Monday Morning Blogging in the Happy Chair
Monday morning! It’s back to the writing life in my Happy Chair, with the front door open and loads of daylight in the room. It hasn’t happened often enough during the endless slog of unreasonably hot humid weather this summer: a morning temperate enough to open the east-facing front door and simply enjoy the sunshine streaming into the dining room while I write. I sit at the table in one of the four hard chairs, the one that lets me look directly out the door and by unplanned coincidence have a view of the street romantically framed by part of the covered porch and the front garden. In fact I’ve just now deleted a rambling description of said porch and garden, complete with the above view of the dove on a garden rock, because it was veering completely off the topic of writing.
(Writerly note: there’s a big clock on the wall to keep me on task for two two-hour writing stints. Chair, table, laptop, coffee. Okay, I’ve just added a cushion to the chair because my butt was frickin killing me.)
This writing stuff is a love-hate relationship but the love is stronger than the hate as long as I am writing about what I care about. I am in awe of people who can write with complete detachment or who can set up a formula for topic, structure, title or headline, and crank out the content day after day–and still sound like they care. A lot of them make a living doing this, and personally I think they deserve every penny they get, because I wouldn’t have the self-discipline to do that if my life depended on it. Or, rather, my brain wouldn’t have the self-discipline. I’ve been known to work and work and work with great stamina, but when confronted with day-in day-out formulaic content writing, my brain rebels like crazy.
But I have to write. I mean, I am compelled to write, whether I earn money at it or not, whether anyone reads it or not. One of the things which pleases me is the extent to which I stay at least loosely on topic in this blog, but perhaps that is because the blog’s topic is broad enough to contain my ping-pong brain, and is more personal than commercial in nature. Unlike a lot of writers on the topics of minimalism and uncluttering, I rarely write how-to posts, or list posts, but that is by choice, as opposed to lack of focus. It is a detrimental choice on one hand, because it is not likely to snag the quick-fix readership and build my traffic numbers, but on the other hand the readers I do get are keepers.
There have been quite a few posts in the recent blogosphere about whether minimalism is a fad, if there are too many writers trying to cash in on it, and if it is a topic which is quickly exhausting itself. To be honest, I do not know. I only know that I am actually on this path, that it has deeply impacted how I look at life, the universe, and everything, and that I write from that impacted point of view. Thus I write what I care about and no formula is needed.
So I ask you this: do you follow a formula for your writing? Do you get exasperated with the kind of posts I write? Do you think the topic of minimalism is getting burned out? Post your comment, I would love to know what you think.
22 Responses to “Monday Morning Blogging in the Happy Chair”
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I’ve had to follow strict formulas for content writing, and when that happens, writing feels pretty much like any other job. I’ll use a template of sorts when I’m trying to work up a batch of drafts in one sitting, but the work tends to veer off in all directions during the revision process.
As for minimalism, I think the conversation is just beginning. Yes there are some who will touch on it just for attention or profit’s sake, but so many folks still haven’t even dipped their toes into the pool of this lifestyle yet. As they do, they’ll have insights and experiences to share. And that’s a good thing!
Jean Sarauer recently posted..How to Find Blog Post Inspiration
Hi Jean–you may follow formulas and templates to a certain extent, but you are nonetheless one of the most convincing writers out there. I read your stuff and it’s like having my writing batteries recharged
A lot of it has to do with your having such a distinctive voice along with a very clear purpose, and nothing’s gonna squelch that!
Agree totally about the minimalism conversation just beginning. Minimalism and its relationship to ecology is going to become an increasingly powerful topic, I think. Thanks so much for commenting!
hi meg,
my formula for writing is whatever pops into my head. tah dah. the problem with the kinds of posts that i like to write is that i include actual pictures of my life to go with the writing. this makes posting doubly hard because photography is a skill i’m just learning. so it slows my posts down.
i do not get exasperated by your posts. quite the contrary. i’m inspired by your words.
as far as minimalism goes, i think it’s an extension of the simplicity movement. it seems natural to me. my life/blog is really about living a simpler life but i can see that now that i’ve been on this path for a while, minimalism seems to be the next step. i’ve never considered myself a minimalist but i’m beginning to be drawn in that direction. i want less and less stuff around me and am able to let go of things i never thought i would be able to.
