The Blog Will Return on January 3rd

I'm stepping away from the blog for the rest of the year, but will return on January 3rd.

I'm looking forward to another year of blogging, though I can't commit to anything beyond that. Having not blogged much before, I decided to take a year and see what committing to a weekly, and many times five-days per week column felt like. Here is what I've discovered, personally:

1. Keeping a blog is a good experience because it forces me to look for interesting paradigm shifts in life that I might not otherwise notice. I remember spending a winter month on Orcas Island up at Len Sweet's place years ago. There's not much to do on Orcas during the winter except for write and hike around to see the beauty of the place. In other words, write and rest. I can see why Len has been successful at what he's done over the years, and also why he's such a mellow and understated guy. His personality grows out of that island. Anyway, while there, I picked up my first camera, mainly because I was seeing so much beauty. Once I picked up a camera, I was hooked. I found myself up before the sun, and scouting a good bit of the day for a place to shoot sunrise. I'd also check maps and ask around at local stores for the best places to shoot wildlife. Blogging has been like that for me; a reason to look for wisdom and a deadline.

2. I am a perfectionist when it comes to writing. I'll edit and reedit a book long after it should have gone to press. But with blogging, I learned that, while you'll have plenty of people point out your mistakes, most folks are forgiving. So blogging has been a lesson in receiving grace, but also an act of humility in that I have to show people the work, warts and all, and admit I'm not that good of a writer.

3. Writing is a discipline. The best writers, the ones with careers that have lasted decades, sit down to write every day, usually in the morning. I tended to write several times a week, but not on a fixed schedule. When your deadline is a year away, you can get creative with your schedule. But with blogging, I know people are looking forward to a new entry and it's something I think about daily. So blogging has made me more disciplined in the habit of sitting down and putting words together.

4. Blogging is free for the public, and it's a great way to test how much you really care about writing and the people who read your work. There's no money in it. In fact, it's an enormous time trap, reading comments, responding and that sort of thing. I'm glad to find out I'm not in it for the dough.

There have also been negatives. I've wondered whether blogging has deluded me of writing the good stuff. I've also wondered if blogging has negatively affected my sales. Interestingly, if I take a week off from blogging, the metrics on the internet suggest more books are sold. But I doubt those are reliable. Regardless, a writer writes, so I'll just keep these blog entries coming into 2011.

I am planning a facelift on the blog next year, but I don't know when that will happen. The content will stay mostly the same, though I've learned a bit this year about the need to keep it short and interesting, so maybe the blog will be shorter and more interesting. You can be the judge of that.

So those are the end of year thoughts. I hope you and yours have a wonderful Christmas season, and find yourself reflecting on the Incarnation. He came to us, proclaimed a message of peace, then left to prepare a place for us. Even as I type these words they sound absurd. I'm a fool to believe it, and yet I do. Christ be with you this Christmas.