Set aside the quality of the post since, to be honest, it's not something I concern myself with on a regular basis. That's not to say I don't want to generate high-quality content, since every writer does, but this being a blog and all I hope my visitors aren't landing here and expecting the lovechild of Bill Shakespeare and Emily Dickinson's musings on the meaning of life.
I think the issue was the simple blandness of the topic. I mean, first impressions -- it's not even the kind of thing taught in school because human beings learn all on their own how important things like appearance and timing are. If we don't, we suffer. So, in retrospect, I spent a lot of words telling you all what you already know, or should have known, as if I'm some kind of arbiter of required knowledge.
Which leads me to the point of this post: impulses. When I think of a topic, I try to blog about it shortly thereafter. I don't like to keep posts in draft for more than about a day. I find that, when I do, I lose all interest in what I was talking about and it's difficult to regain the mindset necessary to continue my point.
This blog is an outlet for my mind. It just happens to be topical because I think about writing a lot, and because I think my perspective could provide some value to others on a similar journey. I don't know everything, but I can provide a brief and clever insight into what's going on in my mind at any given time. How brief or clever it is varies, of course, but now you know my goal here.
A lot of writing is impulses -- we just call them ideas instead. This is why the question "where do you get your ideas?" is so perplexing and maddening to a writer. We can't help but get ideas. It's as natural to us as thinking because, in fact, it's exactly the same thing.
I use Initial Draft to "think out loud." Usually when I post on this blog it's because I have had some kind of epiphany, or some kind emotional response to the world around me that leads me from question to answer. I share, first because getting my thoughts out is worthwhile to me, and second because it solidifies the insight I've latched onto. If I don't share, or write it down in some form, my mind is likely to wander away from that discovery and toward another. I feel like I've gained something, and I don't want to lose it.
I enjoy reading blogs that have the same attitude toward life and the world. Always in "discovery mode," and not simply regurgitating facts, figures, and buzzwords. Telling me something I already know provides no value, unless it's told in such a way that the perspective itself adds value. Like classic literature, in a sense, we all know the moral of the story long before we get there but it's the route we take that makes the difference.
At the same time, I'm human, and my attention is constantly divided. If only life would pause long enough for me to get caught up on everyone's blog posts -- and by "caught up" I mean reading, pondering, and phrasing a response. Lately I've had more motivation to do so, but less time thanks to my fantastic new job. All the same, I've felt a bit guilty for not only avoiding a broadcast of my own thoughts and perspective but for failing to properly process those of others whom I enjoy.
It's all about impulses, and how they tie well into my motivation, which I'm discovering more about every day. When I focus, I can accomplish things -- but if an impulse convinces me that there's a higher priority afoot, I tend to leave off and forget what I previously pursued since I now must devote my attention to some new thing. It's not that I have a short attention span, it's that my attention span is being constantly assaulted by forces within and without.
So, as an apology for the last post, I promise to stop and smell the roses a little more in the coming weeks. I'm making progress in all other areas, but this blog has suffered from my non-writing struggles this year, as has my eagerness to commune with those of similar mind. This must change, so I will focus on where my impulses land and try to steer them a little better in the near future.
Promises, promises. Let's give it a test drive.
Thanks for reading, as always.
If you enjoyed this post, please Follow this Blog or use the subscribe button (below) to receive updates.
