My Brain Is a Blog

      This post contains several clues.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, read through the post keeping in mind that there are clues and I will explain more near the end of this post.

Think (Photo credits: www.mysafetysign.com)

My Brain is a Blog

        Maybe I should be afraid.  Things have changed for me over the past four years in the way my mind works.  It might not be a totally bad thing.  You might call it a form of mental organization.  Or perhaps I merely have a different sort of perception than I used to have.  Then again it might be a cause of concern.  But I will explain and you can give me your opinions.

       I think in terms of blogs.   Everywhere I look, everything I read, hear, or see becomes a blog post in my head.   My mental life is a series of blog posts.   Ideas for new blog posts assault me from all sides.  Not only on my desk, but in other places throughout my house I have newspaper clippings, magazine issues, scribbled notes, and books that contain ideas for things I want to blog about.

        At times when I'm at my computer and think up a new idea for a post, I'll go to one of my blogs and add another outline for a future blog post to the line-up of  other blog posts waiting to be written or others waiting to be posted.  Yes, I said one of my blogs.  I have more than one in case you haven't noticed.

         You see, a couple years back I decided to scale back from seven days to only three days.  That's right--when I started blogging I was posting daily.  I even had blog posts going up on the Sabbath.  I decided I was blogging too much.

         Yet the ideas kept flooding my head so I came to the conclusion that six days on four blogs might make things better.  In a way my blogging life became less hectic--or so it seemed.  I suppose it was an illusion.  I wasn't necessarily blogging less, but I was dividing my blogs into separate compartments of my brain.  More ideas flooding my head.  More new blog posts to come up with.

        Have I lost my mind?

         Or am I stretching my blog brain capacity to accommodate more thinking?   If you are talking to me I am wondering how I can turn our conversation into a blog post.  I derive blog posts from the comments you leave on my site and the comments I might leave on some of your sites.  I'm building brain power, that's what I'm doing.

        In some ways I'm like a superhero with two identities. There is the blogging me and there's the guy you might meet and never suspect that I am blogging you up and down.   I don't hide these identities for the most part, but I'm incognito if I'm not on my blog or not talking about my blogging.  I've been doing my best to avoid talking about my blogs, but I can't help it.  Blogging has become of passion of mine.  Some people might tolerate my blog talk while others adeptly maneuver our encounters away from the subject of blogging.

       I do believe there is something darker here.  There is a prevailing atmosphere of computer takeover of the world.  The future of a machine ruled world as predicted in the Terminator film series is coming.  The stark reality is that computers are already taking over.  One day we'll have computers implanted into us.  This may be the fate for the future of mankind.

        Before that happens, I want to become the ultimate blog superhero--BlogMan.   I will be able to suck thoughts out of your head in order to turn them into blog posts to transport psychopathically onto my blog.  My bloggy power will compose posts on your blog site without your knowing it.   As BlogMan I will rule the world of blogging and whip out viral blog posts whenever I want.  The President of the United States and all the leaders of the world will turn to me for my great blog knowledge.

         My brain is a blog.  I am BlogMan!

And Now for Something Somewhat Different

         Sorry for the silly rant but I couldn't help myself.  It somewhat annoys me whenever I read a post about writer's block or someone saying they don't know what to write about on their blogs.  Ideas are everywhere.  How can anyone say they don't know what to write about?   I've got an idea--not original by any means--but next time you think you have writer's block why not just admit you don't feel like writing.  You can always take a break to do something else until you get your writing energy back.

         Stuck for some blog ideas?  You can always join in for the Battle of the Bands which happens on the 1st and 15th of each month.    This is the blog event where each of the participants pits two versions of one song against each other and readers vote on their favorite version.  And even if you don't post your own battle I hope you will join me for mine this coming Friday.  If you do plan on participating then let me know in the comments and I'll add your name to the list that I put on my site on Friday.

          This is not a Blogfest and there's no Linky list.  Battle of the Bands is an event that was started by the bloggers at Far Away Series and Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends.  A few others have been joining in as well. And so can you!

           My last Battle of the Bands song was "Respect" and that post yielded two weeks worth of posts on my blog based on that song post.   I don't know if I can manage that for the next battle's song, but today's post contains several clues to what song I'll be using.   Can you guess the song?

           Do you find yourself thinking in blog format?   Are you starting to use "Blogspeak" when you communicate?   Are the machines taking over?

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It's Your Story So Tell It Like a Story

          If you ask me, writer's block is just an excuse that is the same as saying, "I'm too damn lazy to write anything right now."  I don't have any problem with a writer not feeling like writing, but I do think we should cough up the truth if we are not writing.  If your life depended on coming up with something don't you think you could?

          Okay, so you're at a standstill with your current work in progress or you have an idea for a story but don't know how to start.  You're having trouble forcing yourself to write.   Well, then force yourself to write something else.  Forget about trying to make something up.   Write about you.  Write the story of your life.  Surely you know that story.

          When faced with the concept of writing memoir some people might balk with the claim that their life is not interesting or they haven't done anything special.  So what the heck, write about it anyway.  I'm not talking about mundane journal entries or Daytimer schedule planner entries; I'm talking about you telling what you did today, or yesterday, or once upon a time on that special day of your life.  Make it creative.  Turn it into a tale.

          Maybe you just went to the grocery store today, bought some groceries, and came home.  Come on--think!  There's so much more to this story.   How did you get there?   What did you see on your way?  What was playing on the radio?  Did someone else go with you?  What did you talk about?  What kind of car do you drive and how's it running anyway?

