My battery is dead. Well, not dead exactly. But I sure could use a jump start.
I've been doing this blogging stuff for 7 months. Seven months! Although, technically no one was reading anything I wrote for the first 4 months, but still... That's a long time to commit to something that you're not getting compensated for. Unless I count your comments as compensation, which at this point are worth more to me than the pittance I make at my dog training job. Not that I put all your wonderful comments on the same level as that shitty place I work for. No, you're all much more valuable to me than that...
Aw, damn. I should just quit while I'm ahead.
Anywhoo, the point of all this drivel is after 7 months of coming up with new and exciting ways to write about baby poop and temper tantrums I'm a bit fried. I've got ideas for new entries swirling around my head but I can't get them out of that deep, dark cavern that I call my brain and onto my computer. No matter how hard I pound on the side of my head, trying to dislodge the ideas like one would try to get sea water out of their ear, I can't make them flow. And its pissing me off and frustrating the hell out of me. Think frustrated two year old in the body of a 33 year old woman. Yeah, not pretty.
So I was hoping you could all help a Mama out. Ask me a question, any question. Or give me a topic that you would like to see me write about. It doesn't matter if its funny, silly, or serious (though, I have to warn you about the serious stuff. When I get serious I get reeeallly serious. But I guess that's not so bad every once in a while.)
I'm optimistic that this little exercise will give me just enough juice to get through these dark, uninspired days and kick start my imagination so I can get on with the business at hand. I don't know what that business is exactly, but whatever it is it keeps me going everyday.
Send me an email or leave a comment with your question or topic. And what will you get in return?
A girl and her dog. Sigh.
27 comments:
i have a hard time coming up with topics for my blog too. i did a "where i'm from" thing and i really enjoyed it. it brought back things that i haven't thought about in a long time. you could probably do one of those (if you haven't already) and come up with many many topics (google where i'm from and you can get a general guideline although i deviated a lot). i know i could write about a million things based off of that one entry...i just don't have the desire to write about much more than poop and temper tantrums :)
i do have a quotable movie though: finding nemo. i quote it all the time
"just keep swimming...just keep swimming"
"fin...noggin...dude..."
"Oh boy, this is gonna be good...i can tell."
"it's like he's trying to speak to me...i know it!"
Your mama posts are so great, but I haven't seen much dog advice from you. Any tips you can give other dog lovers about behavior, training, etc? I have a Samoyed that has terrible separation anxiety and is a 4 legged houdini. She can climb a five foot chain link fence, or dig under a privacy fence (hence she is only outside while supervised or on a leash). She opens latches with her nose and chews through plastic airline crates (therefore we spent major $$ and built a run with a 6 ft fence and concrete for when we have to go out of town). Other than all that, she really is an angel - she just hates when we have to leave because she has to be penned up.
When I have writer's block, I pick a painting or a photograph and describe it, or try to imagine what was really going on when it was painted/snapped. Or, I write a book review, or choose a time in my life that evokes a lot of emotion and write about it.
The best thing for writer's block is to just write, even if it sucks, even if it's not what you wanted, just write. It will come. It is hard though. I've only been blogging for five months, and sometimes I can't think of a thing to say.
Wow, 7 months! That's awesome! I would have run out of topics a long time ago. LOL. Well, here are a couple ideas for you:
You could write about Britney Spears' latest mommy faux pas. Read about it here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060519/ap_en_mu/people_spears
Or you could re-publish a favorite post from way back when you didn't have as many readers--I saw someone do that the other day.
Or you could just post a bunch of cute photos of your baby. Although I don't know if you could get any cuter than that last one of your baby girl and her dog. :)
The previous post idea is great, and so is the one about doggie tips!! Your writing is really good, creative and funny and I've enjoyed reading everything that I have so far. And of course, you couldn't have cuter inspiration than the one staring at you with those baby blues (I think? they're blue!).
As a last resort, you could always approach that "do you let your daughter play with Barbies?" subject - that's always a fun one. Or, how many of you out there know the words to Big Red Car, but are afraid to admit it?
I'm with mason's mom! Doggy advice. Question: how'd you get into dog training? What are the problems dogs (I mean their owners) usually have? Tell some stupid dog owner stories! I love to shake my head in disbelief at others' stupidity.
Okay so how do I make my dog (a coon hound!) stop barking at EVERYTHING that passes by? There's a whole post for ya.
How about a post introducing the four legged family members?
