Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Holding a Gun To My Own Head

National Blog Posting Month

I've signed up for National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo). I found the link at BlogHer yesterday. For me, the Q&A rang true:

What is it?

It's National Blog Posting Month!

Why...would I want to do that?

You started a blog to make yourself write more often?

NaBloPoMo is an alternative to November's NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, the program wherein you crank out a novel in thirty days.

Some of us lack the imagination, stamina, and self-destructive impulses required to write a novel that quickly, but, by Grabthar's Hammer, we can update our blogs every day for a month!

Yup. I started a blog to make myself write more often. Recent evidence to the contrary, it has motivated me to write more. People sign up for the "November is National Novel Writing Month(NaNoWriMo) to get over writer's block, or to prove to themselves that they can crank out the prose under pressure. Years of grant writing taught me two things: writer's block is a self-indulgence I can't afford, and I can crank out the prose (not good prose, necessarily, but prose to spec.). I don't need a goofy novel cluttering up my hard drive, but somehow, cluttering up blogger.com with daily postings doesn't bother me a bit.

I have some qualms....I looked at the list of participants' blogs, and noticed that they are a younger, "hipper" bunch than I usually pal around with. They have no recollection of the days when martinis were Squaresville, something with which the Man in the Grey Flannel Suit anesthetized himself. Still, I've signed up--if the cool kids won't eat lunch with me, well, I'll just read a book by myself, like I used to do.

3 comments:

Dave said...

I think there's also a poem-a-day blog thing, but that's in April. I was tempted this year, but I have a strong aversion to doing something that a lot of other people are doing.

kbrow said...

I'm seriously considering signing up myself, and then you'll have an aging, greying curmudgeon to sip martinis with.

Rebecca Clayton said...

There are a lot of "craft-along's" out there too. I've never been tempted before, but I need to step up my Web work. I hope this will help me give my own writing projects a higher priority.

I'd really like to have a fellow curmudgeon along for the ride!