The Basement Office

Welcome to the 100th post of The Basement Office!

It’s been a great ride and it’s only getting better.  I’d like to welcome the new readers, I know it’s a bit slow in August (there’s writing to be done!) but I promise you, come September, we’ll be back on track with a lot of different stuff.

For those of you who don’t know, here’s the ACTUAL basement office:

  On the left over here, we have the junk pile I call a desk, where most of my writing gets done.  It’s actually a lot cleaner than it was when the Basement Office first began.

Over on the right here, we have the support equipment for the operation.  The mini fridge was a christmas gift from my wife (ain’t she a peach?  I love her) and the coffee maker, well, it’s a necessity.  Caffeine fuels word count it seems.

So what have I learned?  What’s been going on for 100 posts?

Oh not a whole lot…but it’s fun.  Do read on.

Since the first post:

1 – Well the first one’s the biggie, Anna was born and basically set into motion a whole lot of other things related to this site:

Oh hi!

It was her birth and the realisation ” oh crap!  I’m a dad now.  There’s a little life who’s going to look up to me!”  that pushed me to work on giving her something to actually look up to.  I can’t teach her what I do not know and I want to teach her that to follow her dreams and that hard work and perseverence will make a difference.  It wasn’t the ONLY reason I started this, but it’s a big one.

2 – I’ve begun to take my writing seriously.  This was also a biggie.  Since March 2010, I’ve written more than I’ve written in the previous two years.  At the end of august I will be nearing almost 200 000 words on various projects.

3 – I’ve written and submitted a short story somewhere.  Now, the story isn’t good.  It needs a rewrite, BUT the important point was that I took on the project, finished it on the deadline and submitted it.  I don’t care if it’s sold or not (jury is still out.  I’m not hopeful but that’s ok too)

4 – I’ve begun some classes in my spare time and I’m learning a lot about some aspects of writing that I was previously very lacking on (revision and editting anyone?)

5 – I’ve begun and am continuing a serious editing and revision effort on my first finished manuscript ‘Revenant’ and plan to have that finished by the end of September with the aim of sending it out for consideration early october.

6 – I’ve begun a serial that I’m hoping will grow.  I’ve had a lot of fun with the little bit I’ve had.  In september, I’ll finish Part 5 and outline enough so that I can continue writing it easily while working on other projects.   The serial is fun, and I’d like to use it to practice the craft more than a showcase of my writing, although I will keep it publicly available.  I want to have fun doing it and as long as I do, I’ll keep it up, but I don’t want it to take over my writing life.

7 – I’ve committed to writing 100K in 2 months and it’s going well.  It’s harder than I thought but I love the challenge.  (Broke 70K yesterday woo!)

8 – The readers of this blog have gone from 0 to around 15-20 dedicated visitors, page views are increasing too.  I really appreciate you guys, friends, family and all.  I look forward to slowly putting the site out there and growing the readership.

9 – I’ve begun a writing group.  Our first session was great!  I’m looking forward to a lot more!

Some of what I’ve learned in the last 100 posts:

1 – You can just have a blog, but there’s no point if you don’t update.

2 – Updating consistently is hard work.

3 – You hear people disparage when you have a blog that only your friends and family read, but you know what?  THOSE are the people who support you when you get started.  I love that my friends and family want to read this.   Everybody gets started somewhere and that’s how you start.  Those are your first readers.

4 – Polls are kinda fun in moderation.

5 – It’s great when readers have a different opinion and are willing to discuss those opinions.

6 – Writing blog entries is a great way for me to stay focused on writing, by sharing my experiences, I help myself.

Some of what I want to work on for the next 100 posts:

1 – Defining a brand.  I haven’t really figured out the best focus for this blog of mine.  These are my adventures in writing but I want to find a way to set it apart.  There’s no rush, but it’s a goal.

2 – Guest bloggers.  Eventually I’d love to have some guest columns from people that interest me/that I admire.

3 – Growing the readership.  Well duh.  Slowly.  Again, no rush, just a goal.

4 – Book reviews.  I want to read more reviews and learn how to write them myself.  I want to share what I’m reading,  not just what I’m writing.

5 – Fun.  I want to have more fun.  That’s the key here.

There you have it, some pics, some introspection and some goals.  Not a bad 100th post?  Well, not bad for me anyway.   I look forward to the next 100 things I write about and I hope you do as well.

Back to writing now!