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Image Credit: Background Plumeria by Jade Moon

I keep getting the urge to yell ‘I am Back‘ on my blog and I really could not let this entire month go by without posting anything. So, at the far end of the month, rather than the brand new beginning of a new month or even a new week, I am trying to make some sense while writing this.

I have been away for some time and I had the usual reasons. I didn’t know what to write, I was busy, I wanted to shake up things but did not know exactly how. I wanted to start the year on a good foot, with an elaborate plan for the blog, planning out content with editorial calenders, posting a number of things, a judicious mix of the serious and the light hearted, the long and short.

But I never got around to making those plans and really, even after all these years blogging, I work more by the seat of my pants, blogging while feeling inspired or intensely emotional or wonderfully elated.

And all this inactivity has led to a deeper disquiet, more than a mere lethargy. It is a sense of boredom, of apathy, or an ennui. Of course, life gets in the way of writing and just too frequently for my liking.

I started the year by having monthly writing goals. No surprises and because there has been nothing posted here, it is safe to assume that I did not meet those goals. They need to be refined for month 2 of the year. I am also getting back to writing by hand, as opposed to be always typing on some keyboard or some screen and got two journals, plain white sheets with colour coded sections. However much I like them, the inertia kicked in and my first few days of the shift was characterised by staring at them in dread.

The stress of the shift to pen and paper, coupled with low productivity nearly led me to binge eating but I reigned myself in, just in time. Now, I am experimenting with healthy meals, which are sometimes so bland and uninteresting that binge eating is impossible.

I am still reading though, many books and yes, here too I should step out of my comfort zone. Perhaps I should read fantasy or sci fi. I am still writing the reviews so that is some writing I am doing, even though I am posting them elsewhere.

I am also wondering if I am a writer and this quote made me sure that I am.

“A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” -Thomas Mann

I think a change of scenery would be good. I have been traveling and had a good change. On the blog, I need to change the theme and the layout and some change in content.

I am also dipping my toes in social media. I joined Twitter and am loving the brevity and the wit and the sarcasm. It’s a great tool for getting more eyeballs but I am still taking baby steps.

Any tips and tricks for Twitter that you could suggest? (@Writenlive1)

Coming back to the original question, what should I write about? I hope to sort this out soon.

I welcome your suggestions.

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23 thoughts on “What I have been doing…”

  1. “I had the usual reasons. I didn’t know what to write, I was busy…”

    Would you like to tell us what you were busy with? That could take many blog posts. I love reading blogs where people talk about their own lives now and then.

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    1. Thanks for the idea of churning out posts that talk about ‘me’. I have been trying to get rid of the ‘I’ in my writing altogether but I guess there’s no running from self 😀

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  2. I have some posts about social events going on campus. Maybe talk about things going on in your everyday life. Or try to find another way to talk about posts: maybe in the form of a letter or poem or something like that: just in a different way.

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  3. Maybe start with your photography posts, the series you used to submit pics to.
    As people have already mentioned above, writing about your life can take up a few posts.
    Even in this post, you’ve brought out the tone of your break (frustration and perplexity?) quite well.

    All the best for month two, and your writing goals.

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    1. Ah yes, the pics that I am not clicking these days. I must get back to clicking more and posting them.

      Many people have told me that I should do a few personal posts. Let’s hope I can do that well.

      Thanks for the wishes on my monthly writing goals. I am trying to tweak the rules a little this time.

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  4. Well, I surely must be a writer, as writing is often quite difficult for me! It drives me crazy when I fall into an unproductive period of writer’s block. I’ve come to the realization that it’s tied to my occasional bouts of depression, which I just have to work through.

    I’ve followed you on Twitter.

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    1. When you write, your words have a rhythm and a flow of their own. You are very evocative, when talking of music.

      I guess, a block is the harsh reality of a writer’s life. I get it even when I rejoice in life.

      I too would get very melancholic and unproductive and then I learnt to understand myself and my depression triggers well. That helped in ‘mood management’.

      Thanks for the follow on Twitter! I followed you back. Now, perhaps, you can also tell me how to get the best out of Twitter 🙂

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      1. Thanks for following me too. Twitter is what you make it. I think the most important thing to do is engage as much as possible with your followers and those you follow. I’ve made many friends through Twitter, and am now part of a few communities (which is wonderful but also a pain at times, as the Twitter conversation threads can get out of hand). I am astounded that in only 2 1/2 years, I’ve amassed 8500 followers! And yet, unless I tag people, my tweets receive very few likes. Quite frankly, many of my followers are musicians and bands who hope I will give them some exposure or promotion. I certainly do my best, as you’ve seen some of my reviews on my blog.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Your follower count is really impressive and it speaks about your efforts at engagement and the content you put out there.

        I am learning to post the links to my blog posts and tweet about books and writing. And retweeting the tweets that are thought provoking.

        Thanks for your insights into the world of Twitter 🙂

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  5. You are not alone — I can relate! I had these grand plans to write a “new year’s goals” post, like so many others out there that I read. Well, turns out I’m not even organized to do that, ouch! Oh, well. I did manage to come up with some writing goals and organize myself a bit more so we’ll see. Good luck with your writing, in whatever forms it takes!

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    1. Thanks so much for commiserating 😀

      I am glad you organise your writing along monthly goals. I too am trying to do that. So, fewer blog posts does not mean less writing.

      Good luck to you as well!!

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      1. I keep meaning to do more blog posts, but then I think, what am I going to *not* do in order to do more of those? So I do the same or fewer blog posts, and try to keep up with higher priority things, like writing that I hope to publish.

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  6. Much of it was like reading my own experience. Resolves, ennui, procrastination, despair, impulse. Switching to pen and paper. There is much sense in Thomas Mann’s quote. A true writer writes with the knowledge that his/her work has to meet many eyes, travel far, flow in many skies.

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