I promise myself every week that I’m going to get back into blog writing. The week passes, and still no posts to publish. A new week begins, and another promise to myself, only to be yet another broken promise by the weeks end.
I did a small writers course many years ago. Two things stuck in my mind from that course, firstly, “if you want to be a writer, you first must be a reader”. The second thing was, “if you want to be a writer, you must write”. I can hear those sentences in my mind as clearly today as when I heard them then.
Sounds pretty simple, and basic doesn’t it. I rarely read of late, and I rarely write. Week after week goes by with barely a page in a book turned. Very few of the much loved blogs that I used read avidly even get opened. As for blog writing, I start a draft every now and again, but become so overwhelmed with the feeling that I have either nothing to say, or so much I want to say that condensing it into a blog is impossible. The writing quickly becomes a jumbled mish-mash of almost incoherent words.
Something I realised many years ago, in the days of letter writing, was that it’s much easier to write letters to someone if you write them often. If to much time goes by between letters all those little things that make up one’s life seem to become unimportant with the passage of time, and don’t seem worthy of a mention. Without the little things there’s rarely anything left to say. Momentous happenings in people’s lives are, fortunately, few and far between. I say fortunately, as if life was full of momentous happenings we’d no doubt never get time to read, or to write. How stressful would our lives be if day after day was filled with only momentous happenings.
I’m finding it the same with blog writing. Frequent writing about the little things that happen day to day is easy. Trying to condense lots of little things, or to pick just one or two little things out of the months that have gone by is an impossible task.
So, this weeks promise to myself. I must read both blogs and books, starting today. And I must write. As always I notice that when a lot of time goes by between blogs, the posts initially don’t seem to flow well. But if I’m to get my writing mojo back, I’m going to have to get through the writing rapids of tumultuous waters until I reach the calm flow of putting words together comes again. Providing I make good on my promises, I’ll get there.
Life of Riley - on whatever 
Hi Chris. Try writing down your thoughts, no matter how silly, as they pop into your head. I find that I do an awful lot of ‘writing’ while I’m doing the dishes. Maybe we have a lot of dishes. Don’t stress just do dishes and let it flow. 😉
LikeLike
Yes, it’s like anything in life, if you want to do something, then one must do it. To have something to publish on the blog, then first I must write…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was feeling a bit blaah about my blog too, until I joined in a daily photo challenge for the month of April on a blog I read regularly. I was able to use photos from the road trip I’d already been posting about so the continuity was there. And it’s been great to post something every day. Some posts are longer and some are just a few words to accompany the photos but it’s a daily practice and has been lots of fun. You might find something similar to give you a boost.
LikeLike
I tried photo challenges, but that didn’t help me. I am going to be more committed though from now on. It’s a bit of a journal for me, I guess a legacy for my family in years to come should they be interested. I wish I had something similar left to me by my mother – so many questions, so few answers! When I have a big break like I’ve currently had, it leaves a big gap in the journal. Now in this unique time in history, more than ever, I should be recording something about me and mine and how life is at the moment. Just the everyday things, and the changes that are going to happen to the world as we’ve come to know it.
LikeLike
Maybe just start recording your thoughts and save them in drafts. That way you’ll have them and then you can decide what to do them later.
LikeLike
Sounds like a plan.
LikeLike
Hi Chris, I have been there myself. When you get out of the habit of blog writing it’s hard to get back into it again and nothing seems to come. I overcome this with lots of drafts that never get published- I have between 80 to 90 drafts. If I have an idea for a post, I just got it down in the draft. I might come back to it – 2 months, 6 months, or a year later. If it isn’t worthy, it never gets published, but I am am writing something g down.The idea of reading is a good one and it’s in reading blogs that sometimes I get an idea for my own post. Do you write in a journal?
LikeLike
My blog is sort of my journal. It started as a travel journal to keep friends and family up to date with where we were and what we’re doing. The full time travel stopped and it evolved into a sort of journal of what we’re doing, and on occasions, what I’m thinking.
LikeLike
Many of us start out as a travel journal blog. Me included. It then develops a life of its own.
LikeLike