, I find myself trying my best to figure out what to do with my stories as discussed many a time here. In light of this, I’ve been listening to some interesting writing Podcasts. I recently listened to one that told me to stop wasting words on my blog.
Every second you’re not writing is a wasted opportunity.
This is very true. This is actually the whole reason I started a blog in the first place, as when writer’s block struck I could come here to get away from my story and do something, anything, to get past that hump. NaNoWriMo was a huge help as I networked with a ton of writers who were struggling just the same as me but now there are still tons in the same boat as me… but there doesn’t seem to be a National Publishing Month (or is there?).
It was brought up in the Podcast that these blogs stick around like a bad smell and if your writing was terrible, then it would be around forever to haunt your dreams. I totally understand where they’re coming from. Hell, I look back at my hairstyles in high school and wonder just what I was thinking. I can only assume this blog will be the same.
In defense of this poor blog, AKA My Diary, I one day hope that other aspiring writers will come here (once I’m rich and famous, HA) and see how insecure and terrible I was at writing. I want them to see the struggle. I want them to see the wins. Most of all, I want them to see themselves as what was, what is and what can be. Bumbling around, writing rubbish and finally winning NaNoWriMo are all a part of the journey and for me, this whole blog is also a part of that.
I might be asking the wrong crowd, but do you lovely folks think there is merit to not having a digital paper trail? Or do you think like me in the sense that this is as much a part of your writing portfolio as the stories themselves?
No matter what, I hope poor Future TJ doesn’t look back on this blog and groan… much like I did when I saw my hair back in my teens. Here’s one for a late TBT!
To Blog, Or Not To Blog… Perhaps That Is The Question.
Today’s mission for my blog is not to write something profound, something incredible. No, today it is something different.
Today I start seeking out other struggling writers. I seek them out because there are creatives out there working nine to five jobs who dream of success and want to get better. I seek them out because as I write the posts for this blog I feel as though my words fall on deaf ears. It sure is fun to get a few views. But wouldn’t it better if I got more? Of course!
Today I start to form my own circle of writers who want to be heard and want to read other people’s work. After all, some of us have to work at writing to be good, and only through reading and writing can we indeed get better!
Why am I doing this? Well if you read over my past posts, you’ll notice that I started writing with another person and that has proven quite fun and rewarding. The act of us bouncing a story back and forth has been interesting as we misinterpret each other’s ideas quite frequently; so where one leads the story, the other most certainly does not follow. The simple act of passing it back and forth has ignited some insane creativity flare which has me wanting more. It’s like a “Choose Your Own Adventure” novel where your choice is limited to a thousand words… and then your characters are left to someone else’s devices.
If you’re reading this, I hope you’ll comment. I hope maybe you’ll shoot me an email. I hope that maybe after the hours and hours searching hundreds of blogs I may stumble across a few people who are like minded or at the very least excited about the creative process. I’ve reached out to you, read at least one post and now you may be returning the favour. If so, I whole heartedly thank you.
I decided this year I wouldn’t NaNoWriMo… the reason being not only had I written a one hundred thousand word novel, but it taught me a thing or two about writing. I learned that if you just get out of your own way and write… it’s extremely easy. Is there such a thing as writer’s block? Perhaps. But sometimes smashing words into a keyboard mercilessly will prove worth the effort!
After reading this post over, I have decided to leave this as my fragmented thoughts for the day. I’ve been growing so frustrated with writing for no audience that after deciding to reach out I have followed many, many… sooo many blogs today searching for writing and NaNoWriMo tags in hopes to find and connect with those kindred spirits out there!
Also, as a final note… to any of you who may come through here while I sleep or have come through here while I have been on a whirlwind reading and post writing storm- Thank you. No really, just you ladies and gents stopping by is support, something to get me back into the habit of writing. Not only that, but it has been super hard in Australia to find people who share my passion for writing. Well, it has been easier now that I’ve switched stores to one closer to a University! But I do hope you all find something you enjoy on here or at the very least check back every once in awhile to see how insane I’ve gone!
Until the next post!