Writing About Writing

When I decided to start this writing blog, I really had no clue what to do with it. I looked around on other blogs, journals, scrapbooks, how-tos, prompts and most suggestions just went along the lines of this:

Write about writing.

Each journey is different and even when we hash out the same old advice (or the best ways to break it), we're bound to say it in just the right way to help someone else.

It's not that I don't see the logic of that. It's just that I didn't want to end up being one of those writers that fell away from actually writing.

Truly, because I see it all the time. People who spent more time posting on social media than putting any words to page. People joking about losing to the blinking cursor and 'wut r werds.' There are more people writing about writing than actually writing.

It's not enough to write anything. There's only so much you can claim what works for you as a reader or a writer before you're not saying anything new. The more blog posts I write, the more I'm uncertain that I haven't already said the same thing 50 ways. At first, I have 50 epiphanies when the blogging starts, but then over time, I start to wonder how long I'm stretching one into 50 blog posts. 

Obviously, blogging is not the same as a book or a contained story. It's not going to be compiled and scrutinized as a whole. Yet it still prickles that in many of the ways it keeps me accountable, it might also be creating blind spots in what really matters as a writer. 

Once we've gotten into the habit of asking ourselves what being prolific means, if a daily word count is important or if there are simply better ways to improve as a writer that don't involve actually writing... there's never really a peace in any of that for me. Which is cool. I have never felt more alive than when I'm biting my nails over a puzzle to be solved. Every craft and hobby where I'm not swearing or giggling like mad is one that goes away as a novelty over time.

It happened with anime. As glad as I am that my nephew got into it, it faded for me and I never thought it would. Yet at some point it wasn't feeding my creativity as it used to. The style in my own drawing is something I will always credit to that fandom, but I started finding something more from the gaming medium. When reading became harder to do with raising kids, gaming became my medium. It was inevitable that the change reformed the way I looked at stories. Choice gaming, a concept first made richest when I played the Fable series captivated me. It challenged me to think of story lines as branches. Rather than look for those linear paths, I felt more passion for developing story lines I might never use, but helped me find pivotal points in personality development.

School left a mark on me too. Art school really gave me permission to focus on more than academics. I was encouraged to engage with my surreal and illogical brain while using very logical and practical processes. 

I'm wandering away from where I want to keep this topic, but all in all, I've done a good thorough job of writing about writing. I'm making a mental note to move on from there. I might do it on occasion (because I'm prone to forget) but I truly want to try to avoid circling around known information. I've written through the fantasy gauntlet to every satisfaction.

In truth, I'm at an impasse because new material will come with new risks. I'll have to set up a formal book signing. I'll have to really look at marketing. I'll have to sit on the other side of the table at a convention. I'll have to attend a writer's convention.

At this point, I've given everyone the 411 on self-publishing. Truly, there's nothing more I can add to that. Formatting, covers, publishing options-- all out there. Things might get sparser in blog land, but consider it a sign that other things are getting done. I'll still return to update my progress or share an inspired idea or share some actually new knowledge.

I never set out to be a daily content provider. I've seen those types churning out the same weak content again and again on Medium and Quora. It's a better bet if I stick to turning to a short story instead. A sketch, planning, concepts-- anything but writing about writing.

What I don't want to arrive at is the place where my blog word count is the only one. Successful bloggers, I'm happy for you and your livelihood. When you know where your personal satisfaction and goals are met, you go for it. For me, it's just spreading way too thin.

Let's see if I can get it to stick! Hehhhhh....