There’s no point beating around the bush, I’m a bit of a bad blogger.
A really, really bad blogger.
I won’t make excuses, won’t sit here and say that I’ve been too busy, that I haven’t had time, because I have had time. I’ve just chosen not to make time. My priorities the past couple of months have been away from all forms of writing, both fiction and non-fiction.
But now that things have sort of settled down in my life, I can begin to properly focus on writing again.
There’s another issue, however, that we need to talk about before we can continue.
What is this blog?
Seriously though, what is it? This has been an issue I’ve struggled with for a while now. I want to do so many different things, but every time I try them, they just don’t stick, don’t feel natural. I’ve written about my WIP, written about life anecdotes, written reviews of movies and tv shows. I’ve done a whole lot, but I felt like I was trying to be everything at once.
The issue that comes with that, though, is that I like doing different forms of writing. Because there are so many different layers of my life I want to share, and so many different topics I want to touch upon in both fiction and non-fiction.
So the past few months I’ve done a lot of thinking. In between my new job (which I’ll touch on in a moment) and just generally dealing with life, I think I’ve figured out exactly what I want this blog to be.
I’ve got a three point plan ready to deploy, so let’s get on with it, shall we?
Redesign:
After much deliberation and consideration, I’ve decided this blog is going to be focused entirely on my efforts to become a published author of both fiction and non-fictional works.
Before you say anything, yes, I know that’s what I set out with this blog to begin with. But I was unfocused in my vision, my goals, and how I wanted to structure this. The past few months have given me a new perspective, and most importantly have pushed me to become the person, the writer, I really want to be. I can’t do that without practice, so practice I shall.
So what’re my goals for the blog, as a whole?
- Weekly Blog Posts. Yes, I know I’ve made this promise before. But this time it’s different. I can’t tell you why it’s different, I’m just a changed person now. So this blog will be updated, weekly, every Monday.
- Updates on my WIP. After a few months of absolutely no activity writing wise, I’ve had enough of inactivity. I’m itching to get back to writing, and tonight I’ve set about putting together a schedule for the upcoming year that’ll help keep me focused on my writing goals. I’ll discuss more about my WIP’s in the near future, and hope to properly continue to update you on their progress, perhaps weekly.
- Writing Tips and Tricks. I want to talk about writing, and what I’ve learned over my nineteen years of existence. I am by no means an expert, but we’ve all learned tips and tricks along the way. I also hope to learn so much more than I already do about writing, from independent authors as well as fellow bloggers.
- Reviews. I do very much enjoy critiquing things, and as such I will continue to do so on this blog. I will review most forms of media, like books, movies, tv shows and even the occasional video game.
- Reader interaction. I want to talk to you more. I want to promote more discussion about the pieces I’m working on, as well as the pieces other people are working on. I want to properly envelop myself in this blogging community. Specifically, I want to meet and talk with other young bloggers like myself, because I feel there is nothing more interesting than hearing the stories people my own age, my own generation, are coming up with and cultivating. That’s not to say I’m not interested in the writing of people older than myself, far from it.
I would also like to point out that this won’t be my only blog here on the internet. I won’t go into the specifics of them now, since we’re here to just talk about writing, but expect an update when they’re launched over the coming weeks. As I said earlier, there are many layers of things I want to write about, so I shall.
Rebuild:
When I was in college, I used to write so often. More so than I’d ever written in my life. Those study sessions in small cafes, rain pouring outside and pitter-pattering against the glass, a caramel latte warming my hands as I scanned over the computer screen, made me so happy.
I don’t get to do those a lot anymore, which is a shame, as they truly were one of the highlights of my college experience.
The reason they were so effective, though, was because I pushed myself to write, and I had deadlines.
I want to rebuild myself back up to that writer, the guy who wrote every day no matter how tired he was, the guy who thrived on thinking about story ideas on the train rides to and from college. The circumstances are different, sure, but I still have that drive inside me.
This new schedule I’ve developed, alongside finally settling into my routine, should do the trick. And if it doesn’t, I’ll figure something else out. I want to have work published someday, and to do that, I’ve got to work as hard as possible.
Reclaim:
I’ve not written for such a long time that part of me feels like it’s forgotten how. Like my fingers have forgotten how to move across the keyboard, like my brain has forgotten how to turn letters to words, words to sentences, sentences to paragraphs and paragraphs into stories.
I want to reclaim that confident writer, the guy who felt entirely in his element when faced with a blank page. I want to be the guy who spent hours in a coffee shop intricately planning out his characters, writing outlines and conjuring up stories.
He was a guy who was on his way up. How far he would get is anyone’s guess, but he was going up. He was progressing.
I’ve not progressed in the past few months writing wise, and that, quite frankly, pisses me off.
That changes from now on.
This isn’t a New Years Resolution (good luck if you have any though!), this isn’t an empty promise.
In 2017 I’m going to work on producing some of the best articles, the best reviews, the best discussions and the best pieces of fictional writing I possibly can.
I look forward to all of you being on this journey with me, and I look forward to taking a look at all the hard work you’ve put into your blogs both in the past and in the future.
I hope all of you have had some happy holidays and are looking forward to the new year ahead!
J. Fenton.
(Trying to) Creatively Write 