NaBloPoMo: Lessons Learned
Monday, November 30th, 2009I totally meant to write this earlier, but I’ve been bent double with a stomachache for the past couple of hours. It flares up horribly, then subsides, and then just when I think the worst is over, another bout of pain ensues. Anyway, I think it really is over now, and I want to share some of the things I learned this month of posting every day.
On to it then:
1. Themes are essential. I would not have been able to do this unless I had a blueprint, so to speak. Without my themes, I would have probably subjected you to daily updates of my dog. Think “Took doggy for a walk. He pooped, then we came home”
2. Planning is crucial. I would have had more info/longer posts if I could just have decided on a specific time of day to write. As it stands, I still haven’t settled on a time to write, though I’m honing in on my most creative times of day.
3. Writing regularly takes serious dedication. It’s not easy either. I know that I was extremely motivated to complete this project, and even then there were some days that I just didn’t want to do it. My themes helped immensely in this, since I had already decided on my topic.
4. I really do enjoy blogging! Even though I think my only reader is a Google bot, that’s alright. I like to write, and I’m excited to develop my skills. I’m actually thinking of going a step further, and doing the photo a day challenge for a year, so keep an eye out for that.
Moving forward: while I’m not going to post every day, I do intend to post several times a week. Not sure what days, yet, but there will be a schedule, so you know what to expect.
And that’s that.
NaBloPoMo Week Three!
Sunday, November 15th, 2009Wow! We’re already halfway through the month. Posting regularly is both harder and easier than I thought. Easier because of the themes I chose make it possible to not write too deep posts, but harder because just remembering to make a post every day is strangely elusive.
This week’s theme is Quotable Quotes / Random Facts! I thought I’d feed our brains a bit with some thought provoking saying or something that we never new before. First up:
You get ideas from daydreaming. You get ideas from being bored. You get ideas all the time. The only difference between writers and other people is we notice when we’re doing it. ~Neil Gaiman
I have always been a creator of stories. I’ve never thought of myself as a writer, however, because for most of my life, I have been TERRIFIED of writing. Scared to death. Even when I knew that no one would ever see it, I just couldn’t. I was afraid to open up to the universe. As a result, the stories I created (and they’ve been coming since I remember remembering) remained daydreams. Remained locked between the synapses in my brain. And I could and still do spend hours upon hours daydreaming, creating. Thinking about it makes me a little sad, because it’s just another reminder of the fear that has ruled me for a long time, and has stopped me from pursuing what I love, and is responsible for so many missed opportunities. I’m angry at myself and the environment that contributed to the fear. I am determined to not let it win. I am a creator of stories, but I want to be a storyteller.
So while I’m not completely over the fear, I’m getting there. In fact, this blog is an exercise in overcoming the fear. Just two years ago, I could not have imagined writing even on a blog, for anyone to see. The thought made me want to puke. Now I have committed to writing something every day for a month; I am putting my struggle with weight on the internet for the world to see forever. I’ve come a long way, and for that I am happy.
Music Week
Sunday, November 8th, 2009That’s right, this week, I’m going to share some of my favorite music. You may have noticed my featured video to the left, that I change up from time to time. While that may not always be music, I thought I would dedicate one whole week to music here on the old blog.
First up: Rendez-Vu from Basement Jaxx. Most of their music makes me want to get up and dance, this is no exception. Now, this isn’t my favorite song of theirs, but it’s the perfect one to start the week.
Enjoy!
Final Day of Shoes
Saturday, November 7th, 2009Sadly, this is the last day of shoe week. However, I have a magnificent shoe to leave you with:
This is the Lady Page shoe from Christian Louboutin. I love everything about this shoe, from the color, to the impossibly high heel (5 inches!), to the detail in the front. It’s simply elegant.
I can’t give you shopping info, because I know this shoe is way out of my price range, and I wouldn’t even know where to go to buy them. The Louboutin website is pretty cool, so I’d give it a look.
So ends the first week of NaBloPoMo. I really enjoyed this week, and I’m thinking of making a weekly shoe feature here. Since the point of this exercise is to learn about blogging, I can say that one thing I learned is that I should have a set time to write every day. I know, I know, that is common sense, right? But I almost forgot to post a shoe on a couple of days. Now I just have to figure out what my optimal writing time is. I start my new job on Monday, so it’ll definitely be in the afternoon/evenings.
I’ll announce next week’s theme tomorrow, with it’s first post. I hope it’s as fun as this week!
peace!
Shoe #2
Monday, November 2nd, 2009I’m having so much fun ‘window shopping’ for shoes this week.
Next:
This is the Nanette Lepore Sweetheart shoe (click the pic for shopping info). I adore this color! This is my dream shoe to wear with a slinky black dress on a date, perhaps to a fancy ball. It’ll be a dream for a while, this shoe is a quite a bit out of my budget.