Or maybe dig out some old pictures of your hometown/first house/first boyfriend and tell a story with them?
How did you and Mr. Chicky meet?
Just a few ideas for you. I go through periods of writers block where I can't think of a single good post. I'm in a bit of a dry spell at the moment, but something is bound to spark creativity soon.
Okay. I may have missed this - and for that I apologize.
How did you come up with your blog name?
Mrs. Chicky, I have only been with you for a short time, so it's entirely possible that you can point me to an entire post on this topic, but here goes: Please compare and contrast the relative pros and cons of dogs and cats.
And please tell us the story of your most drunken rampage.
I am very new to your blog. I think stories about how you and hubby met, high school stories, maybe something you have always wanted to do but havent done yet..things like that are always interesting....and btw, your baby is so precious!!!
Another dog lover chiming in to vote for dog stories. Good ones, bad ones, everything in between. Or, roadtrip stories. (Wow, nice segue, huh?)
Oh, and by the way, I loved your last post about the movie quotes. My husband and I do this all the time. Two of our most oft-used quotes:
When someone's upset: "There's no crying in baseball!!" (Tom Hanks in Major League)
When asked where someone is: "You're not gonna like it George. She's about to close up the library!!!" (Clarence Oddbody, Angel Second Class to George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life)
I want to hear about your first kiss.
You are good to try so hard to keep us entertained. I really appreciate your efforts. I don't know how you've come up with the great shmear of words, but whatever comes out of your brain is fun to read for me. So talk about your carpet for all I care. I will come back and read... promise!
Incedently, Chicky is growing up so fast! What a beauty!
Tell us about your husband and how you met, hooked up whatever.
Or...how about your first apartment (or house) when you moved out of your parent's home. Did you have a roomate? A good one or bad one?
Or...how you spent your summers as a kid? Camp? family vacations? summer school?
Well.. I don't know. I just think you should be more honest.
I was thinking about quitting my blog, but then I remembered I'm going to the BlogHer conference and how can I go to that if I don't have a blog? Silly me.
You need to be true to your voice so whatever your voice is saying, you write it down. Or get creative with your camera. My blog is a mish mash of all things, just like my brain!
I think what everyone else put is good, but I wanted to add one more.
What's your favorite time of day and why?
Ooohh how about an open letter to Britney Spears? You can dish out some much-needed parenting advice!!!
Don't think of a topic, just start writing. Sometimes I get stuck when I dwell on what people want to read about. Instead just start writing about something you are thinking about at that moment and see what develops.
My first Chicky Baby read was the post to Mr. Chicky from your psyche... probably one of the funniest things I have ever read!
Um... questions, questions... ok, have you spilled the juicy on how you and Mr. Chicky met? The wedding? Deciding it was time for Chicky Baby?
I love your blog, and I haven't sensed that you are running out of material (all sounds good to me!) but I know what it's like to have a brain freeze on blog topics. I've been going through that myself.
A couple of people already touched on what I was interested in after reading your 100 things -- the dog world. Actually, I was going to ask what you would recommend in terms of what to look for when adopting a dog from the SPCA or another rescue facility. How do you assess what the dog would be like as a family member? How do you "test" for easygoing personality, etc?
I do love your daughter's shirt. She's adorable.
Love the dog post idea. I love reading about other people's dogs. ;)
Just type what's in your head. :)
I would love to hear a little history from you...
family background, childhood experiences, best friends, what some of your travel experiences were, what's important in your life now...funny, serious, whatever! :)
How about where you went on vacation last time? Did you write about that already?
Sometimes, it's better not to think so much about blogging. Hey...I don;t think! :)
That picture of Chicky and the dog is SO CUTE! You should frame that!! If you don't, I will! (Just kidding. That would be a bit freaky, no?)
When out of blog material, do a meme!
I LOOOVE the outfit! The cute pink shirt with white long sleeved undershirt and the jeans! How cute. When I am at a loss for what to post, I like to either a) post about products I love/clothes I love or b) just post whatever I'm thinking.
Your blog, your thoughts, your rules LOL.
You could always talk about some of your funniest memories... The ways you tortured your siblings, crazy things your parents said. Wierd pets or wierd things your pets have done. Regrets, deep dark secrets or why you think you are wierd. (That whole why you think your wierd has always given me a plethora of ideas. Mainly because I am wierd. heehee.)
You know...somehow that adorable photo of "A girl and her dog" makes me feel that all is right with the world... real big sigh.
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