Although I briefly introduced myself about a week ago (and followed that up with a little promo to boot), I realized after rereading the former post that I didn’t get into too much detail regarding exactly what is going to be on this platform.
I think it makes sense for me to do that here.
Essentially, what this will be about is writing - specifically, me talking about the art of writing and occasional bits of advice about writing, some of my own original work that aren’t blog posts, as well as my experiences with the craft and a hint of memoir as I recount my continued growth and progression as a writer in my own right1.
Let’s tackle each of those topics in turn, shall we? Just like they taught us in school (and I have been teaching everyone from junior high, high school, and junior college students over the past several years).
The Art of Writing
I think one of the biggest topics of this blog will obviously be about the art of writing. I have worked in professions that have a heavy emphasis on writing skills for more than 25 years. During that time, I have developed a few ideas about writing, how it should be done, what are the important elements of writing and how someone who wants to really improve their writing should concentrate on.
As reflected in this blog, this might, sometimes, involve posts where I discuss what could be called writing advice. More often, it will involve discussing my philosophy of writing, how this is evolved over time, and what it is now.
There are three things that I can comfortably say about myself as a writer. First, I can definitely say, that through a combination of a small innate talent, a strong desire to excel at expressing myself, and more than a few years of experience, that I am a very good writer. I also believe that since one lifetime is nowhere near enough time to learn everything about writing, I also still have a lot to learn and room to grow as a writer. But I have learned a bit, and I’ve grown a bit as well.
So, me discussing that philosophy and the various ways how I put it into practice will be a major part of this blog. I don’t think I would have wanted to become a teacher in the first place, for example, if I didn’t want to share that love of writing. And this place will be another way for me to do that.
My Work
It’s only natural that if this is going to be a blog about writing, that I would actually share some of this writing with you. By writing, I’m talking about stuff that’s not blatantly blogs, but other forms of writing.
Over the years, I’ve shared examples of short stories and essays on various subjects on Liegois Media on Wordpress. About a decade ago, I got convinced to actually try my hand at poetry, with some results that were… satisfying, at least? Over time, I will share them here, as well. If you want to get started on it, you can check out the original blog at the button below2.
So, you’ll see some samples of all of these items here at some point or another (I do plan to rerun some early stuff here as well). I have not contemplated what a paid subscription to this Substack would look like, and it will be a while before I think I can make that next step. However, maybe some of that work becomes exclusive content… I’ll have to think about it. You will see some of it, though.
A Writer’s Progress
A good portion of this blog will be me recounting what I have been trying to do as a writer and the progress I have made up to this point. I started doing a little series entitled A Writer’s Biography where I looked back on my life and how I came to be fascinated with writing and fiction. That might wind up being a project in its own right, as I have been reviewing and examining the posts that I have written so far and I’ve now been toying with turning it into its own project. I never anticipated being one of those memoirists, but it appears that I’ve been doing it almost unintentionally. We’ll have to see where that goes.
I’ve also been discussing my efforts to get published in one form or another. Part of my dreams came true when I finally became a published novelist with my book The Holy Fool, but I’m wanting to move forward and write more stuff and put it before an audience. Right now, I am contemplating moving forward with the self-publishing route for several different reasons3. I'll discuss that journey, as well as some of the things I experience as a writer online.
On my Wordpress blog, one of the more frequent types of posts are my weekly writing journals, where I recount my weekly word counts and if I am meeting the daily quotas I’ve set for myself. I certainly will keep doing that on the Wordpress blog, because I find that being publicly accountable for the writing I do helps me to keep self-motivated. However, I think I will not repost those writing journals here unless there is a great demand for it. I might post some of my wrap-up journals where I describe how I did for the year or the first half of the year.
As far as when you will see posts here, I think I can guarantee that I can put out new content on at least a bi-weekly basis or weekly basis. I am leaning towards Saturdays being my publishing/posting days, although I will likely start putting those posts together in the proceeding days. Also, there will be some bonus posts I make here that will be “archive” material from my Wordpress blog.
I think I have covered most everything regarding what this blog will look like in the weeks and months to come. I would like eventually have monthly discussion threads with readers, and I will plan to do the first one later this month. Keep posted here as to exactly when that will be.
I’m looking forward to hearing from you in the time to come. Take care, everyone.
I have to say that’s a pretty nice little thesis statement I whipped up. It would be worth at least an A- in one of my Composition 1 classes.
(Also, I love how Substack sets up these footnotes. I’ve begun to get more addicted to putting footnotes in my posts than David Foster Wallace.)
That’s some shameless self-promotion, I admit. However, I get the feeling that a bit of the Substack culture is shameless self-promotion, so there you go.
I’ll likely discuss that in a post in the near future.