Greetings from the Bottom of the Well

I apologize for not posting recently, but I just haven’t been up to it.

December is a deep, dark well that I will only begin to climb out of after the season turns on Saturday and the daylight hours begin to slowly increase. And I won’t really feel like myself again until spring. December is always a triple whammy for me: the stress of the semester ending, the stress of Christmas preparations, and the gloom of the season’s creep toward the winter solstice. So what’s the result of all this holiday cheer? I no more feel like writing than I feel like rolling naked in the snow.

When I do force myself to write, it’s self-pitying journaling for the most part, but some of what I write is more introspective. Maybe I’m absorbing the reflectiveness that seems to be the topic of every blog I read lately, but I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about what I’m doing and what I want to be doing.

One of the things I’ve been musing on is what to do with Here to Create. When I began, I was modeling the blog off what I was reading at the time, blogs like Zen Habits and Scott H. Young. Most of the self-improvement and productivity blogs have an authoritative tone that inspires the trust of the reader. During the first few months of Here to Create I attempted to imitate that tone. Then in November, as I chronicled my experiences with National Novel Writing Month, I adopted a much more personal tone that felt more comfortable and genuine to me. But now that November is over and my novel is resting, I’ve been floundering on the blog, trying to decide what to write and how to write it.

As I figure out the direction I want to take with Here to Create, there may be some changes coming in how frequently I post and on what topics, but I’m not planning on giving up writing here. I’ve enjoyed myself too much to stop now.

Also, I want your input. What kinds of posts do you most enjoy? Are there any topics you’d like to see me explore? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading - CSS

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Posted: December 18th, 2007 under Inspiration.
Comments: 6

Comments

Comment from Luciano Passuello
Time: December 18, 2007, 6:05 pm

What I enjoy most about your blog is that when I read it feels that I am actually listening to a human being. Although I don’t personally know you, I can listen to your voice in my head while reading your blog. This post is a perfect example of that.
You’re a highly creative person, and, as such, a person that struggles and has ups and downs. This is the real thing when it comes to creativity. You could somehow explore this human side of creativity. Your appeal would not be trying to be an authority, but quite the opposite: being a learner, with the same struggles as us fellow mortal readers.

Comment from CSS
Time: December 18, 2007, 6:17 pm

Thanks so much, Luciano, for your thoughtful response.

I’m glad to hear that sharing my struggles with my creative ventures does actually impact someone. One of my biggest fears is coming off as whiny rather than just someone who is learning and sometimes failing.

Thanks for the encouragement to keep adding my perspective to what I write.

Comment from Hanna
Time: December 25, 2007, 11:51 am

Glad you will keep on writing even though the style of your posts might be different. I like both styles, the more official advice blogs and the personal blogs about subjects I’m interested in or people I like. I think it’s good that you will experiment and write mostly for YOU, the readers you write for will find you eventually. Good luck!

Comment from CSS
Time: December 26, 2007, 9:18 am

Thanks for your feedback, Hanna. I’m glad to see people are open to my experimenting.

Your website looks really interesting. I’ll have to look it over more carefully when I get a chance.

Comment from Scott
Time: December 26, 2007, 5:51 pm

I think that with practice, you will find a way to combine your authoritative and personal tones into a voice you find unique to yourself. Just have confidence in your personal abilities, and your readers will recognize your authority in those abilities!

I, too, enjoy reading about your creative ventures and struggles. I relate to that as I also struggle with productivity, organization, and attempting to maintain a schedule of writing . . I was initially drawn to your blog by your post outlining 85 different fiction resources, which was extremely helpful. Providing these useful links ensured that I would subscribe with my RSS reader!

Comment from CSS
Time: December 26, 2007, 5:56 pm

Thanks for the comments, Scott. I’m always glad to hear when one of my posts has been useful to someone.

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