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I spend a lot of time writing. I spend a lot of time reading.
Does this sound like you?
It sure as hell sounds like me. Maybe it sounds like you and me and a lot of other people.
So, because we, collectively, spend a lot of time reading and a lot of time writing (me, for my profession, as well as scribing a book or two or three–what’s your excuse?), coming up with an enticing blog post can get a bit, shall we say, tricky.
Fried brain on toast, if you know what I mean.
Sometimes I just sit here, looking at the screen and saying to myself, “What the heck am I going to write about today?” I used to blog three days a week, now I’m down to one day a week. I’ve hit a rough patch. I’m honestly just so darn busy that this poor little blog of mine has had to take a back seat to my career…my kids…my hubby…and readying the porch for winter.
Seriously. I just finished “closing up the porch” for the season. I wasn’t ready to shut it down, but I didn’t want our brand new cushions on our brand new furniture to become moldy, so I vacuumed them, cleaned them, stored them in bags, and brought them inside. I vacuumed the porch floors and dusted all the furniture before I wrapped it all up and covered it for the season. I suppose I could write about that.
Or perhaps I can liken closing up the porch for winter to my own mind closing up a little with regard to this blog. There are things I know I could write about, but I always wonder whether someone would be interested in what I have to say. It’s a coin toss, and I’m not willing to call it in the air.
I’ve never much liked niches. It’s like being pigeonholed, and I don’t much care for that idea either.
I tell him I would be bored.
I can’t imagine only writing about one subject (such as writing). I write all day long and I read all day long and I teach writing. Why would I want to write about writing when I already do that?
Nah, I say. I just want to write about subjects I want to write about, and I want to vary my topics. That could involve writing about books, television, movies, fashion, life lessons, childhood stories…who knows? You never know what I’ll pull out of my twisted little hat on any given day.
No one says a blog has to be one set way.
The power of the imagination is incredibly intoxicating. All you have to do is let your imagination go to places you never thought were possible…be daring…write in a way that is a little scary, dearie…write stories you haven’t told…tell stories you’ve always wanted to tell…
Can’t you feel the creative juices flowing? Can’t you envision the spark that just caught me and lit my fire?
Ugh.
Just focus.
It’ll come to you.
I tell myself that.
A lot.
