About twenty miles into a marathon, runners hit what the call The Wall. The body runs out of fuel and it must begin burning body fat to continue. Runners get an extreme sense of fatigue and struggle to continue. Or so I’ve heard. I’ve never run a marathon.Twenty days into NaBloPoMo, I’m running out of fuel. Normally I have three or four blog post ideas running around my head. Right now I have one idea for Thanksgiving Day and a meme I’m holding in reserve for when I’m flat out mentally bankrupt.
The difference between blogging four times a week and every day is enormous. I’m constantly preparing a blog entry or thinking about the next one. I have about three hours a day that are mine. One in the morning before work and two in the evening once dinner is cooked and other chores are done. Since a really good blog entry takes me up to two hours to research, write, and edit, that is cutting it thin. Here is what has suffered while I’ve been running this virtual marathon.
Reading. I’m not even half way through the one book I’m trying to read this month, and while it’s physically heavy, the reading isn’t that difficult. It’s just that after a chapter or two, the eyes can’t stay open.
Television. I’m not getting the full benefit of my new DVR because I don’t get time to catch up on the recordings. This weekend I plowed through the backlog of 30 Rock and How I Met Your Mother but I still have three weeks of The Office and My Name Is Earl to go through. I figure the writer’s strike is going to give me plenty of time to catch up.
Dog Walking. As my dog gets older, he becomes more and more reluctant to take long walks in the morning. On weekends, we still make it to the site of the bread dump, but on weekdays, it’s a quick jaunt around the block. Especially if it’s rainy of extra cold.
Newspaper Reading. If I’m almost done with a post in the morning, rather than saving a draft and working on it later, I take my breakfast downstairs and rush it out before I have to leave for work. This cuts out the time I have for the front page and the editorials. Some days I don’t even finish the comics. Horrors.
Other Blogs. I feel I'm giving the blogs in my blogroll short shrift. Especially the ones that also post every day. Sometimes I find three or four new posts and even though I would have something witty to say on the older ones, I feel the moment has passed. I haven't even updated my blogroll to the new Masters of Gilligan page.
Romantic Activity. This blog stops at the bedroom door. I’m no Mitch McDad. However, proximity is 90% of seduction. If I’m downstairs in basement tapping out a draft of the next day’s blog and my wife is upstairs reading trashy romance novels, there have to be some missed opportunities happening.
So why am I doing it? To prove I can. But that is the topic for Post 30. I’ve got to pace myself if I’m going to make it to the end.
BlatantCommentWhoring™: I need ideas. Give me some.
15 comments:
It's already all over the blogosphere, but it is probably incumbent on you to at least comment:
Norman Mailer's literary executor has dubbed Kurt Vonnegut the "American Mark Twain."
Story here
Huh. Wasn't ... wasn't Mark Twain the American Mark Twain?
Or as Fark out it: Who was the British Charles Dickens?
Last year, when I did this and was stuck, I'd throw a song up on the site, or a picture, and invite comments. Sometimes, one sentence about the strain of daily writing would do it too.
Good luck!
Hang in there, you can do it.
I'm keeping all my ideas to myself. (Since all my ideas involve yarn in a very serious and passionate way, you are probably saying to yourself, 'good thing')
dr
OK. Let's clear something up. You may have noticed that I have not bitched about my sex life in quite a while. Reason? It has become quite decent in recent weeks. Thank you very much.
As for ideas. My brother wants me to write about his recent colon cleaning kick. Since i have not written about it yet--have at it.
Happy t-day!
~M
I know what you mean about running out of steam... tough, ain't it?
This is a somewhat pedestrian idea, but whenever I read blogs from people who live in different cities (esp ones I've never been to and have heard some not-great-things about), I'm always interested in hearing about why they chose to live there and what they like or don't like about it. I know you've written about Baltimore before, but I don't know if you've put it all together in one place.
Hmmm, this gives me an idea for my own NaBloPoMo blog entry...
I don't think I could go back to posting daily. I run out of brain matter by thursday.
I think for the last ten days you write a short post, daily, telling your wife why she rocks your boat.
I really enjoyed reading about how you started dating your wife (believe it was up several months ago). I am getting ready to have a baby - it's a boy. What was it like having your son? How did that change your life? And are you fearing empty nest syndrome? Maybe not something you would like to blog about . . . but, something I would like to read about.
Haven't you got some weird family members you can blog about? Better yet, in-laws? Or a secret love of something odd, say like aerosol cheese food, or used motor oil, or gold-toe socks? There must be something.
I love dogs, so it'd be fun to hear more about your!
No way, not this guy. You couldn't pay me to try to write every day.
Unless of course it was my job. Then I would expect a HUGE salary.
You could always go the "Guest Kit" route like some people.
Thanks for all the great ideas. I will use a lot of them, if not this month, eventually.
d-x,
I saw a similar story a few days ago but I didn't want to piss on the grave of Mailer so soon. It is an interesting topic.
charlotte,
I have some thoughts along those lines. Don't know when I'll do it though.
utbm,
That would only work if she actually read my blog. I prefer to tell her personally under more intimate circumstances.
tbg,
Do you think Joel would write me one if I asked real nice.
We're in the home stretch of November - only 7 more posting days remaining - so it's fair to fall back upon certain ideas I call "gimme" posts. How many have I done this month?
Well, there's the List of Something or Other post (in my case, 2007 CDs bought from July through September). There's the Cute Pet Picture post. There's the Blatantly Stolen from Josh commenting on cartoons post. There's the Reproducing Inane Remarks You Made in Someone Else's Comments Area post. There's the Talking About Sports For God's Sake When You're Not Really a Sports Fan post. There's the Find Picture of Hot, Famous Woman and Drool Over Her post. There's the Random Thoughts About Some Song You Just Heard post. That's seven. Good luck!
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