Blog Challenge Review - Week 1

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Last week I announced that I would be subjecting myself to somewhat of a blog challenge by committing to write 5 times a week leading up to a speaking engagement in March. Let's see how I did my first week!

Weekly Debrief

Posts

My talk will cover equal parts content strategy (what to write about) and creative inspiration (how to write it).

Where Did I Find Inspiration?

I found inspiration in a few places. One article was written from an old draft. I have about 50 concepts that I'm always adding to or pulling from. The Never Forgive And Forget post was one such draft that came from a fragment of an email I wrote to a friend a few years ago.

Two of my articles were inspired by photos. I like to dig through photos to remind myself of stories, strong opinions, and life lessons. One was from a visit to the planetarium with my kids, the other came straight from my wife's facebook page.

I totally cheated and posted a link to an 8BIT article on project management one day, instead of writing a new article on my personal blog, but I think this is still a legitimate move. The article was freshly written by me and describes a communication technique that is useful beyond the stated application.

Finally, the article about body language was a current event and came directly from the trenches of parenting.

How Did I Put Inspiration To Action?

Announcing on my blog, twitter, and Facebook that I would be writing (almost) daily was a big help to me following through. Public accountability can me quite effective!

A number of people commented (and tweeted, and facebooked) to encourage me and say nice things about my writing, and this really gave me a boost!

The post about body language practically wrote itself because I wrote it while the event was still fresh, right after my kids went to bed that night. I should I do this more often.

Further Thoughts

I found myself thinking more about writing. Getting into the groove has made a difference in how I think throughout the day. I found myself contemplating post concepts, titles, etc. more than I have in a long time. This felt good!

I had so many good ideas throughout the week but I didn't write most of them down and now they are lost. I need to do better at this. It's more than a little ironic considering I helped invent (and write the marketing copy) for this product here called #notes.

I found myself struggling with the blog being too "me focused," and not adding enough value to others. I've always wanted the blog to be about me and my family, and to be for me and my family, but I may change the focus and intent if it broadens my writing horizons and helps me get better at writing.

Knowing your audience is an important step in the right direction! I'm not sure I know mine yet.

That's all for now, on to Week 2!

I Have an Announcement

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There is a conference that I've attended for the past few years called WordCamp. The sessions cover a wide variety of topics but they are tied together by the common thread of "everything WordPress." This year I am stepping off the sidelines and into the game. I will be one of the speakers!

Bio for Chris Ames

Chris is the product midwife for a startup in Atlanta, GA named 8BIT which, somewhat ironically, makes WordPress products and not video games. His writing endeavors include chronicling his company’s escapades on the blog, creating technical documentation, and copywriting for product sites, newsletters, and web marketing initiatives.

In fact, the entire 8BIT team will be joining in, sharing expertise, learning from others, and building relationships within the super-awesome WordPress community.

Wrestling The Writing Muse Down To The Dusty Earth

My session will be around writing, content generation, and strategy. I'm really passionate about online publishing, and I write a good bit, but I don't write here on my personal blog as much as I would like.

As part of my talk I want to explore ways to become a better writer and online publisher. A lot has been said on this subject and I aim to bring my audience with me as I test some of the prevailing theories.

This Is One Such Test

One of the tenets of good writing that I have experienced, but not tested thoroughly, is that writing begets writing. Good writers don't merely think about writing, they actually write. Usually on a schedule. The concept is that writing is like a muscle and we can choose to exercise it, and experience growth, or ignore it and let it atrophy.

I've been doing this more and more lately on the 8BIT blog, but that's not enough. I want to push myself. Actually, committing to writing 5 times a week on the 8BIT blog is pushing myself so why not double it?

As part of my experimentation and preparation for the talk I will give I am setting the goal of writing 5 days per week on my personal blog as well!

*gulp*

Writing Gives Away

I still believe in the spirit of my blog here as stated on my about page, "This will be a place to document [my family's] epic victories and stunning defeats so that [our children] can learn about us and I can grow from the reflective process inherent in writing."

Writing is an expression that "gives away." When I write, especially online, I am able to share with others, share with a future version of my children, and share with my present day self. I get to grow from the reflective process inherent in writing and that pays dividends to my family and myself for years to come.

It's worth the investment.