Monday, February 01, 2016

The End?

January is over, and with it my daily blogging. It's been a really interesting experience. There was some part of me that hoped that I would write every day for a month and suddenly regain the passion and confidence I used to have for writing. That's not what happened, of course, but I did learn some things.

I've learned I can't write like I used to. My lifestyle just isn't conducive to it anymore. Working full time while also juggling a marriage and multiple hobbies just doesn't leave me with as much time for "the life of the mind" as I used to have. The other thing I learned is that just because I can't write like I used to doesn't mean I shouldn't. Writing helps me to process my life. Writing makes me happy. Well, happy isn't quite the right word. But writing feels right, and I feel more whole when I do it.

I've also learned that I need to change the way I view my writing. The most damaging thing I ever did to myself as a writer was to get a bachelor's degree in writing. Through four years of getting graded and fighting deadlines I changed the reason why I was writing. I became jaded. My writing became less about improving my own life and expressing myself and more about producing something that could be considered worthy. Eventually writing for anything less than perfection became worthless in my mind. I'm going to work on regaining the simplicity of writing for myself.

So, where do I go from here? At the beginning of all this I listed several topics I could write about and I only covered about half of them. I've decided to set a writing schedule for myself and my blog. I managed to do 7 days a week for a month, so now I'm going to try for 3 days a week for a little while to see how it feels. What does that mean for you, oh faithful reader that may or may not exist? Well, you can expect posts from me on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Generally speaking those are the days I can find time to write.

I wish I had something more profound to finish this month off with, but I just don't. Like I said, I don't get to go all "life of the mind" as much as I'd like, so profundity will just have to wait. If you've enjoyed this month then continue to check back as I continue in my new writing schedule. Have a good night, and thank you for reading.

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