tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post6615801077978555663..comments2024-03-28T10:18:05.213+00:00Comments on Inventory Full: What's My Motivation? BlaugustBhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-68173286232559959102019-08-26T17:41:34.998+01:002019-08-26T17:41:34.998+01:00In the 90s I was fortunate enough to have a job wh...In the 90s I was fortunate enough to have a job where I spent all day at a desk waiting to answer the phone. Some days it didn't ring all that much. I wrote all my apazine pieces at work and what's more I used the office photocopier to produce 30 copies of two or three eight or twelve page issues (One apazien wasn't enough). I was basically being paid to do my own stuff - I didn't even have to pretend I wasn't doing it.<br /><br />For the last decade and a half, though, my work has mostly involved walking abut and talking to people (and a lot of other physical stuff). Opportunities for writing - or even reading - blog posts don't exist, more's the pity!Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-27318041895808773042019-08-26T17:35:50.465+01:002019-08-26T17:35:50.465+01:00Health going well at the moment, thanks! Fingers c...Health going well at the moment, thanks! Fingers crossed!<br /><br />Blogging probably should be part of a healthy creative diet - just as much as you need and no more. Maybe a little extra on special occasions. You seem to be keeping your hand in, to mix metaphors. <br /><br />Come to think of it, hand in what? I like cliches but not when I don't understand the full lcontext.Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-92088164720849633612019-08-26T17:28:20.776+01:002019-08-26T17:28:20.776+01:00I do think the writer's "voice" is v...I do think the writer's "voice" is very important. For fiction it's crucial. In the context of blogging, though, I think it tends to be something that emerges naturally over time if you just keep writing. If you focus on it too much you risk false notes slipping in. It's like trying too hard in sports - sometimes sitting back a little lets your natural talent come through. <br /><br />For what it's worth, I find your "voice" very distinctive and recognizeable. Whether it's the voice you want to be using, though, only you would know!<br /><br />I must read some Brandon Sanderson. I've had him recommended to me by several people. I need something new to get stuck into, too.Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-77618398761431594202019-08-26T17:20:41.638+01:002019-08-26T17:20:41.638+01:00It's funny to me that you say you write more a...It's funny to me that you say you write more at home than at work. Most of my blogging life I've written a *lot* more at work than at home. I would keep a text file open all day and add to it when I was bored or unoccupied. When I got home that was when it was time to play the games and stuff!UltrViolethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05336027624904067182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-69341869784013986432019-08-26T16:27:16.879+01:002019-08-26T16:27:16.879+01:00Hope the health journey is going well. Good luck w...Hope the health journey is going well. Good luck with it all! Luck is a strange thing to say there, but well, it often feels that way. I have been there.<br /><br />I'm in a massive down-blogging phase, but not sad or stressed about it. I do feel out of the loop a bit but still are checking and reading other blogs near daily. It happened when I went away and disconnected from the interwebs (for the most part) and am now just playing a quasi catch up. Iseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09489936780809266112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-76818272407041974612019-08-26T15:54:30.718+01:002019-08-26T15:54:30.718+01:00I think of you as the Brandon Sanderson of Blaugus...I think of you as the Brandon Sanderson of Blaugust 2019, Bhagpuss. You're equally prolific without sacrifice in quality. This particular post a case in point!<br /><br />The only thing I disagree with in this, is:<br />"Writers often talk about the importance of "finding your voice". Yes, maybe, if your goal is to win the Man Booker. Otherwise, you already have a voice. Just let us hear it."<br /><br />But perhaps this is because, right or wrong, I feel like I lost mine in the intervening years between blogs. If nothing else it is different now, and in many respects I like the old one better.<br /><br />...Maybe. If it was a FB relationship status, it'd definitely be 'It's complicated'.<br /><br />I read a few of the posts on Life On A Bridge, and this is a classic example of having a fantastic writer's voice. Yours is different -- but also very present. I think I could identify a piece of your writing out of a crowd of our peers, for example.<br /><br />It's something I try not to dwell on too much, but I do. At this stage it's become clear it isn't just a matter of shaking the rust off. It's going to be a concerted, practiced effort to get to a place I want to be in this respect.<br /><br />And that's fine! I love learning stuff -- the problem is generally reigning this in to actually focus on just one or two things at any given moment.Naithinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02830174305806727004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-77238443546475444422019-08-26T15:15:11.082+01:002019-08-26T15:15:11.082+01:00It's the equivalent of picking up a guitar or ...It's the equivalent of picking up a guitar or sitting down at a keyboard and noodling. Do it long enough and a tune will emerge - and it might evenbe a good one.Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-62294788611464154652019-08-26T14:26:32.303+01:002019-08-26T14:26:32.303+01:00"Final tip: if you're stuck for ideas, ju..."Final tip: if you're stuck for ideas, just bang something out."<br /><br />Some long and interesting posts have developed for me from just attempting to frame and idea and bang out what I think will be a paragraph or two about it.Wilhelm Arcturushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07033496821708933394noreply@blogger.com