Regularity is key — for blog posts (and other aspects of life as well)

Day 18 / 30-Day Writing Challenge

One of my first Behind the scenes at Orozco Ink blog posts was Breaking the Blog Hymen. I noted one inspiration as Julie Powell's blog, as in the Julie/Julia Project, as in Julia Childs, as in they made a movie of it starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, as in my name is Amy, too.

I've been fortunate to find other blogs as inspiration. And, you know what the common thread of inspiration is? The fact that they stuck/stick with it. Sure, the writing is engaging, the graphics pleasing to the eye. However, what I marvel at is the regularity, the commitment, and the discipline.

It's not easy. Not for me, anyway. The writing part is the easy part. The "doing it" is tough.

Let me share Calla Gold's blog. Go ahead and check it out. I know, can you believe it? Calla designs jewelry. And her real last name is Gold! I know this is true because I know her personally.

OK. Back to the point: Note the frequency of posts. Calla is on top of it. Even if she's pre-writing and scheduling her blog, it doesn't matter. She's still churning out the posts.

That's what I'm working on -- showing up. Cuz once I show up, the other part takes care of itself.

Thanks Julie. Thanks Calla.

Above, the artwork from the May 30 blog post of Calla Gold Jewelry. Calla has such a great blog. So much information and so interesting. 

Breaking the Blog Hymen

The PLAN is to blog my true self—or how I hope to portray my true self; I'm not going to go on about polishing off a bag of potato chips because my mom bugged the hell out of me when I took her to Trader Joe's—so I can conduct my writing business without feeling totally robbed of creativity. And it is OK if my clients see the blog because they pay me to write what they want written. They don't pay me to indulge my inner artist. And it's not like I'm going to bite the hand that feeds me and bag on my clients or anything. If they want me to do that, they'll have to pay me!

The FANTASY is for the blog to be a smashing success—it becomes one of the hottest read items on the Internet (all through word of mouth), gets optioned into a book followed by the inevitable screenplay. I get paid tons of money and of course I use a fair portion of it to make society a better place, such as healthcare for all, making sure everyone has access to a fabulous education, and a clean environment. Miraculously, through the whirlwind of all that excitement I turn into a raving beauty, or at least that gash of a frown line bisecting my forehead disappears.

The REALITY is I'm making a commitment to blogging three times a week. And knowing me, it just may be three times on a Saturday night just so I can say I did my blogging for that week. I'll probably even turn the computer on and off in between blogs for that authentic feel (don't want my computer to think I'm lying/cheating).