Getting back into practice isn’t as easy as it sounds. Like going off a diet or breaking training, dropping any good habit means you have to pick it up again. And again. And again.
Having hard-and-fast deadlines helps. That’s why I’m writing this morning, because I’m trying to establish Saturdays at noon to account for myself that week. If I’m lucky, I can squeeze in another between now and then and meet my three-posts-a-week quota.
I do have hard-and-fast deadlines on two volunteer writing projects that I’m working on. The draft of a fundraising brochure is due tomorrow; it’s about halfway there. And in a little over two weeks, I’ll be giving a speech. The draft of that is due at the end of the coming week. I’m making progress on that, too.
So you might say I’m getting back into shape. I’m just not jogging out on the trail where everyone can see me yet.
Observations: Daily life, including holidays and travel, can seriously cut into writing time. I cannot type in the car, for example, when we make our frequent long trips. But a writer’s mind and eye are always at work. Our Independence Day celebrations, for example, yielded photos for this post and “Red, White, and Blue.”
And sometimes it takes time for impressions to set in. The photo that accompanies this post was taken at an Independence Day fireworks display at Knight Point State Park, Vermont. I was taking hundreds of photos in hopes that a few would turn out. I was so busy that I didn’t see this flower until I was reviewing the individual frames.
Interaction: A few Likes both here and in Facebook, which is not bad considering that readers fall out of the habit too. I also had an Independence Day call from fellow blogger Shekhar Dasgupta on “Red, White, and Blue.”
Professional development: A little light reading of material from Writer’s Digest and the Chicago Manual of Style.
Next week: More hectic travel, but time for final drafts of the brochure and the speech. Maybe a little progress on my creative projects.
In case you missed it …
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Tsk-tsk! (1979)
Reading Time: 2 minutes Not contacting the state offices was practically journalistic malpractice. You need to get the official word, even if it’s “no comment.”
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A good time for groundwork, 1979
Reading Time: 2 minutes I had visions of collecting my school essays into books of criticism about how not to write papers. Does that sound like what I’m doing here?
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Puff and fluff, 1979
Reading Time: 2 minutes Any local news editor understands the delicate balance between what readers and advertisers expect and what you think is important.
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In Other Words … Season 2, Episode 19
Reading Time: 2 minutes Many people don’t even have the time or focus for an entire book. The culture of short videos and podcasts has taken over, to our detriment.
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Top-of-the-head inventory, 1979
Reading Time: 2 minutes “Items in Stock” was, in truth, a misnomer. Some were complete, or ready for a final draft or a rewrite. Others were ideas or characters in search of a plot.