Yesterday was a big day. I announced on my blog and Facebook the news that I resigned from my job. I still have a month before I am actually free, but the end is nigh. The blog post gave me my second highest views ever on the blog. The highest is still the day a Twitter celebrity retweeted my post about Michael Vick. So now I face the question What Now?
Obviously, the question applies to real life, but it also applies to this space. What do I write about when my life is spent at home writing? How do I use the extra writing time to make my blog posts better? How do I find the discipline to sit in a room and work on writing projects when it will be so easy to let things distract me? How do I decide when it’s time for me to merge from the distraction of writing to look forward another real job? How to I keep myself from getting depressed about my lack of success? How do I stop myself from second guessing my decision to leave my job when things get hard? How do I coexist with my wife who is working from home full time when she needs quiet for work and I can’t work in silence?
I’ve always used the excuse that my blog isn’t great because I don’t spend time on it. I vomit words into a post in the morning before I go to work. I don’t edit anything. I hit publish and I’m done. Now that I have the time to actually work on it, plan posts, edit, etc. how do I cope with the fact that it probably won’t change anything about the number of readers I get?
As I deal with the what now in life I’m also dealing with the what now for the Common Tater.
The World's Common Tater 
First and foremost, try to relax. Give yourself a month or so (once the horrible, no-good job is over) to just enjoy the elimination of that major stressor in your life. Give yourself some time to just ponder the imponderable of next steps for yourself and for your blog. Second, if you don’t already have good wireless/bluetoth earbuds/headphones, buy them. That will enable you to have as much noise as you need from television or music without disturbing your wife. Third, solicit free assistance from someone who can help by editing/proofreading your writing initially. (Yes, that’s a plug for myself because I used to be a copyeditor and proofreader and am now a lady of leisure.) Fourth, relax.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I feel like you think I should relax. Thanks for the advice. I do need good Bluetooth headphones
LikeLiked by 1 person
I, for one, am a big fan of throwing words on a page and hitting publish. I don’t know how much better time and editing makes one. Sure, it’s more polished. But do readers want polish?
LikeLiked by 1 person
True. I think too much editing takes away the personal feel. I do want to spend more time making sure there are no typos and such though.
LikeLiked by 1 person
If I start doing too much I’ll lose the joy. If I happen to catch an error later I’ll fix it, but I’ve learned to let certain things slide
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah. I don’t want to make it seem like work.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly
LikeLiked by 1 person