All right, you all know that that is the question! Every year since I started blogging (a whopping 2! This isn't exactly a tradition yet, but it's approaching tradition status), I question, as November appears upon the horizon, whether or not I want to commit to posting something every. single. day. during National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo). This one is even more of a question than whether or not to join the R.I.P. Challenge (basically, I don't join this one, even though I consider it, because it isn't a challenge for me, and it would be pretty wimpy on my part to pretend that it's anything of the kind. Every single October and November -- granted R.I.P. is September and October, but it's still the same concept -- I load up on reading and re-reading spooky stuff).
NaBloPoMo is different, though. No one could accuse me of being someone who posts on this blog every day. To do so might be a real challenge. (It also might lead to some stuff that absolutely no one would ever want to read.) The problem is that this year I'm actually feeling that maybe I need a little kick in the pants. I've been pretty lax about posting, barely managing to do so twice a week, it seems. Maybe this blog needs a challenge to revive it.
On the other hand, those of you who want me to write a novel yesterday, might be happy to know that the reason this blog has been so neglected as of late is that I've been much more focused on novel-gazing than I have been on navel-gazing (not that the novel doesn't involve some of that. How can it not, being a satirical piece on a small college town in Virginia that seems to resemble Charlottesville, from whence my family hails? Oh yeah, and it happens to feature a Presbyterian pastor from New England via the Midwest who takes his first call in this small town in a Red State). I've been feeling a bit sad, though, that all the blog posts that are basically running dialogs in my head all the time barely ever see themselves immortalized these days. Are they jealous of all those who went before them, those that happened to be hanging out in my "oh-I've-started-a-blog-this-is-so-much-fun-I-must-post-as-often-as-I-can-and-
ignore-all-other-forms-of-writing" days and thus reaped the benefits of those times, whether they actually deserved to promenade across computer screens or not?
So, I've decided to let you, my readers, vote. I know, I'm not giving you much time (I think that makes me far better than the typical American Presidential candidate. Forget all the campaigning for at least two years. I appear one day before the decision has to be made and ask you to cast your vote). Would you like to see me post something every day (especially keeping in mind that this might mean endless memes and maybe lots of photographs of Francis), or would you rather I spent my time working on the novel and kept you from having to check on this blog more than twice a week? This is by popular vote. I promise to listen to the people and will not take this to the Supreme Court, so please, if you'd like to vote, leave a comment to the following:
Yea: I would like you to post every day during NaBloPoMo
Nay: please work on your novel.
5 comments:
For me, it's a Nay (too much to do lifewise next month). For you, I'd say Yea only if the material is alredy written (got any of those ghost stories left at the bottom of a creaking olde chest in your attic?) and you can publish it serialized. I'd love to be following the story bit by bit. However, if it means you have to put the novel on hold, it's a No Way.
I vote a strong YEA, with the admission that I'd never commit to that myself. When I started my blog I actually did write in it every day for the first four months or so. How the hell did I do that? Since that time, my posts have gotten progressively longer and I'm also lucky if I get two out a week. (Is it because of my work as a book editor that I'm unable to edit myself down to posts of reasonable length??) I so admire people who can write shorter, more frequent posts and because I love reading your blog, how can I not selfishly want you to try this as an experiment and write 30 short, wonderful posts in November? I just know that I want to read them no matter what they're about! The novel will not stop germinating in your head, I have no worries about that at all.
DO IT!!
Mandarine, I think I probably can find a ghost story at the bottom of a creaky old chest. What a great idea.
Danny, flattery will, of course, get you everywhere. I think what I'll do is post bits of a ghost story and alternate it with other stuff. That should make the month fairly painless.
Yea -- post every day. And, as Danny suggested, you can post portions of your writing to the blog. I think that would be more interesting than some of the lame posts that people resort to during NaBloPoMo. I think I included many excerpts from books last year, but I made it through. I'm planning on doing it again this year.
Cam, well, I'm going to give it a try. Happy to hear you are, too. Let's make a pact to keep it "un-lame."
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