Taking Stock

It's officially been half a month since I joined the January Blogroll of NaBloPoMo and so far I've successfully posted to my blog every day this month, not to mention all of 2009 to date. =)

So, has it been worth it?

My original intention for the blog, Liz's Ink, was to write about writing. For the most part, I've done that. But there are days when I don't. I recently wrote about my health, or lack thereof when I was sick, and last night I just posted a picture I liked, along with a short caption. In my defense, yesterday I worked late and then got home minutes before friends came over and we headed out for a late dinner. I knew I only had those few minutes before they arrived to post, so, well, I posted a picture.

In my attempt to stop veering away from the intention of my blog, I'm going to set up different topics as a way to focus myself as well as to provide a jumping-off point for my postings. In ways, I think I've been naturally leaning towards this from the very start. Even when I've written about TV shows, like the awesome comedy HIMYM of course (haven't you been able to tell by now that I'm obsessed?), I've focused on the show's character or plot development.

Here is a working list of topics/tags that I'll start using to hopefully ensure that this blog stays about writing and writing about writing.

* Finding Inspiration: This will, obviously, include things I notice that might spark an idea for a story. This could also include random encounters I have, such as the post I wrote about meeting "RICHARD," or just about things or people I notice as I walk to work, such as the post about people-watching from way back when. This is a broad category and one that I will be using a lot.
* First Chapters: I have yet to write a topic in this category, but I'm planning on it soon! This will focus on how other writers start out a story and how they hook a reader.
* Reviews: Reviews will be of movies, books, and TV shows. Again, I'll try to focus on why I like (or don't like) something, character development, plot development, writing tricks the writer used, the ways in which the visual added to the speech, etc.
* Moods? Settings?: As much as I hate to admit it, my mood affects my writing. This category (and its title) needs to be tweaked, but I like the idea of writing about different things (like where you're sitting down to write) and how they affect not only your writing but your ability to as well.
* Artistic Musings: I work as an Executive Assistant by day, but, by night, I moonlight as a portrait artist. (www.lizsink.com/portraitsbyLiz). While writing and my artistic endeavors are totally diffrerent, both encourage my creativity and right-brain thinking. This category will provide a spot for me to think about how my art ties into my writing, and vice versa.
* Get Inspired: This one differs from "Finding Inspiration" in that I'll offer up different things and activities that I have done (and that I would like to do) that might inspire some good stories. Typically, this will focus on Chicago, but when I travel, I'll of course post about that too!

Again, this is a working list of categories . What other topics haven't I considered, that I should be? What would YOU like to see me writing about? Let me know!

Before I finish, I need to answer the question I posed for myself: So, was joining NaBloPoMo, and writing every day in the month of January, worth it so far?

YES. It's gotten a bit difficult on days when I struggled to come up with an idea to write about, but what I know matters for any writer is that you show up and you try to get something down on paper (or Microsoft Word, or Blogger) every day. So, that's what I'm doing - showing up at the blog every day to write.