~janet
Hey, Janet that is exactly how I started writing this particular blog, via the whatever pops into my head method. After a while I got a little more focused and clarified my intent, but am far from being able to set myself a workable formula in order to save myself a lot of writing time and grief.
Photography is my bugaboo. It got a little better when I upgraded my camera a few months ago, but most of the time I just yell, “Steeeeeeeeeve, I need a pic of this.”
I find that if I don’t write solely for myself, I never write.
That’s got to be the core of writing, for certain. But do you have an audience in mind?
I know I started writing exclusively for myself, but after getting some responses, the awareness of readers started taking shape.
Like in this blog post, for instance, I know I’m stirring something…;D
I like the formula/style you write in because it’s personal and therefore relatable – even if it’s something I haven’t directly experienced.
As far as minimalism and being burned out – I don’t think it’s a fad. I DO think it’s something that’s trendy and I believe the trend will eventually die down but I do think it’s here to stay.
Mainly because I think the economic trouble has woken a lot of people up about what’s necessary and what’s not.
Reggie recently posted..Is Minimalism Geared Towards Women
I like what you say about the trendiness dying out but the principle remaining, especially since the current economic downturn has forced a lot of us to look on the bright side and embrace it.
Formula is not the same as style, but it could be argued that the personal style is a formula. Does that make sense?
Definitely makes sense. I think that’s what I was going for, your personal formula = style lol.
Reggie recently posted..Creating Significant Positive Change
Simplicity and minimalism isn’t new; it’s been around for a LONG time in the last century. The new trend is just another growth spurt. I myself am happy to see its resurgence. Now I don’t look and act ‘weird’.
I teach writing to 4-6 grade homeschool students. In the curriculum I use very structured formats. Because of that, I’ve found that my own writing has improved dramatically. Once one has mastered the ‘formula’, one can take liberties with the structure and form (ala Hemingway or James Joyce), but until then, it’s important to learn the structure of writing in the English language.
On my blog , I use a lot of photos so working within the perameters of the pictures can make writing more difficult.
There was the stuff called Rhetorical Modes–is that the kind of thing you are talking about, but on a pre-collegiate level? I hated them. Had to teach them once upon a time (I’ve got a dusty MA in English, hard as that is to believe). I know they are useful for talking about the framework of a piece of writing, but as soon as I sit down to write within their parameters, I’m like a cat facing a flea dip. Too many undisciplined years of journaling really show. :}
As a way of compensating, I just let ‘er rip for a while, then start removing chunks of what I’ve written in order to make at least one coherent point, and if I am lucky, some supplemental points get to tag along if they’re not in the way of the first point. I guess that is a formula, of sorts. (There, I just made myself feel better.)
I married my camera(man). This is fortunate for all involved. You bloggers who are doing their own photos really amaze me!
Meg, I teach a program curriculum (private, not state required) called Institute for Excellence in Writing. The program was developed by a teacher in Canada and is now used there and in some public and private schools in the US (and Australia). I think it’s the best writing program I’ve even seen or used. (No, I don’t get any $ for saying that.) My focus is teaching homeschool kids and it’s so much fun to see them develop a love of writing, even the ones who come to class reluctant and afraid. I guess the best way to describe the curriculum is that we use models to give structure and allow the creativity of the writer to develop (freedom within boundaries?).
That sounds intriguing and a lot less scary or boring than some of the things I remember. It sounds like you really enjoy it, too, which is a bonus
Hi Meg,
you read my blog and I am sure you can tell that I wouldn’t have a clue about writing formulars. I just write whatever comes into my head. I like to think I have the guts to put it out there and be willing to take the circumstances if it is not well received. I agree with you though it can be quite a struggle to get something out, some days more than others. I usually love what you have to say and you have a sense of humour with it so keep doing what you are doing and I’ll keep reading.