           Now you're getting somewhere.   What store did you go to?  Did you see any particularly interesting people?  Who did you see there and what did they look like?   What was on sale?  How much did things cost?   What did you buy?   How did you pay for it?   How are your finances?   Will you have enough to get through the month?

           "Bor-r-r-ing!"  You may say.  Make it interesting--you're the writer.  Throw in adjectives and adverbs, metaphors and similes, or whatever else you can grab out of your writer's trick bag.  Add some humor, inject some action, or elicit pathos.   Paint a vivid picture that the reader can see, hear, and sense in every way.  Sometimes everyday experience can be the most interesting because we can all relate to it.

            Think about the stand-up comic's routine.  What makes it all so funny is that we can usually picture it because we've been there.   Next time you're listening to a comedy routine focus on why it's funny.  A great deal of the humor comes from the presentation, but familiar story content makes us nod our heads with the realization that we get it--yeah, we've been in that same situation and know exactly what the comic is talking about.

          Or what about that friend or co-worker who always holds our attention with a riveting story.  Why? Again, presentation is a big part of it, but our ability to connect to what is being said makes a big difference in keeping us interested.   Conversely, think about the person who tells the dull boring story.   Maybe we can also relate to that person's story, but do we care?  The way the story is told can be a big snooze-a-rama without presentational pizzazz tossed into the mix.

         Try it out.  Next time you're bemoaning that you've got writer's block, stop what you're doing and tell your life story.  Not necessarily your whole life story, but maybe what you've done since you woke up that morning or what you did before going to bed the previous night.  It might end up being a better story that the one you wanted to write in the first place.

          Instead of using the esoteric term of writer's block or the artsy complaint of lacking inspiration, just tell it like it is.  I'm too damn lazy to write, too distracted to write, or I just plain don't want to write whatever crap I'm supposed to be writing.   Hmm--maybe you can write a story about why you feel that way.  And please make it an interesting story.

           What's your opinion of writer's block?  Have you ever tried stand-up comedy?   Do you find it easy to write about your life?

            On Wednesday my special guest will be Karen Walker who will be visiting Tossing It Out as part of her Following the Whispers blog book tour.  Karen's someone who can tell about writing a memoir and she'll be here to give us a few tips on the Do's and Don'ts of memoir writing.

         

    ..  

Practical Prompts

              The above photo shows four of the many boxes I have stored in the closet in my writing office.  There are many boxes in this closet, and in the office there are additional files of materials that I have accumulated over the years--mostly for the purpose of providing inspiration for my writing or as a record of things that I have written.

              There is probably little of any real monetary value stored in this room, but there is a wealth of ideas and thought provoking information to be found here.  News clippings and magazine articles, photos, scribbled thoughts, odd objects, and items of personal memories are all parts of my treasure.  Whatever I have kept because it somehow made me think of something to write, I have filed in a special place or tossed into a box or a drawer to be filed away at a later time. 

            The way I see it is that in my lifetime there is no way I could ever possibly run out of writing prompts.  If I find myself saying that I cannot think of anything to write about, what I really should be admitting is that I'm too lazy or not motivated to write at this moment.  Everything is a potential prompt for writing.  You just have to use your imagination and ask some questions.

            Let me try a little exercise to illustrate how prompts are everywhere.  I'm at my desk and look to my left where I see a burgundy stapler.  Reaching over to pick it up, I realize it is a heavy metal stapler that could potentially kill somebody--there's a murder mystery here.   I look at the bottom and see it was made by the Bates General Binding Corporation.   I wonder what else they make and what is the history of this company?  Who designed the stapler, how is it made, and who made the decision to use the burgundy color.  This company is in Northbrook, Illinois.  What's it like there?  What is the history of this city?  The stapler was manufactured in Taiwan.  What is the factory like?  Who are some of the workers who handled this stapler while it was being manufactured and what are their lives like?

Potentially deadly stapler with a  long and complex history.

         These questions and contemplations could go on and on--I think you get the idea.   You could write an entire book about this stapler or come up with countless articles and stories about it.  And that was just the first thing I saw on my desk.   As cluttered as my desk tends to be, I potentially have a lifetime of writing at arms reach.

          Writing prompt exercises are fine, but where do those come from?  They come from another writer's imagination, that's where.  What are you doing to stretch your own imagination?   Look around you, pick common things up and examine them in detail.   Think about them and ask questions.  There are stories in everything, in everyplace, and in everybody.   It's up to the writer to make those stories come to life in an interesting way.
          
          The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge often elicits comments like, "I don't know if I can think of that many ideas for a whole month".    This is why it's a Challenge!   It's impossible to run out of ideas, though it's not inconceivable to run out of steam.  Last year I began to get a bit weary at the midway point of the challenge.  When I reached the letter "n" I decided that I could think of nothing to write about.  That's when the light bulb came on in my head.  I wrote a bit of flash fiction called "Nothing" that was rather well-received and this recharged my motivation.

          If writer's block is causing you to stumble, stop and take a breather.  Think.  Ponder.   Ask questions about why you are experiencing this barrier to progress.   Take a walk, listen to music, watch a movie, or talk to a child.  And if you need to do some exercises with writing prompts then let me suggest going for the practical prompts that are right there in your life.  What you write about is an extension of who you are.  Why shouldn't the writing exercises you do be a part of who you are as well. 

           How do you overcome writer's block?   Do you sometimes use prompts as writing exercise?   What are some of your favorite prompts?




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