Home » Posts tagged 'blogging'
Tag Archives: blogging
November Writing Challenge Update #2
I’m speeding right along with the November Writing challenge– staying on track with a blog a day and keeping up with my daily word count for the novel challenge.
I’ve picked up a number of new followers for this blog. (Welcome!) I’m finding it a lot of fun and sometimes pretty challenging to post every day. I hope my content continues to evolve as I explore different topics, getting closer to writing the blog I really want to write.
My current word count for the novel challenge is 32,633 words. I’m over halfway to the 50,000 word goal and still see this story going in so many different directions. I have a feeling I’ll be closer to 100,000 words before I’m done and ready to start editing.
Plot points are developing and the focus changing as I suddenly find secondary characters more interesting to write about. This free form writing has been really liberating and is pretty exciting. Sometimes I’ll go off in a direction and the words seem to pore out. When I’m done writing that day, I think, Wow, where did that come from?
There are times though, that the further along I get– the further away I feel I am from the end. Exploration was what this was all about for me, and I’m discovering a lot of things as I go.
The biggest thing is that I’m almost to the point where I feel comfortable saying, I’m a writer. I’ve loved writing since I was a kid but I’ve always allowed everything else to take priority over it. Stupid mistake.
I know I have a voice and stories to tell. Maybe I’m finally on to something.
A writer writes. A writer creates. A writer creates worlds where none existed. When a writer completes something. It’s theirs and theirs alone. That is, until it is shared. When it’s shared, the readers become owners and the ones that give it life. No two people experience the world of a novel the same way. It’s pretty fascinating.
November Writing Challenge Update #1 and Blog Milestones
I am participating in National November Writing Month and the challenge is to write every single day. National Writing Month was created as a way to challenge writers to complete a project, to network, and to publicize their work.
I’m actually participating on two levels, attempting to write a blog post every day and writing a complete novel in a month.
The Novel:
Working title: Muse Me
At the end of October, I asked for at least 30 people to help by each submitting a person, place and thing that I have to include in my novel.
So far I’ve written 16,929 words!
Since I’m writing free form and using the submitted words for inspiration, the storyline is still taking shape. Sometimes I feel like I’m on a rambling road and sometimes I find clear moments that will definitely define the structure of my finished draft. Not too much I’m ready to say right now except that it is a mystery of sorts and primarily takes place in Georgia.
The Blog Challenge
Nine days into November and I’ve written a new post every day. Right on Track! The more I write, the more the ideas keep flowing. Some posts take several days to write with research and finding my particular angle on the topic. I usually have several posts going at once.
For more information about National November Writing Month, see NaNoWriMo for writing a novel; and NaBloPoMo for the blogging challenge.
Blog Milestones
Friday I hit a milestone for this blog hitting over 15,000 views!
My blog has been viewed in 122 countries around the world!
I’m nearing my 150th blog post and I’m currently in a record run (for me) with new blog posts for 12 consecutive days.
I hope you enjoy what you find here. Comments are always welcome and encouraging!
Let me know what you think!
2013 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 4,900 times in 2013. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people.
Fifty Blog Posts: howdoyoumeasure525600minutes
My last blog post marked my 50th since I started blogging at the beginning of the year. My original daily blog goal was pretty unreasonable with my schedule… and frankly, do I really have that much to say that people want to read? Of course, I’m probably editing my ideas and thoughts much more drastically than I need to– but the last thing I want is to become one of those “This is what I ate for dinner…” bloggers. Oops! Too Late! (See last blog post.)
I started this blog because I do think I have a voice with some important things to say. I also wanted to write and give some insight on my life and my perspective. The biggest problem I face is publicly expressing my feelings on topics that either might offend others or possibly have a negative affect on someone or something. Some issues are easy to write about, others are much more difficult. I feel passionately enough about some things to accept the consequences, others… not so much. Plus, though I think good writing has to be fueled by passion– writing when that passion is driven primarily by anger is not necessarily a good thing. So I bite my tongue.
If there’s anything anyone would like to hear me write about– let me know! I’m always looking for topics.
To mark the occasion of my 50th post, I thought I’d share some of the statistics I’ve accumulated so far.
Number of Blog Visitors To Date: over 3,000
Number of Countries From Which Visitors View My Posts: 53
Top Five Countries Visiting (Beyond the US) : Canada, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, India
Number of Registered Blog Followers: 19
Busiest Day: January 13, 2012 – 223 Views
Total Comments: 54
Total Categories: 16
Total Tags: 254
Number of Shares: 201
Number of Attempted Spam: 444
Most referred links: Facebook
Most Read Post: HATE is alive and well in Bartlett, Illinois 345 (This probably isn’t an accurate number as the Home Page received 630 direct views.
I’d love to have more blog followers. I know a lot of people follow and read most of my posts through Facebook… but if you don’t want to risk missing one, sign up! This goes for comments too. Many people comment on the Facebook link but not on the blog itself. Don’t be afraid to comment here! You might have some insight that can help someone else that reads the blog! Speak up and Speak out!
Don’t BLOG about it!
Aside from my last post, I realize I haven’t written many blog posts lately. I could give the standard, I’m so busy– don’t have time line but the real reason is that most of what I have been passionate about is probably best left unwritten. You see, my intention really isn’t to offend or alienate anyone but I know it’s bound to happen sooner or later.
After a previous post, my boss gave me some friendly advice… Be careful what you put out there, people respect and value what you have to say. Then I think to myself, But if I have no opinions or interesting comments… what’s to value or respect? I did get the intent of that message though and I definitely realize that publishing my opinions do have an effect on the way I am perceived. That said, I can’t always be motivating and inspiring and I also don’t want my blog to be a constant rant about what’s wrong in the world I live in. I hope to bring a balance or a comfortable blend to my writing. I’m definitely open for topics to consider. Shoot me an email or comment here if you have suggestions.
I actually have about a dozen half-written posts waiting for me to complete. Sometimes its difficult when other things are weighing on my mind to write coherent posts. It might seem from the brevity of most of my posts, that they wouldn’t take long to write but they do take several hours at least. Some ideas mull around in my head for days (months even) before I actually attempt to verbalize them.
As the school year comes to a close, a lot of memories have flooded my mind of when I was in school. I have a lot of good memories and remember that most of my elementary and high school years were pleasant overall– but those aren’t the ones that stick prominently in my brain. It’s the difficult times I remember most– being bullied, coming to terms with who I was and often feeling alone and afraid.
Those experiences helped bring me to where I am today… I try to be a go-to person for students needing an ear– a safe place where it’s okay to be an outcast. I just wish everyone knew it’s okay to be different and express yourself. It’s so difficult to watch people fight who they really are, to be accepted for what they are not. I understand because I was there, I lived that once.
I’m hoping to share some of those experiences in future posts.
The biggest problem with writing a blog about your life experiences is that it’s not just your life. Aside from the differences in our perceptions of how and what actually happened, you have to take other people’s feelings into account. It’s difficult but I think there are lessons to be learned and I’m up for the challenge.
How Do You Measure 525600 Minutes? 