As for minimalism, I hope it stops being a trend and becomes the norm for everyone. The more it catches on the better I like it. Surely as nations we can come up with a better formular for economic success than
constantly producing environmently unfriendly products that have no real necessity.
Colleen recently posted..Day 236 Digging in the archives
Colleen, that’s just it, surely there’s a better way than how nations have handled the earth’s resources so far. I am becoming increasingly aware of my tiny role in the larger role of my country’s abuse of the planet and its less-privileged people. I can’t stop it by myself but I can modify my behavior and try to raise the collective conscience by example and in word.
Do you think the USA and Australia share this problem or is it worse over here? My DH says the buy buy buy mentality just doesn’t have the cultural support in Europe as it does here, so I wondered about Australia.
Beautifully written, Meg! You held my attention from start to finish!
I’m a lot like you in that I feel like I could never write on auto-pilot and still make it sound like I care. If my writing doesn’t come from the heart, it doesn’t come at all! That’s one of the reasons why I’ve found it nearly impossible to write several posts ahead of time and then schedule them in advance.
My only formula for writing is to tell an interesting story and convey what that story taught me or what perspectives it gave me.
As for minimalism, I think it’s here to stay. Minimalism and sustainability are closely related and as abundance in this world continues to grow (in all forms: knowledge, people, wealth, ideas, voices, etc.), a minimalist approach to things will be the only way to prevent such abundance from getting out of hand.
But I don’t that minimalism means a reduction in progress or abundance. I think it’s a means for managing abundance… for creating Sustainable Abundance.
Wow, Raam, thanks for the compliment! I like the way you put things in that last paragraph, “managing abundance” and “Sustainable Abundance.” This is what I’ve been thinking, about the growing awareness between what we consume and its REAL impact on not only the ecology but world economies.
If there’s anyone that writes from the heart, it’s you!
I thought I had a writing formula, but it turns out I don’t. I did decide from the get go that I would post three X per week and haven’t missed a day yet. Some of my posts are shorter than others, but often, I don’t feel like I need extra words to get the point across.
Typically, I start three or four posts each weekend and two get my attention and round out to be important information. I revisit the other two as the week goes on. Sometimes one steps up and other times, I wake up with an idea that is screaming to be posted that day.
I almost always title the post, write it and then rename it. (that’s a silly formula!)
In terms of minimalism becoming trendy – I love it. I think it will make everyone healthier and happier!
Courtney Carver recently posted..Being Busy is Not That Important
Hi Courtney–you’re way more organized than I am, as you actually have some ideas written down in advance! But I recognize the ideas screaming to be posted the same day, that’s more what I experience. Another similarity we have is doing the title then re-titling after writing the post. But I love it. I can tell you love your writing life, too
Meg,
I found you from your comment on GoodLifeZen. Your writing style is so delightful you just pulled me right over here for more. As did your fun and happy title for this post in the comment luv… I want, oh wait, I already have — a happy chair too! Love it!
Anyway, I’m a new blogger and I guess I have a structure of sorts. But my problem is that all my posts are so long! I think of an idea that is clearly a short post and before you know it (actually, hours later) there’s a huge long thing that is obviously written by a former engineer. Yuk! But I do love it and intend to stick with it (and the A-List Blogger Club) for as long as it takes to get it, well, happier!
As for simplicity, I live a very simple and frugal life, yet I devour good content about it as there are always those nooks and crannies that don’t ever see the light of day, you know?
Keep up the beautiful work. You lift my spirits.
Patti Foy recently posted..How to Change Your Life While You Clean Your House
Wow, Patti–thanks for the upbeat comment! I think you’re lucky to be able to write long posts easily–I can do short ones, but the long ones can take me all day :}
Thanks so much for stopping by and giving me a chance to check out your amazingly cheerful blog, too.