Thoughts on Blogging Part 6
As January comes to an end, I am pleased that I have so far managed to maintain a daily writing schedule. I hope that I can continue in this vein throughout February. As ever the actual process of sitting and writing has proven a somewhat mixed bag so far this year. Some days the word simply spill out of me and a blog post potentially writes itself. On others, composing just three coherent paragraphs is like pulling teeth and much time is spent procrastinating and getting side tracked. But a mixture of self-discipline and a degree of pride have helped oil the creative wheels and kept the content flowing. Whether any of it is any good is for others to decided. However, it was nice to find one of my posts quoted in an article over at Massively Overpowered. It means that at least someone is reading my work and pondering upon the points therein. Writing is after all a means of communication and sharing ideas so it is rewarding to know that you’re not just yelling into the wind all the time.
I like to write about a broad spectrum of subjects, but naturally I self-edit my posts and so some content remains unpublished. I try not to do too much politics or social issues although I’m not averse to expressing an opinion. But sometimes you have to refrain from “indulging” yourself and focus on the meat and potatoes of your writing. For me that is still movies and video games. I have no problem with constructive criticism and analysis of the things I enjoy, but I am cognisant of not perpetuating a continuously negative narrative. Hence, I endeavour to be as even handed as one can be, despite being human and therefore having personal bias. Frankly it’s just lazy writing to sit in the balcony and barrack the stage continuously. Yet as a culture, in recent years we’ve become far more focused on what we don’t like, what we’re against and what we think is beyond the pale. Actually expressing positive sentiments or extolling the virtues of something you enjoy is bizarrely frowned upon in some quarters or seen as sappy.
Moving forward into 2019, I have several ideas regarding developing further recurring themed posts. At present I use Thoughts on Blogging and Diary of a Podcaster as means to provide commentary on both mediums as well as update readers about my own endeavours in these areas. I also use the Classic Themes posts as a vehicle to explore my love of film, TV and video game music. After some thinking I’m considering writing regularly about various common tropes and archetypes that occur in movies. I also had an idea about a similar game related series of articles, where I could focus on mainstays of the industry and how certain mechanics become established. I’ve also reflected upon my need to write more about books, graphic novels, obscure TV shows from my childhood and a wealth of other topics. But all such ideas have to be realistically tempered by the time I have available and my desire to pursue other interests. All things considered, I should be able to sustain my writing schedule for the next month. But ideas for content is only half the equation. The other is motivation. That is a far more nebulous commodity. However, one positive thing to consider is that February is a shorter month than others.
