To post or not to post

On the mouse pad beside my computer I  track woodworking episodes on the channels I regularly follow. When I've watched and episode I cross off the number. This year I decided it would be a good idea to use the mouse pad to also keep track of my blog posts. I thought I could manage 2 a month. (Oh silly person!) It is now June and according to  my optimistic schedule, I should be on blog post  #11. This is #2.

Now let's be clear about this: nobody is going to beat me if I don't do 24 blog posts this year. It won't affect my income one little bit and I don't expect I'll get any hate mail if I don't post. So why bother keeping this limping little blog alive? For one thing, it's about the loyal readers. Most times when I write a post they leave me a few words of appreciation and that feels good.

For another, the blog format is attractive to me. When something strikes me as interesting I can type it; throw in a few photos; push a button and it's out there.  I don't have to print copies. I don't have to collate, staple or mail. One email lets people know there is something new to read. It's also interesting for me to look back on how this chapter of my life is unfolding.

I'm going to try something different. Setting myself a schedule hasn't worked, and feeling guilty about not writing hasn't worked. So, I'm going  to make a deal with myself: I will sit down and write a post as soon as an idea for one comes up. There have been many many ideas and I've thought, "Oh I'll write that later." By the time I get around to it, the idea no longer interests me.

Trying something different calls for new guidelines. The post can be long or short.  It can include photos or not. At times I've failed to post because I didn't have any photos.  A writing colleague posts every two weeks and she never uses photos. Her blog is interesting enough without.

I've been thinking about the "to post or not to post" question because I've just returned from a writing workshop on Bowen Island. The Freefall workshop is the one time in the year when writing is my first priority. This year's workshop was particularly productive, not because of what I wrote but because I gave myself permission to write for a while and then stop instead of ploughing ahead to fill time. Writing was a 'want to' rather than a 'have to' or a 'should.' I carved a spoon while I was at the workshop and attending to writing and woodworking was hugely satisfying. I loved the balance between what was going on in my head and what I could do with my hands. Maybe that's the way I work best. After all, I listen to audio books while I work in the shop.  Something for the head; something for the hands.  I don't know where the blog is going from here but keeping a balance between head and hands seems to be an idea worth storing carefully so I can return to it later. Whatever direction the blog goes I'll keep you 'posted.'

And, by the way, here's a photo that has nothing to do with the topic. I took it one afternoon during a walk around Killarney Lake on Bowen Island.