I discovered Blog Every Day in May purely by accident. Having taken an unscripted two week break from the weekly blog round, I found myself apologising, disappointed that I had been defeated by a busy schedule and erratic mood patterns. Sometimes it's difficult! Sometimes I just think that perhaps there has been nothing worth writing about, which is kind of where BEDM started to look like a good idea: ready made titles just waiting to be filled in by me. Rather than review the suitability of titles and how I might get on with them, (well, I looked at some and thought I might like them, but didn't really overthink it), I just dived in and started straight away. Already a day behind, the maiden journey was posted past midnight on the 2nd.
It's been... Interesting. Sometimes it's been a real struggle, having to think about concepts that I wouldn't normally ever. Things as simple as exclamations marks and favourite this or that are things I'm unfamiliar with. Usually, following the pattern of being a day behind, I'd post at around 1am (technically the next day), which ended up being a more regular posting time than when I kind of got things together and clawed back the daily schedule and posted in the middle of the day, funnily enough. Where I've missed out the title for the day I have subbed in with my own observation of how things are, one of which was far more popular than what I did with the prescribed.
Of course though, the obligatory stat-attack. If there's one thing I do enjoy, it's telling everybody how much I've written, as anybody who was my Facebook friend while I was writing my dissertation with the daily updates will attest to. I dimly remember putting a running total out about half way through the month, something to the order of... 12,000 words or so? Anyway, let's hit it:
- Out of 31 titles there are 4 missing posts
- Over the course of May, I have written 32,308 words in total
- The average sentence length is 19 words.
- 17 out of 31 posts were published between Midnight and 3:30am
- There are in fact 31 published posts!
- Thanks to BEDM, this year has almost double the amount of posts that 2012 had, 2 less than 2011, and 10 more than 2010
This has been one hell of an undertaking. I've written while drunk, worked through a hangover, queued posts, written two at the same time... all for free as well. It's been enlightening, actually, and in a way quite pleasing - not only explaining how I managed to write my dissertation in 8 days, and giving me some sort of hope for the possibility of Masters or PhD level writing: if I can churn out an average of 1042 words a day without any real basic idea of what I'm doing before I start, then think about what I can do when I know? The mind burbles. I was asked whether I had thought about writing a novel by the time the third week had dawned, but it's a bit different. Most of the time I have enough difficulty writing convincing and interesting narrative about what actually happens in my life, let alone that of completely fictional characters. How would I make them believable when I have more than enough difficulty believing in myself?
I think I'll go back to my old weekly schedule now. I did actually find myself struggling with coming up with enough to actually write some days, I guess you can't win 'em all, huh? Seeing as I always write at least a 1000, and anything up to 2000 words for every post that goes out anyway, I suppose that these titles weren't designed to be written out so much. A more mixed-media effort might have rescued a few titles, but I can't be bothered taking photos: having gotten used to technology that only works when I'm as patient as is possible - a weighty effort if ever. While my laptop works much better nowadays, I still can't really be bothered. I quite enjoy having a writing blog for writing, and have actually got out of the habit of taking pictures anyway - I haven't uploaded an album onto my Facebook for ages and ages, I should really get that sorted out...I don't think there's been anything serious since Christmas? Oy. Now and again I put single pictures, such as the latest round of self-shots and the recent poster.
Only recently have I started to think seriously about blogging, as well. Well...more like writing on the whole. Having to think about moving out and finding new and permanent employment in order to actually afford to live in Truro; the Lay Vicars' remuneration is sadly less than enough to fund a flat. Things are going to get very difficult for a little while before it call gets sorted out. I can't pretend at all that I'm looking forward in any way to the tumult of having to move out for the fourth time in five year, let alone the upheaval of actually having to get a job and do some actual work...
Anyway. You'll all be pleased to hear that I'll be taking a rest (I already have since the weekend, but I thought I'd best close the whole thing off once and for all), and back at the end of the week again. Who knows what I'll have thought up by that time, as long as I've survived another of my infamous mother's visits...
Thanks for tuning in, and for your comments both sent to me up here and people who've got in touch personally. There will be a much longer hiatus in store for us once I have to move out again, but hopefully this summer will be much more fruitful than the last one was. But it's time to sign off for the last time and say farewell to the punishing madness that was Blog Every Day in May...
That's all. For now.
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