Tuesday, November 2, 2010

A Blog Post about Nothing

It has come to this: I have no ideas for a blog post today. Blank. Nada. Empty. Some days there is just no water in the well. So, the big question is: what do I do? Do I just not post? Do I do a tepid 'writerly' post about my crawling along WIP? Do I talk about the stresses and strains of raising 3 kids, working full-time, my mother's cancer treatment, my stalled renovations? Do I post about something I heard on the news today? Do I try and do a motivational post about never giving up when things seem their bleakest? I feel like I've written these posts before, like there's nothing new to say and no new way to say it.

I know this is normal. I've been writing this blog for over a year and a half, so why try to force a blog post when there's nothing to say?

Why? Why, I ask??

Because if I stop writing one day, it might lead to two. If I don't write two blog posts then a whole month could quickly go by and before you know it I've stopped writing the blog altogether and even though it may not be the most widely read or the most filled with wisdom (not by a long shot!)it is something I've committed to do and I'm a big believer in sticking with something even when it's not easy, even when it doesn't seem to be returning anything tangible some days. Because there are moments when a blog post does work and someone might see something in it that helps them or they can identify with whatever was written. I know there have been many blog posts I've read that have helped me. Blog posts that might have never been written if that blogger decided to stop writing just for a day, or two, or three...

Huh. What do you know? My blog post about nothing kinda turned into something. Another lesson about why writing when you don't feel like it is very important. :)

4 comments:

  1. Love this! Definitely been there many a time. Glad you found your way to a post today! It's amazing to me how writing works like that.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm definitely with you on this one Nelsa. Persistence is such an important trait for a writer! And I definitely think this was a worthwhile post :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Precisely. I've written what turned out to be some of my best scenes when I didn't think I had a word in me. I forced myself to start, and the words...just came. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey Anna! So glad you stopped by! See? If I hadn't written the nothing post maybe we wouldn't be connecting?

    Hi Anna (a day for Anna's it seems :)
    Persistence should be tattooed on writer's hands so we never forget how important it is.

    Hi Linda: Just so. It starts out hard and gets easier most times. And even when the words don't come so easy you'll still have a few of those buggers down.

    A journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step...

    ReplyDelete