Writer's Blo(g|ck)

While reading forms a part of any literate life, we must also give thought to its complementary component, writing. Giving back to the corpus of the written word. Becoming a contributing member of the literate community.

My monthly resolution for February has two main purposes:

Breaking in

The Internet has greatly simplified the process of getting into the world of writing. Nothing could be easier than creating and contributing to a new blog, and I know of no better way to break into the great conversation.

Bulking up

While I feel fairly confident in my abilities to write comprehensible prose, I admit that my writing stamina cannot weather an intense writing session of longer than a half-hour.

To this end, I have tried to codify a mechanism through which I can accomplish both these goals.

My plan

Each weekday during the month of February, I will post a completed, 300-word (minimum) article on this blog. I may also choose to cross-post some of them on the blog that Stephanie and I share—we'll see.

Rules

Of course, any decent plan like this needs some rules so that my lazy future self will actually do what I have in mind now. Here are my regulations:

Required:

* 300 words minimum

* One post per weekday during the month of February

Not allowed (verboten):

* Nonsensical posts—they have to be substantial, even if they're just based on the events of the day

* Excessive padding of words just to get up to the 300-word minimum

Preferred:

* Conveying some insight of mine

* Articles that are entertaining to readers

Also, I have some ideas for ways to make the task a little easier, while maintaining the integrity of the idea:

* Writing on any topic I want, including the self-referential topic of my writing goal

* Writing posts in advance

* First drafts—I'm not necessarily going to take time to edit for voice and everything, though I will do so if time permits

* Posting articles with typographical errors—I won't necessarily take time for basic editing, either, though I will do my best in the time available

Accountability

Of course, I need to make sure that I will actually follow up with my strict plans. To this end, I will track the success of the goals in my usual habit calendar. However, since I will also be posting the articles online, anyone who wants to follow up on my progress will also help to make me accountable.

The main goal

This is my most ambitious monthly resolution to date, but the payoff looks worth it. And maybe along the way to writing a lot more, I will improve my writing and write a lot better, too.

See you tomorrow!