Hello Internet,
Blogging is not a skill which I have a lot of experience with. Or, rather, blogging is not something which I comes to me instinctively like storytelling does. I understand the nature of stories. I understand how they move, how they grow. I understand where to pause, where to strike, and how to get the best out of a thing. I understand the edit and the revision, but blogging is not something I like.
I dislike the transparency of blogging. I dislike how it paints an image of you in amber, a representation of who you are in that moment which might change later. My entire life, I had who I was thrown in the face of who I became. Or rather, I feared the way that your reflection of yourself is never a reflection of who you are. Even at the speed of light, the image that you see is one that has already faded, one which has already passed and died to give birth to the you that is now looking at it.
When I tell a story, I can pretend that what I am talking about isn’t me. I can explore ideas in proxy and allow myself the darkness for light to triumph against. I can explore vulnerable things without being vulnerable, and I can open old wounds without the blood soaking my hands.
This time, I am going to do something different. I have trouble keeping pace with the demands of a weekly update schedule. It is not that I lack ideas but that the ideas fade from my fingers as I type them. I never know what I mean to say and even with a plan, I fail to say what I intend. So, instead, I am going to write these blog posts like I would write a story. I have a concept, I have an outline, I have a rough draft and, right now, right this moment, I am typing up my revision.
To that end, I need a goal. When you write a story, you have a goal in mind. The characters are going here, they have these interests, and what you’re writing means this and what is said will be this. You have a roadmap of where you’re going, and while you don’t quite know what it will look like when you get there, you do have an idea of where you’re going at least.
To that end, I have a goal in mind. I have been wondering what I could do to with this blog, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I will use it as a timeline. I will use this blog to chart my growth as a writer, as a content creator, and as a person. I have about a year off of conventional work. Over the next few weeks, I have that time off without family. While I will be working as a house husband and keeping my home clean and my family fed, I will also be using that time to write as much as I possibly can to build a portfolio, a platform and to explore and stretch my creative muscles while dipping my toes into this form of writing that is so foreign to me.
It will be messy, and it will be strange, and it will be so far from my normal that it will help to keep my goal posts in mind. With that in mind, here are the types of posts which the blog will be featuring moving forward:
-Writing Updates: I will post semi-regular writing updates as I finish things or make progress. These will likely not be consistent unless I have a reason to keep them consistent.
-Writing/Freelance Writing Tips: I have made limited money freelance writing, and I am now taking the step to engaging in it at a near full time capacity for the better part of this year. The goal for me is to build a portfolio, but I will be sharing what works and what doesn’t work on here so that others can learn through me and my experiences.
-Podcasts: It is my goal to do at least audio recordings of everything I write, regardless of what it may be. The intent is to do it for accessibility reasons, but I would be lying if I said that I didn’t think it would help me build a broader platform. The point is for me to learn a variety of skills and stretch my wings, and while I’ve done podcasting before, I also know that I have a lot to learn.
-Stories: Stories will go here as I finish them. Right now, I am in something of a lull. While I will be making sure to write as often as I can, I must also be honest with myself: fiction is where I am most comfortable, so it is where I need the least effort.
-Essays: I have a number of short essays that I am writing. While I call them essays, I am attempting to put them into a less formalized structure to add humor and personality into them, and also to make them more interesting to write. This is part of the procedure that makes me nervous–part of what I am marketing is myself, and that frightens me.
-Reviews: I intend to write a number of reviews, though I am uncertain as to what those reviews will look like. Part of me is more interested in using reviews as an excuse to do a close examination of a piece of literature, making it more akin to an essay in and of itself in place of an easily scored review.
-Lessons Plans: An educator by, well, education (and experience) I still plan to keep the saw sharp, as it were. I will be creating mock ELA lesson plans, which will also be recorded as I go. While they will likely not meet specific school guidelines, they will keep me thinking creatively and attuned to that teaching mindset.
-Life Updates: These will likely be less frequent, but I do intend to give brief life updates. Most of these will, hopefully, be centered around my writing process and my success (or lack thereof). Regardless, such life update posts will appear periodically in place of other content.
Before closing this little internet letter up, I do want to address why I am doing this. While I think the writing does exist between the text (within the subtext, if you will), I find that it personally helps me to stay focused if I directly state my intentions. It is like a vision board for me, except it is more me typing something that I will likely forget within a few days, if not a few hours. Regardless, for whatever good it will do me or anyone else, here are my intentions with this little blog:
-Platform Building: As I previously mentioned, I am looking to build a platform, and I want to get that out of the way. It is my least favorite reason, and it is the part which I am more maligning, but it is also perhaps the most important piece of this puzzle. Without a platform, I can’t do this full time as a profession, which will cut heavily into what I can or cannot do as a father moving forward. If I want to be a full-time, stay-at-home dad who can be there for my kids when I need them, then I need to find a way to monetize this nonsense, and that makes this a priority.
