Bad Blogger

Image courtesy of bigjom / FreeDigitalPhotos.Net

My name is Denise, and I have been a bad blogger.

(Hi, Denise.)

Nearly three months ago, I started this bloggerific journey with little idea of the time, commitment, and creativity it would require. I was just excited to find a viable use for my first novel’s rejection.

But enthusiasm is a poor substitute for a plan, given its tendency to evaporate under pressure and prompt you to chose relaxation over rewriting.

Thus too many weeks and an embarrassing number of days have passed since my last entry. And with each post-free day, I thought, “No one cares about my blog/my work/me anyway”—best way to talk yourself out of something, bar none—“so I can skip another day. No one will know the difference.”

And though I know that isn't true—You’re here, after all—a greater truth resounded.

I would know.

I did know, and every time I turned on Firefox and saw the Blogger Dashboard icon, my dreams took a hit. The guilt compounded, rendering me more reluctant to post again, and I’d wander to the left to click on Facebook.

Those snarky statuses weren’t going to Like themselves.

But last night, I had a meeting with myself, an enterprise I highly recommend.

(Sidebar: I also recommend doing so on a full, satisfied stomach. Nothing thwarts progress like the ill-timed rumblings of a neglected appetite.)

Beyond its schizophrenic implications, meeting with yourself is the best way to confront your behavior and attitudes. With no one else around to judge, you can be as honest as you dare, get to the root of your trouble, and ferret out solutions. Best of all, unanimous decisions are guaranteed.

(But if you find that isn’t the case, message me and we’ll find you the help you need. You don't have to suffer in silence.)

And based on last night’s meeting, I come before you now with a handful of vows.

I vow to post a new entry to this blog every Monday.

I vow to reflect on my week during a bonus Friday post, tentatively titled “What I’ve Learned.”

I vow to invest my time in ways befitting a writer and dreamer, passive spectator no more.

Above all, I vow to finish what I’ve started here not only for me, but in thanks and recognition of all who care about my journey. Especially you.

And I vow to start now.

These are baby steps toward my goal of posting with increased regularity en route to my bigger goal of publishing my first novel.

But were we not all babies once? And look at us now: walking, running, skipping, jumping, dancing, and prancing our way through life, the pains of those inaugural steps long since forgotten.

So let the prelude to prancing begin!