I am just getting started.
Last week marked 52 blogs. Today we turn the calendar to the next 52. If you’re a loyal reader, thank you. If you are a dis-loyal one, then boo on you.
I am asked all the time about what inspired me to start writing a blog and how I come up with a fresh topic every week?
The answer to the first of those questions is that my wife, Karen, and our daughter, Tracy, conspired to get me going. You’d be a great blogger. People will be fighting each other to see what you write. That’s all it took, just a little appeal to my outsized ego.
Then came some sage advice from the two of them. Don’t get all hung up on serious stuff. Make it a quick read. Stay far away from politics. Don’t write about our immediate past President. Have some fun. Keep it light.
At that point, the ball was in my court. Hmmmm. How often should I blog? Right from the outset, it was going to be once a week. What day of the week should my blog be posted? I said no to Monday. Everybody’s got too much to do to pay attention on a Monday. I skipped a day and went to Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. None of those work. All my potential readers start preparing for the weekend on Wednesday and really crank it up the last two days. So, Tuesday was the only choice left - and that’s how I made it.
Now, as to subject matter. I insisted from the outset that I have a bank of 10 finished blogs before we would post one. I wanted to get in the rhythm and make sure I could sustain the pace and the pressure I knew was just around the corner. The immediate chore was to establish a list of potential topics. I came up with 304. Yes, 304. I selected 10 of what you might call low hanging fruit and was off to the races.
After subtracting a few that weren’t on the original 304 list, I still have more than 250 ideas in the bank. And, of course, I slip new ideas in all the time. What this means is that you will continue to be bombarded with fresh new blogs for a long time to come assuming the Good Lord sees my blogs as a contribution to a better world and keeps me around to write them. It’s really important to have a big inventory. Bloggers never know when they’ll hit writer’s block.
It’s been a lot of fun. Tracy is my editor, art director and overall technology consultant. Every blogger needs a second set of eyes, and the role of content critic is assigned to Karen. She slipped right into that because she’s had lots of practice criticizing me for 60 years.
I’ve made some new friends. I don’t think my blog has cost me any old friends. Some former reader reminded me recently, Davis, at your age, all your friends are old friends. I don’t need that kind of friend (or reader).
Hard to believe, but I’ve now been doing this for a year. I’ve had a ton of fun cranking out these blogs. Most have been lighthearted. I hope you’ve had a laugh or two. Share them as you wish. Anger is everywhere these days. We all need to step back and chill out. Stand down and enjoy. Our world will be a lot better if we stop taking ourselves so seriously. Smile.
Cheers. Happy reading. See you again next Tuesday with breaking news from the blogosphere.
Thanks for reading my stuff.
DY: In Just a Few Words is a blog that comes out when something needs to be said or every Tuesday - whichever comes first. Davis Young is a communications professional who adds 50+ years of experience and perspective to issues of the day. His emphasis in DY: In Just a Few Words will be humor (a touch of sarcasm here, a pinch of facetiousness there...). Once in a while, he will touch on something a bit more serious - but hopefully not too deep or depressing.
This blog is a product of DY Author & Speaker LLC. Feel free to quote content with attribution. Respond. Agree. Disagree. Share the content with your friends. Heck - even invite him as a speaker for your group! Enjoy!
Comments