As you may have noticed, it has been a couple of days since my last post. An appropriate question from you should follow: "Why?"
So kind of you to ask! Well, allow me to answer:
The answer is me. Yes, me, the man putting fingers to keys behind the comfortable backdrop of a blog named "Life."
Because I now have an audience (thank you so much Sandra and Lyndsay, and all other bloggers who enjoy my writing), I find it time to share a little piece of myself for my readers. Call it a newfound responsibility (one that I enjoy!) for being minutely successful in the blogosphere.
So, without further ado, your answer:
Although there are many quirks and character traits that make up who I am today, you only need to know about three: obsession, competitiveness, and perfectionist.
Obsession
I can be passionate to the point of obsession. Whether it be reading, finances, or more recently, writing, I can immerse myself to the point of oblivion.
Reading? I read for 10-15 hours a day when the passion bubbles up.
Finances? I recently read four different books on finances, investing, real estate, and others just because I woke up one morning hating "not knowing." Do you ever get that way?
Writing? Coincidentally, you, my dear readers, are stuck right in the middle of one of my little "obsessions."
Competiveness
You win? Let's play again -- we'll change your story-book ending. If at 20 times I'm still unsuccessful, I'll still play that 21st.
I find that I play two games simultaneously when competing with others. One, trying to win whatever it is we're doing, and two, watching whoever's face to make sure they are still interested. I could go all day.
Perfectionist
The ultimate answer to the question asked earlier, but incomplete without the other two.
I can't not try to be perfect in everything that I do. It's taken you one minute to read to this point. It's taken me an hour. If you take that concept, stretch it across everything that I do, then you can understand how I approach everything in life.
When you put all those together, you know why I haven't written in two days. My competiveness drove me to excel in blogging, my obsession drove me to write for two weeks, and my perfectionist ways inabled me to write something that you wouldn't enjoy.
Historically, my habits last an un-historical short amount of time. I obsess, accomplish, and drop something before someone else can blink an eye. I'm wanting blogging to break the cycle.
I enjoy writing more than any other hobby, and I love having people read my stuff. However, I feel my habitual status kicking in. So, in an attempt to follow through with something, I ask you this:
What do you enjoy reading about? Do you connect with the high's and low's of a fellow blogger's life? Would you like to read about workplace gossip to see if those Texan engineers are just as dumb as your [insert state] ones?
Whatever it is, let me know, because the answer to "Schafner, what do you enjoying writing about?" just so happens to be everything.
And that's it! Hopefully that'll be the last serious post for a while. I much more enjoy writing about my cat's dog-like behavior and my hesitation of baking cookies with my wife for fear that the transformation into a female would be complete.
'Till next time!
If you really want to punish the Fort Hood murderer
12 hours ago
12 comments:
I suffer from some of the same afflictions. And eventually I just charge ahead. Not every post is going to be a winner and sometimes I just need to get it out so I can move on.
As for the cookies - nothing's sexier than a man who cooks/bakes. Some of the very best times I have spent with my husband have been in the kitchen slaving over a recipe.
Seriously LOVE your writing, it's truly refreshing to read about life from a Man's perspective, I follow a few fella's blogs and yours is standing out :) I hope that you will write about whatever strikes your mood on any given day! I love funny stuff, life stuff, cat/dog stuff, marriage life stuff and COOKIES is a HUGE one for me..lol..ANyway, I hope that you continue to write and know that you have a few fans!! :)
I think variety IS the spice of life -- that the most interesting blogs are the ones that give you a wide variety of topics from their lives, interests and occasionally, from their most basic beliefs. But, I do think all of the most interesting stories have a point. A title that draws people in. And a hook at the end that makes the reader say, "a ha!" or "I wouldn't have seen THAT coming!" or "I can relate to that!" or "He said what I believe, but in a way that I've never heard before!"
As an example, I really enjoyed your last story about how your wife plied you with alcohol in order to get you to let her buy a cat! A great visual story. And, I also really enjoyed one of your first stories about your relationship with your wife -- very touching. And the one about french fries was really fun!
I think many interesting stories are ones that draw funny, interesting or poignant verbal pictures that the reader can easily envision.
This is really "preaching to the choir" because it's obvious that you have all the tools you need to write interesting posts. I'm just reiterating what you already know.
Keep writing. :)
Really... just write. Write the inconsistency of your brain, write about your dreams, PLEASE write about your cat's dog like characteristics!
Blogging is different for everyone. People like to read what you have to "say", so say it. If it's not perfect, even if it's confusing... write it. You have an audience!
:o)
Call Me Cate -- Perfect comment. Thanks for saying exactly what I needed to hear :)
The Bush Family -- Wow, thanks so much. Very nice words. Har to believe my run-of-the mill life is standing out amongst others!
Sandra -- You always know your advice is very welcome. After all, I wouldn't be experiencing the blog success if it weren't for you first words.
If anything ever comes of my writing in the future, you better believe you'll be on the front cover of my "Thanks" page ... and a free copy of whatever book!
Ficklechic -- You posted right before I responded to the other bloggers. Thanks for the comments!
I love reading someone else's humorous take on an otherwise mundane event and stories that touch my heart. I have a strange sense of humor about a lot of things.
(I sometimes secretly think that some VERY politically incorrect things are funny. I deny it if you call me out!)
In general, I like to know that other people are as idiotic, fearful, crazy, silly, or as in love as I am. (and how they live life being all of those things)
Oh, and if I really want to sound old here, I like knowing that someone as young as you are has a deep, meaningful outlook on life and marriage. It gives me hope.
It sounds kind of hard to be you!
If you put too much pressure on yourself and don't write from your heart, it won't be fun anymore (said from someone with 2 months blogging experience -- HAHA!) I kind of went down that road when I started blogging and it was getting to not be fun. "do what you love and the followers will follow." Though I truly believe that the following thing is perhaps the first thing that should go on a competitive person's blog! It might drive you crazy.
As Cate mentioned, I suffer from many of the same afflictions. Well, most of them anyway. I've also "been where you are" in blogging-chaos as well.
When I started getting a lot of readers, it was sressful. I found myself not writing things I wanted to write because I couldn't make them "funny" enough, or I didn't think people would care about whatever the topic was.
Ultimately, I had to realize that I was doing the writing for me. Did I like the audience? Heck yeah, but not at the price of becoming something I wasn't. So, while I care about keep my audience around, I've stopped stressing about it so much.
I want my blog to me ME. I figure that it doesn't matter how much work I put into my writing, if it isn't personal, it just doesn't fit. And if it's personal and some reader doesn't like it, I'm okay with that too.
From an competitive, obsessive, perfectionist, that isn't an easy feat. But I've finally found something I enjoy and I didn't want to ruin it with the pressures I put on myself in everything else I do.
How's that for an answer? LOL!
Ditto on all of the above comments! I found myself nodding as I read each and every one of them!
From a 'reader's' perspective, I will tell you that I read some blogs that don't have a lick of funny in them and I can't get enough! Some people have the ability to be funny on cue and their otherwise mundane stories leap off the page with life!
I tried venturing away from my easy, natural material and, although I had followers, it always felt like it was missing a bit of me. I'm still in limbo trying to figure out what to write about, but I'm getting there and I'm doing it for me...with the hope that I touch at least a few people's lives!
I don't click that 'follow' button unless I'm truly interested in coming back to read the person's next post...even if it's just a one-liner of "Today Sucked". Those days will happen to all of us!
Please keep writing about everything you want to write about...and include cookie recipes for all of us sweet tooth people. :)
I like to just read about people's lives and their observations about life in general, but I especially like humorous blogs.
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