Recently read an article that had some great ideas on how to be a better blogger. Of course, I forgot to bookmark it. And you know how you never recall everything you read. Luckily, one of the ideas discussed in the article stuck in my head. The author noted that in a mere thirty days, one can improve their writing skills by writing 1,000 words a day. When all is said and done, look back at what you’ve written after a month and marvel at your own self improvement.
Sounds simple enough, right? Okay, I’ll bite.
So, on August 12, I began. Started out writing two articles with pretty darn snappy titles: “Corned Beef Hashtag*” and “Pardon me, YOUR’E Grammar is Showing*” (yes, I know this is the incorrect use of your/you’re here; it’s on purpose). The writing didn’t commence until late in the day; a pesky little thing called procrastination continued to wreak havoc with my good intentions. Pounded out about 500 words in about 30 minutes. Yes! Certainly deserved a break after all that. Snack time! Stood up. Walked away. Came back a short time later. 259 more words tumbled out.
Then I took a look at both articles. The grammar piece was downright horrible. It was almost boiling in tone, nearly telling people to go out and purchase Grammar for Dummies (if there IS such a thing). If there’s a tasteful way to approach the subject of horrendous misuses of grammar with out being preachy, then perhaps that article will someday come to light. But not without a complete redo.
Now, the other entry related to hashtags has some potential. The writing there was much more informative. And, it appears to be a subject that deserves to be explained and poked fun at a bit too. After all, how many times have you seen hashtags on Facebook postings? You do know that there is no such animal on Facebook?
Okay, so maybe half of what I wrote on the first 1,000 words day is usable. Will I be able to say that what I write is of higher quality, has the level of meaning and touches of humor that I strive to inject into each and every offering, and is interesting enough to be read by the masses at the end of this thirty day experiment? Sure hope so.
And now for the bad news. Day two. And how many words were written? Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Oops. Well, they do say it takes thirty days to develop a habit, right? But wait; it’s supposed to be continuous, no? Can I have a mulligan? Thank you. So now, officially, August 14 becomes day one. A new beginning!
For the record, the new day one = 1,037 words. And, according to my rules, it’s okay to go over.
* The author reserves the right to the use of “Corned Beef Hashtag” and “Pardon me, YOU’RE Grammar is Showing”. Those WILL be completed and posted here on this blog. Soon.
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