I've been thinking a lot about my blog recently. I've been posting regularly here since the summer of 2007, a few months after graduating college and there's a fairly major blog milestone coming up in the next few weeks, so I feel that this is a pretty good time for some introspection.
Initially, I started blogging because a writer I know, Stephen D. Price, told me that if I wanted to be a journalist, I should have a blog. I wrote my first post mere hours after receiving his counsel. I know when to heed the advice of my elders, and he said this was a first step in beginning a career in journalism.
In the interceding four years I've worked in three jobs at two publications and had lots and lots of positive experiences -- all despite the fact that I'm a member of, in Price's words, a "profession of rejection." Over that time, this blog has held different meanings and purposes for me. At first, it was a receptacle for random thoughts, loosely relating to cycling. At other times, it was a launching pad for a series of essays I wrote for the Embrocation Cycling Journal. I've even done real journalism on this blog, posting popular race previews particularly related to the Tour of the Battenkill. Mostly, over the years, it was just a place for my random, semi-formed thoughts. Somehow, despite my apparent lack of focus, I have managed both to keep the blog going, and to enter a challenging field. Simply amazing.
Lately, though, I'm not really feeling like it's enough. I've also realized that I've been writing more lazy, poorly-conceived posts, and both you my readers, and me, deserve better.
The thing is, though, writing better takes more time. For years and years I've been posting on evenings, Sunday-Thursday. I like to think that such a schedule gave folks something to read on work days. But, I'm sometimes left wondering why anyone would interrupt their workday to read.
So, I'm going to try a different approach. Instead of pushing myself to post every night, I'm only going to post when I have something worth posting. I expect that I'll still be posting race recaps and other adventure stories on Sunday nights to kick off the week. I'm also aiming, with fewer posts to hammer out, to offer more substantive material. To put it another way, I'm going to focus on improving the quality of my writing here, and stop worrying about quantity. I hope you'll enjoy, but for those of you who can't get enough, there's always this.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Purpose served, re-evaluating GBBM
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5 comments:
As an aspiring journalist/writer whatever, you should take a bit more pride in your work as it is a living resume of sorts. With this said, maybe start with proper grammer and spell check. Your blog is constantly dirtied with typos and spelling errors. This is unacceptable for someone with your aspirations.
Hey anon,
Thanks a lot for your feedback, I really appreciate it. You've touched on the underlying reason for my wanting to take a new approach with the blog -- I don't feel proud of very many of my posts from the past year, and that's not acceptable, at all. To address the issue, I'm planning on spending more time on fewer posts. I hope you'll agree that's a better use of both of our time.
It may interest you to know that I struggled with a learning disability as a child, and while I did eventually learn to read and write, I still struggle with spelling and some aspects of grammar. As they say, every editor needs an editor! ... Which leads me to my second point: On many nights, by the time I finish writing a post, I'm simply too tired to see straight, let alone effectively proof read anything. And this is another reason I think writing fewer, more carefully crafted posts will result in a better overall product; more time to proof read.
Finally, I detect a definite note of animus in your comment to me. Am I wrong? If I'm not, how come you're such a regular reader if you have such a distaste for me and/or my writing?
No animus. I enjoy your blog and follow it semi regularly. As a professional these days with everything open and online, if you are going to put your work out to the world for all to see, best make sure its good work,. You dont want a future employer to get the wrong impression of your work (right or wrong). Just some advice - take my 2cents for what it is worth. best of luck and best regards.
Andrew, I have picked up on typos and some sloppy grammar as well. However, as a professional writer myself, I understand how keeping an extracurricular blog can sap the energy after spending your workday working with words. Still, because you are using your blog as an advertisement of your skills, it is worth doing your best to clean up entries. To that end, I think you're right to concentrate on quality. Don't get bogged down in thinking entries should be exhaustive and long. Make them clean and to the point, and you'll be able to point to them without reservation.
I've enjoyed reading your blog since discovering it a year or so ago. The insight into the personal side of racing has been educational and enjoyable. Well worth accepting a few typos here and there.
Hey guys,
Thanks to you both for your feedback and comments. Above all, I'm glad to have cultivated at least a moderate following among people like yourselves. Your criticism is will taken, and I appreciate you taking the time to offer advice.
Have a great Sunday, AB
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