And Three Months Are Over…

Image by Mohamed Hassan from PixabayHappy New Year! May you all have a happy, peaceful, healthy 2024!

My three-month hiatus from The Grammar Diva Blog is over. What was I doing? Where am I now? What is next?

What Was I Doing?

Please keep in mind that this blog has now been going for 13 years! Every week —  with the exception of a few times off and some guest posts — makes about 500 posts that I have written. 

I was at the end of a big self-improvement (mostly physical) program that took up about two thirds of the year. (No, I did not get a face lift!! But I did lose at least 25 pounds.)I couldn’t think of anything more to write about grammar. The posts you seem to like most are the ones with some grammar instruction. It was the holidays, and I had some family here from Canada from mid October to mid November.My darling granddaughter was in the hospital with RSV for her first birthday in early December.  She is OK now.I was reading a lot and steadily increasing my coffee intake (much of it decaf). Last spring I went off coffee completely for three months. Forget that! But now I am probably drinking too much coffee and not enough water.  It seems that all I want to do is read,drink coffee, and shop, both online (Amazon mostly) and in stores. I have become rather complacent because my books (mostly my workbook) fortunately continue to sell.

Where Am I Now?

I was hoping that my ambition would return after the first of the year, which is now.  I have some projects in mind. Maybe I have too many projects, and that is why I am stuck.I have a romance novel that I could finish. It needs more research, some additions, and some restructuring. I am ambivalent about it, so if it is not going to sell, why bother?I have been planning to write a business writing book for years. I have collected some research materials, but haven’t done any research yet. I have decided that if I do it, it will be a workbook. Workbooks are popular.I have another idea for a book that I am interested in doing. It will be require a lot of research and is about one of my other passions: music. Should I do it? I ask myself.I want to continue fooling around with the piano until I can play with a rock and roll band! I was practicing several months ago and then stopped. I need to get going on that.I used to write song lyrics (and some melodies) when I was a preteen and teen. I still have them, and I want to look at them and see if I can rework some of them and compose the music as well.I have thought that maybe I should find a way to make more money, for example, doing that online grammar course I have been thinking about for so long. Or coaching writers….or students. 

What Is Next for the Blog?

I have been thinking for a while that I am out of ideas. I have taught pretty much everything about grammar that I know over these 13 years, sometimes two or three times. I have done other types of posts as well. So I have several thoughts concerning the blog:

I have considered doing it monthly instead of weekly, so I might have an easier time coming up with ideas.I have considered getting more guest posts (I need your help!!)I have considered writing things that don’t relate so much to grammar (no politics or religion, I promise).I have considered more variety: One guest post a month, one Best Of post a month, one original grammar-related post a month, one post with links to interesting articles a month.My daughter and granddaughter got me this program called Storyworth for Christmas. You get a prompt every week, and then you write. At the end of the year, they create a book for you with all our stories. Maybe some of them will relate to things in this blog. I did the first one, and some of it would apply here. Or maybe you could give me a writing prompt, and I will write a blog post from te prompt. Maybe more posts about writing in general. Maybe more feedback from you.

So, as you see, I would love some feedback: ideas, guest posts, what you like, what you want to see, etc. Just put them in the comments. Thank you.

It’s good to be back live!