2011: Git `Er Dun

This will, to date, be the third or so blog I've attempted.

The first very was LiveJournal, which I begrudgingly joined more because of friends than any overwhelming desire to advertise and elaborate the finer details of my life. The ostensible reason for my reluctance was I felt vain treating my life's minutia to full-blown internet treatment, but the real reason was probably the deadly duo of embarrassment and laziness. Whatever the cause, though, the result was a poorly maintained blog with posts exploding with quasi-philosophical rambling and excessive navel-gazing... which, now that I mention it, means it was well-suited to LiveJournal. Slammed, LiveJournal. SLAMMED.

...If only you were still relevant.

The next was probably my first Blogger affair, Gaijinx, a name I thought was super clever but which was actually once mistaken as "Gaijin-X" by a close friend of mine (I hate you forever, Jeff). For those not in the know, it's a combination of "gaijin" - which means "foreigner" in Japanese - and hijinks. Gaijin hijinks. Gaijinx. If this kind of ridiculous wordplay is your thing, then you better get a tarp, because smashing words together like Gallagher rocking a watermelon is something you can expect a lot of here. (Man, Gallagher and LiveJournal in almost the same breath? It's like my first post was taken out of an unearthed time capsule.)

After that, I contributed to The Daily Yoji. This blog is different from most, however, in that it is purely educational in design. I don't know if I ever did a post that didn't require some kind of research, which is every bit as exhausting as it sounds. Still, like all good things, the increase in effort yielded an increase in satisfaction, and it always felt good hitting "Publish" on something I'd fine-tuned over an hour or so.

The first blog was on a whim. The second, to keep track of fun/crazy things I did in Japan and update stateside family and friends. The third, to learn. This blog...?

I've always wanted to become a better writer. I've managed to trick people for long enough to get a BA in English and a few published articles, but it's ever been as a dabbler. My work comes in short bursts, writing binges that leave me exhausted, inarticulate and drained. Surprising? Probably not.

Today I conveniently finished the second book I've read on the topic of writing, and among the many threads they share, "you must write every day" resonates most. As well it should, really. It's an often expressed and rarely practiced notion that to be great at anything, it must be done daily. And not "when you have the time," daily. Not "ah but I was so tired from work," daily, or even "but I'm on vacation right now!" daily. Every day, daily. 365, daily. Serious business, daily.

And what better time to start than the new year?

So! That's what I'll be doing in this blog, mostly. What will I write? Whatever I can. Every week, I want to get out at least 2-3 sessions of fiction and free-form the rest based on what's going on. I'm shooting for at least 300 words every day, which - if I'm feeling ambitious - I might up the ante on later. Will I always post what I write? No. I know that goes against the idea of making a blog to keep me honest, but if ever I endeavor to write a longer piece of fiction, it's unrealistic to think I'll jam it all into one long megapost in a single sitting. It's more likely I'll keep it aside, fine tuning it, until it's ready to show. Until then, I'll at least try to post an update every day, to show some sign of life. Better than nothing, right?

Well - I think that does it. Thanks for your early patronage, and may this year be filled with at least 109,500 words. Why? You do the math.