Today is the last day of NaBloPoMo. For those of you who don't know, those letters stand for National Blog Posting Month. The challenge is write and post a blog post every day during the month of November. It started out as a spoof of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), but a lot of bloggers really dug it, so now it's a real thing run by Blogher. The folks at Blogher gave away lots of prizes--I didn't win a fucking thing--gave daily writing prompts (I didn't use them), and gave us lots of support and encouragement.
And I did it! In spite of working on two overlapping shows at a local community theater, grading stacks of research papers, cuddling a new granddaughter, Thanksgiving, and that awful day when Google decided to shut down my blog for several hours with no explanation whatsoever, I posted every single day in November. Yay!
One thing I've re-learned from doing this is that I can be obsessive about writing if I write a lot. If I had six more hours in every day, I would write them away. I spend a lot of time thinking about what I'm going to write about when I get to the computer or have a chance to sit down with a paper and pen. I put off doing things like laundry and emptying the dishwasher so I can write. I stay up way too late because I want to keep working on a post. I've written a lot this month that I haven't even posted. I take notes when I'm out with friends and threaten promise to write about them on my blog. Some people stop in mid-sentence around me these days because they're afraid I'll embarrass them here make them a celebrity.
The most surprising thing I learned is that people will read here every day. I was anxious about writing so often because I thought readers would start skipping posts and then more and more and more .... and then pretty soon the only people coming would be the ones who googled unusual dildos or naked mommies or riding a Sybian to church.*
I'm always shocked when somebody mentions in real life something I wrote on my blog, and then I'm like a little kid. "You read my blog? Really? You really read my blog? Like every word or do you just skim? What are your favorite posts? Do you think I talk about vaginas too much? Do you know where I can get a cookie? Will you give me a cookie.......?" Yeah, I've turned into a cookie blog monster.
Several people have asked if I will continue to do this at least through December. I'd like to, but I'm not sure I can keep it up. I have lots of ideas I want to write about, but some of those posts will take a while to crank out. It's harder to get to the meatier posts when I have to meet a deadline every day. On the other hand, if I have to write one out every day, I can't put off writing about the things that are important to me. I can't get lazy.
And yet I have other work I need to do here in this space. I need to do a big redesign and maybe even transport my blog to another home. That takes time, and I'm struggling deciding on a design. I am thinking about this guy for my mascot though. He's juicy and he looks like he can dance. I don't know about you, but I'm imagining a hula skirt down there, and I'm sure he's wearing it regimental. Not a kilt, but it will do.
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| My melons can't compete. |
When I started writing here regularly last summer, I was writing through some losses, trying to fill a void. I'd been writing for other reasons, to someone else, and I lost that audience. This blog became my refuge, a place where I could deal with some of the briar patches in my life, a place where I could hide among the words. In some ways I'm still hiding here, but it's a healthy place to hide for now. I'm making valuable connections here.
So, will I continue to write every day? I'm going to try. That's the best I can promise right now.
Thanks for reading this month. I really do appreciate every comment and email I get. See you in December!
* Oh, yes, it is time for another keyword post. I had no idea what a huge problem men have with where to put their junk in the bike shorts. No idea.