-Time Capsules: Another benefit of posting my work on thai blog as I complete it is that I can create a timeline and chart my own growth. I can look back and see where I was, and I can compare it easily against where I am. Furthermore, everyone else can see it, too, and as a part of growing a brand or building a platform, I can use it as evidence of my growth as both a content creator and platform moderator.
At least, that is the hope.
-Time Capsules II: The Capsule-en-ing: Furthermore, having a time capsule like this means that this content will be online for quite a while (if not until the cockroach overlords take complete control of the Earth in its fiery, hot liquid iron state as Global Warming destroy the land). This means that all of the lessons I learn (or fail to learn) will be accumulated here for some strange, future species or people to find. They can learn from my mistakes, and they can grow through my successes alongside me. Heck, some of them might even find it now. You never know. Crazier things have happened.
In closing, I hope that at the very least this year to come sees a lot of writing from me, some exploration and experimentation, and learning for everyone involved. If you like what you see on here and want to support me you can make long-term contributions to my Patreon OR a one time contribution to my Ko-Fi whenever you feel like it. Furthermore, you could just read. I won’t hold it against you.
I might hold it against you.
Thanks for reading,
RWS
P.S.
-Short Rest-
Books
0. Main: Pyramids by Terry Pratchett
One Piece Vol. 81, Ch. 826: “0 and 4”—827 82% (10—11)
1. Sun: Boruto Vol. 3, Ch. 12: “A New Mission!!”-11 100% (4–4)
2. Mon: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Vol. 1, Ch. 7: “Spirits of the Deceased”-7 86% (7–7)
3. Tue: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 3: Stardust Crusaders Vol. 1, Ch. 5: “Noriaki Kakyoin part 2”-13 30% (5–13)
4. Wed: My Hero Academia Vol. 8, No. 71: “Kota”-71 89% (9–9)
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Vol. 4, Ch. 19: “Family”-26 0% (1–8)
5. Thu: One-Punch Man Vol. 9, Punch 43.1: “Accelerate”-46.1 18% (5–11)
6. Fri: Ruroni Kenshin Vol. 6, Act 46: “Extra: Sanosuke & Nishiki Paintings (2)”-47 75% (7–8)
7. Sat: (Fan Fiction) Final Fantasy: Fated bytinygaia Ch. 74% (38—50)
8. Squirrel: One Piece Vol. 17 Ch. 148—155
Reading Order:
-Fiction: Pyramids by Terry Pratchett 100%
-Library: Trans Medicine: The Emergence and Practice of Treating Gender by Stef M. Shuster 68% (125–183)
-YA: The Giver by Lois Lowry ?% (?–?)
-DnD5e: Player’s Handbook by Wizards of the Coast 0% (0–?)
-Non-Fiction: Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat 0% (0–?)
View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman 26% (130–502)
-Reread:
Games
0. Main: Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy IX
Chrono Cross: Radical Dreamer Edition
.hack//MUTATION
1. Sun1: Final Fantasy X-2 HD Remaster 15% (8/52hrs)
Tales of Legendia
2. Mon: Kingdom Hearts RE: Coded 12% (3/26hrs)
3. Tue: DnD5e
4. Wed: Dragon Age: Origins Kallian Tabris 14% (10/74hrs)
5. Thu: Movie
6. Fri: .hack//MUTATION 22% (23/50hrs(5/23hrs))
Bioshock 2
Bioshock: Infinite
7. Sat: Xenogears 9% (6/66hrs)
8. Freeplay: One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 0% (0/35hrs)
Shows
0. Main: Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 6
1. Critical Role: Campaign 2: “Hell and High Water” 96% (136—141)
2. Anime: Dragon Ball The General Blue Saga 83% 56—57 (11—12)
3. Owned: RWBY Trailers 25% (2–4)
4. Netflix: Moving Pictures Season 3 17% (2—6)
Seven Deadly Sins Season 1 4% (2–24)
5. Disney+: Star Wars: Visions 56% (6–9)
6. HBO: Batman 42% (13–31)
7. Critical Role Campaign 2 12—17 65%
Moon Knight 17% (2–6)
Movies: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Firefly 14% (3—14)
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