I think I figured it out.

Maybe.

The trick with blogging is – wait for it – staving off boredom.

I’ve tried a few different strategies over the years to keep this thing fresh (and by “this thing” I’m referring to the various blogs I’ve kept since 2003, not necessarily this one in particular, which has never been especially lively).  I’ve forced myself to post daily, I’ve exhorted readers for comments, I’ve focused on a particular genre, I’ve incorporated theme posts, and I’ve identified a range of causes for my inconsistent writing habits (all of which or none of which may be accurate).  Nothing has stuck.

But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get the itch to write, especially now that there’s so much perplexing stuff going on in the world – in addition to all the usual professional and personal issues I still have an odd inclination to dump into cyberspace.

So, with my newfound epiphany in mind, it’s possible that, like so many other things in my life, I’m making the blog more complicated than it has to be.

Maybe the big blogging secret is this: Write to keep myself entertained.

I know the prevailing theory is that a blog should be focused – on cats, on recipes, on movies, on 18th Century haberdashery – to generate an audience, but I’m too easily distracted to write about only one thing with any sustainable passion.  Faithful readers (hi, you two) know I kept the book review thing going for a year(ish), but there were some significant silent periods where I just couldn’t be bothered to crank out another thousand words.  So I’m hoping that engaged writer trumps scattered blog.

So: Whether you’re a friend who’s stuck around this long or you’ve somehow stumbled onto this post by accident, what can you expect from here on in?

• Reviews (movies, music, books)
• Political rants
• Personal stories
• Travel diaries
• Infrequent poetry and/or short fiction
• Cultural commentary
• Humorous* observations
• Random detritus that doesn’t fit anywhere else

Will I sustain it?  I dunno.  I mean, I know the odds aren’t in my favor.  But maybe – just maybe – if I can avoid my tendency to turn this thing into homework, it might last longer than a week and a half (but, ahem, comments from readers really help).

* may not actually be humorous

*****

Current listening:

Girls Names – Arms Around a Vision (2015)