04 June 2009

i don't know what to write here.

Seriously, I don't.

It's been a year since I've posted in this blog. That's not to say nothing has happened or I've not had anything to say. Sadly (or gloriously, depending on your perspective), a lot of the "random thought" initiatives that brought about so many blog posts have been the subjects of titleless nanoblogging, making a blog the new internet "long-form" (blogs : Twitter :: Virgil : E E Cummings). So, with there being a more appropriate outlet for off-the-cuff remarks, this blog becomes what a blog already has for so many: an opportunity to plan and write short essays.

But what about? Do I make it about one subject? Should that one subject be me? Film? Television? Writing? Should it include expanded versions of my tweets (Synergy!)? Should I wait until I have something to get off my chest, grumble about it for days, and then compose a lengthy invective/praise?

Platitudes? Should I come up with some platitudes to discuss, such as my thoughts on getting older, fading beauty, kids these days? Should I be more personal, discuss my graduating college 10 years after I started, finally starting the life I always wanted to live, my continued obsession with distraction? My constant disappointment in pop culture? The unique experience of living in downtown Atlanta, an urban environment by all appearances but without most of the conveniences?

Maybe something I usually never write about. I've never been inspired to write about politics, which leads people to believe I have none. Maybe this is an opportunity to write about the things people don't believe are part of my personality. Although that would leave me with just talking about politics and sex. So many people that don't believe I have sex. I do. Sex. It used to get me into trouble.

I tried posting my writing up here for a while but heard nothing back about that. Not even spam. I also realized that (a) what I was writing about was terribly uninteresting to anyone else (really niche audience), (b) what I was writing about I had only the vaguest idea of what I was discussing, but, most importantly, (c) nobody cares, Nick.

I don't have a plan. I do like the title "The Essential Nick Campbell" and it still comes up in the top 10 Google results when one searches for Nick Campbell (listed under the more prolific Nick Campbells). So maybe that should be my theme. I should post things that are essential to the understanding of Nick Campbell and/or Nick Campbell's oeuvre. Not every piece that comes from his (excuse me, my) desk but the stuff I feel is important. I'll leave my ephemeral complaints about MARTA and my charmed comments about Gilmore Girls for Twitter. Here will be the organized, beefier versions of my thoughts, sometimes even narrativized (word? I think so).

But what are the chances I'll actually decide on what to write here?

1 comment:

sutiibu said...

I've seen a trend among friends which have writing as a regular part of their career to slow down their blogging after a ferocious start. Some seem to get burnt out, and others want to conserve their writing for when they are getting paid (or trying to get paid). My answer to the first is - lay off on the edits & second drafts; don't touch the backspace key except to erase typos. Even if you need to preface your posts or your About Me page with "This blog is entirely in first draft", your instinct and developed writing habits will generally carry you through to readable & enjoyable content with small effort. For the second, I suggest finding personal value in writing that goes above & beyond an hourly rate or money per word.

Oh, and some thoughts are too big to put on twitter, write a blog post even if it's just one paragraph but more than 140 characters.