Monday, January 16, 2012

The Way of the Future

It's 16 days into the new year and everyone seems to be diving into 2012 with excitement and anticipation. I'm pretty excited for whatever's lurking out there, including giant spaceships and futuristic cities built on water.


New Year is a very important event. But why? Not because of what it is - after all, it's only a change of date (and that happens every day) - but because of what it symbolises. It symbolises the old departing, the new arriving. It symbolises change. This is why we make New Years Resolutions. We could choose to change at any time of the year, but we choose January 1 because of the symbol of change it carries.

Over the last year or so, this blog has been quite mish-mash. Just look through the archives and see for yourself. When I started blogging, I had no plan at all and no reason at all besides "Why not?" Result: mish-mash.

But the arrival of the new year I've decided to make some changes. I set a few goals using the BEDS Goalsetting Method, and worked out a list of things that would need to happen to reach my goals. Creating a new layout was one of those things. Here are a two more:

A Blogging Schedule. Yup, I'm gonna be working by one of these bad boys. On Mondays will be exclusively Writing Advice (unless the occasional blogfest or monthly vlog jumps in there). Thurdays will be Wildcard days, when I'll post about anything and everything I can possibly think of that relates to writing. I might even throw in a few Saturday posts from time to time.

Acknowledging New Followers. David Powers King does this over at his blog, and I think it's a fantastic idea. So I'm adopting it. It means that new followers get to feel welcome and invited and not like internet ghosts that go invisible through all time and space. So, with no further ado, may I welcome Writing Fire's fantastic 170th follower:


This, ladies and gentlemen, is the way of the future for Writing Fire. I hope you'll enjoy the changes!
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14 comments:

  1. Sarah TokeleyJanuary 16, 2012 at 11:30 PM

    I'm impressed with your organisation. And by the thought of cities built on water :-)

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  2. NickJanuary 16, 2012 at 11:47 PM

    Thanks! I figured I needed to be a bit more organised this year :) And water cities would be awesome.

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  3. BethanneJanuary 17, 2012 at 3:57 AM

    You have a great writer name! LOL :D
    I like that idea, acknowledging followers. I don't even get notifications for those and I have no idea who followed me or in what order unless I look at my blog. I do that... but I'm almost positive that about a third of them are spam cuz when I click on their links it takes me to weird, selling sights. LIke for real estate. LOL I don't know.
    I always visit a blog if someone comments on mine, though. I find it so disappointing to take the time to read a blog and comment only to be ignored. :) Feel free to stop by my blog anytime.
    Happy writing!

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  4. Jay NoelJanuary 17, 2012 at 6:21 AM

    I tried a blogging schedule, but my regular life schedule is so full, I have to blog whenever I get the chance!

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  5. LauraJanuary 17, 2012 at 7:53 AM

    Great resolutions! I basically made the same one -- blog schedule. And of course the new format that you commented on previously :) Acknowledging followers is a good idea as well; I might start doing that.

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  6. NickJanuary 17, 2012 at 12:46 PM

    Bethanne: Thanks! :D I get e-mail notifications for comments, but not followers, so I'll need to manually check who's new and go from there. And that's weird that you have spam followers. I think I might have one or two, but I'm not too sure. Thanks for commenting (and following). :)

    Jay: This is the difficulty! It's just about finding something it's possible to stick to. Even one post a week. Without a schedule I find myself taking accidental weeks off and disappearing from the internet - which isn't entirely ideal. So hopefully a schedule will put an end to that problem.

    Laura: Yes! I like your new layout! It's great :) A blogging schedule wasn't so important to me last year because my aim was just to ramble to the world; but this year my aim is quite different, so it is important now. And, yeah, why not? You should - I think it's quite a good idea :)

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  7. Laura W.January 17, 2012 at 4:50 PM

    Oh, I have -- the blog schedule, that is. I find it handy because I can delegate certain days to certain interests/topics (ie Music Monday, YA Friday) without wondering what's the best place and time to bring them up.

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  8. NickJanuary 17, 2012 at 9:45 PM

    I meant the acknowledging followers thing. But, yeah, scheduling different days to post on different topics is quite handy indeed.

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  9. ShalleeJanuary 18, 2012 at 11:13 AM

    These are fabulous blogging goals. I need to set a few of my own so I can get into the groove of the new year. Thanks for setting the example. :)

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  10. NickJanuary 18, 2012 at 12:43 PM

    Thanks :) The idea is that the new changes are going to help me towards my goals.

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  11. Dr. MohamedJanuary 18, 2012 at 1:24 PM

    You're certainly an organized young man. It'll serve you well in the coming years.

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  12. NickJanuary 18, 2012 at 10:05 PM

    I hope so! Thanks Mohamed :)

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  13. DEZMONDJanuary 26, 2012 at 11:50 AM

    I applaud you for having goals, discipline and such intelligent and nice posts, Nick, at your age!

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  14. NickJanuary 26, 2012 at 12:03 PM

    I try my best in all those areas :) Hopefully I'll get better at them in time. Thanks for the follow, and nice to meet you :)

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