Blogging Lite

I sat myself down the other day and gave myself a good talking-to. I wagged my finger in my face and told me firmly that, if I was serious about being serious about doing anything more of substance–most particularly this supposed book I talk about doing with color photos–then I’d best start making time for it.

And not the usual kind of time at the computer, distracted easily and often by email alerts, quests for word meanings in Answers.com, checking my visit stats or Adsense tallies or the live figures on book sales (or lack of the latter two items.)

In the end, it made sense to me when I suggested that, on Monday, Wednesday and Thursdays–days when I am here with blocks of potentially (and relatively) uninterrupted time at the desk, I must NOT turn on the browser, must turn off email notification, must let the phone ring, and put the dog in the pen (which he thinks of as reward anyway!) and just focus. And no blogging until at least 10 o’clock.

I did that this morning, and in alternate moods, thought I made astounding progress and thought the task impossible and my skills for such an undertaking seriously inadequate. But then, maybe I just haven’t found the narrative thread, the voice, the story. It occurred to me that I probably have enough images that are both informational and aesthetically adequate to do a children’s field book of sorts.

But no, I told myself, you have only ONE of these expensive to produce books in your wrists, your brain and your bank account, and it probably should be aimed at the Slow Road Home kind of readers with interest in the cultural and natural history of the Blue Ridge.

I don’t think we’ve gotten to the end of this discussion quite yet. I’ll let you which of the Bickersons comes out on top, though, when and if it gets resolved.