The Trendsetter

I have to admit. I procrastinate. My manuscript has been sitting for weeks now, waiting for me to continue writing. Not only that but I’m also far behind in updating my blog. And I blame this latest gadget I just acquired for my procrastination… The AlpaSmart word processor.

I’ve been dreaming of sitting and writing in the park this coming summer. I hated my notebook computer because there are so many games on it and I usually end up playing them when bored or ehem… an excuse to procrastinate. Then I also hate the battery for it can’t hold power much longer when I need it.

So I got myself an AlphaSmart. I wanted the older version, the one that has nothing in it but just a word processor. And when I got it, we’re inseparable. Ideas for story suddenly poured out of me from nowhere. I was like a mad writer, capturing all those story elements into this little device. Any anecdotes I got, I recorded into my AlphaSmart.

Then days went by so fast, I realize I have to return to my manuscript, or else scrap it all together and start over again. Nah…I still have plenty of time. I need to make a cute case for my new-found friend. So, I designed a small bag for the AlphaSmart so I can carry it wherever I want.

Now what?

The guilt to return to continue with my latest manuscript is unbearable, I grudgingly agreed. Luckily it’s still in its infancy stage. What I didn’t know was all the story elements I wrote in this cute little gadget had helped me to plot my manuscript in a better way. When I noticed it, my excitement returned and I’m back into the loop!

And I thought I wasted my time toying with this thing.

Happy writing!

Wow!

Time flies so fast. I just realized I have been blogging for almost a year now! Well, I started back in August and it is June now. There are two more months before the first anniversary of being a blogger for The Trendsetter.

While blogging mostly about writing, I admit I’ve neglected the technical side of blogging - yet again.

Sigh…

Well, I’m just lazy to update my blog template or even spruce it up a little bit until I want to display the printable version of each of my individual posts and print it. When I “print preview” one of my posts it just doesn’t look good.
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Can you smell or feel it? There is something in the air! Yes! The spring is in the air! Or am I just imagining it because the winter is too long, too cold and too much snow? Well, at least here in New England, it is. One thing for sure though, the days are starting to get noticeably longer, yippee!!

Okay, back to my blog. I was a total crap. I can’t get my blog going consistently. It is my fault. I know. Being someone else in my day job and writing mostly technical and analytical and then switching it into the creative writing mode in a matter of minutes totally wreck my brain. It’s hard and my creative side just dies no matter how hard I try to continue to write. Has this happened to you too? At least I am not the only one.

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If you have started to write your manuscript I believe you write everyday? I do. I am trying to complete my manuscript as fast as I can. I have all the outlines done to get the plot moving scene-by-scene. Now with the little time I have consumed writing the manuscript, it seems I am not producing it fast enough. I find the characters are begging to be written.

The prolific writer will write everyday up to 2,000 words. If your novel is about 100,000 words, it will take you about 50 days to complete. I would love to be able to do that.

So, I have to make the decision that blogging is become secondary.

I will resume to blog daily when I complete the first draft of my manuscript. In the meantime, I will be organizing the articles I have written so far into a somewhat presentable format for the first timer who visits my blog.

Do you enjoy blogging? Or has it become like a burden since you are so busy with your other priorities that your focus on creating high quality content gets difficult? If you are in this predicament, you are not alone. Blogging comes with responsibility and you should be aware of it from the very start.

I am a newbie when it comes to blogging, yet I already feel overwhelmed by the responsibility of owning a blog. I write everyday and I strive for high quality content.

So what do you do? How are you going to make sure that you are able to produce the best content possible and at the same time tended to your other priorities?
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