When I go to the gym, it doesn’t matter if I walk on the treadmill for 15 minutes or 30 minutes. No one is timing me or watching me to make sure I work out, and as long as I log in for 12 times a month, my insurance will reimburse a portion of my gym fees. But no one is keeping track of the weight I’m losing (none so far, by the way). I’m the only one who will notice. So I don’t give up after 15 minutes. I increase the treadmill’s incline, or I speed it up, or I switch to the elliptical machine. I try to challenge my body so that eventually, I will lose weight.
The same thing is true with writing. No one will notice if I take a day off. If I write less than 500 words in a blog post, no one will say anything. It’s funny, just as I was planning out what to write in my head, Ed started to head upstairs. “I still have to write a blog post,” I said.
“No, you don’t,” Ed replied. He was right. I didn’t. Don’t get the wrong idea; he is supportive of my blog…it’s just that truthfully, I didn’t have to write a blog post tonight.
This NaBloPoMo blog-post-per-day, however, has been my “thing” since 2009. No one will know if I don’t write 30 posts for November this year.
But I would know. I know when my blog posts are written at the last minute and not thought out. I know when they are mundane and not very interesting to read. I’m not a humor writer, as much as I want to be. I can’t always find the right metaphors, and I often “tell” my stories instead of “showing” my stories.
I try to challenge myself, however, and so I write. I exercise my writing skills even when I don’t have to, so that eventually, I’ll become a better writer.
What have you been exercising lately?
Kevin tells me the same thing about blogging and posts as Ed told you, but again like you I would so know. So yes I totally get this, too.
Janine Huldie recently posted…PlaceUs Makes Relationships That Much Easier
So very true. And I can appreciate both parts of your story, the exercising and the writing. I’ll have to keep this truth in mind – the exercising of my body AND my writing skill. Thanks!
Jenny recently posted…In Between
I admire the people who can write a blog post every day for a whole month! I am not one of them. Lately I have been exercising my listening skills, by listening to my mom every time she calls – she is quite lonely.
Common Household Mom recently posted…Hot Time on a Cold Day
Hey there, I found you via the NaBloPoMo blogroll.
I sometimes push myself too hard. I’m walking 5km each day and I have had to limit myself to just that, otherwise I might walk 10 or 15 as a surprise to myself. 🙂
As part of NaBloPoMo I try to comment on as many participating blogs as I can, and I am also adding participating blogs to my feed reader. So I’m just dropping by to let you know I’ve added your blog to my feedreader, whenever you publish a post I will see it. 🙂
I have created three bundles on Inoreader so that bloggers can easily visit other participating NaBloPoMo bloggers which you can find here –
http://www.snoskred.org/2014/11/nablopomo-bundles-final-edition.html
I also have a link up going at my place so my readers can find participating blogs which you are more than welcome to add your blog link to.
Looking forward to seeing your posts. You may see me drop by again during November, but it might be December before I finish my first drop by to blogs if I don’t get faster at leaving comments. 🙂
Happy NaBloPoMo to you!
Snoskred
http://www.snoskred.org
That’s an interesting take on writing an don exercising your skills in general. I do know that I notice more that I’v enot been writing much for November than anyone else would notice it. It’s interesting to see how you’re motivated to write even if you get little attention. Like, sometimes I write purely for the sake of writing, but usually, I want attention to my posts, and if I get zero comments on a post I spent hours thinking up, it’s discouraging. This may be a newbie blogger trap though (though having blogged on my current blog for over a year, I can’t really call myself a newbie anymore!). I like to think I blog for me too.
Astrid recently posted…A Letter to the Future
Yes, I know how you feel! I would be very disappointed if I didn’t get any comments. I’ve been blogging since 2008, and there were definitely times when no one visited my blog! That’s when I decided I would keep writing and I didn’t care if anyone read it or not.
Sister!! My blog is the same. I don’t have a theme, and if I don’t write for a week I doubt anyone would notice let along comment about it. I write it for myself and hopefully others will read it every once in a while,
Ila East recently posted…Picwic Dam in Tennessee
I think writing for oneself is the only way to blog, otherwise blogging gets old very quickly! My blog has kind of taken over the paper journals I used to write in.