Writing Wins

I don't want to jinx it, but as of now, I've written about 37% of the number of posts I wrote in 2014, and we're only one-fourth of the way into 2025.

I want to do more writing in general this year, and these little wins are a good start.

Got thinking about novels tonight. I still want to write one. Or many. But I've also been thinking about the kinds of stories I like to watch or read, and what I've written novel-wise to this point doesn't match up. So I need to fix that. I have some fun ideas brewing that I have no idea how to develop. So I need to figure that out.

2017: A Look Back

Oh, 2017. We all thought 2016 was the train wreck to end all train wrecks, but there were times, 2017, you looked back at 2016 and said “Hold my beer.”

But you weren’t all that bad. Let’s take a look:

JANUARY

I shared a delightful poem from Ogden Nash, written also from trying times.

I wrote what has now (inexplicably) become this blog’s mostpopular post by number of views.

FEBRUARY

I started a new job. Well, stayed at my old job, actually. But with a new employer. Hey, don’t try to understand it; government is involved. And I had many an adventure getting my new ID badge.

MARCH

I wrote the second- and fifth-most popular posts on this blog.

I also posted a Star Wars/Pee Wee Herman mashup video that did not get near enough love.

APRIL

My credit card information got stolen.

Yet I found wisdom in the form of Jimmy James.

MAY

I deconstructed a rational childhood fear: Alum.

JUNE

I remembered getting lost.

JULY

I remembered finding myself again.

AUGUST

Momma died.

SEPTEMBER

I read a book that taught me a lot about why it’s important to get to know people.

OCTOBER

I was released from my Scoutmaster calling.

NOVEMBER

We finished cleaning out Mom’s house the night we sold it, and the fire department came.

DECEMBER

I hit my 10-year blogging anniversary.

Take that, Karl Marx.

Will the Boot Get the, uh, Boot?

See this boot? I’ve had these boots for a long time. Just over ten years, to be exact.

It seems weird for a technical writer to have leather steel-toed boots, but they’re part of the required safety gear where I work. This weekend, I’m going to buy a new pair, because these Timberland boots have had it. The soles are split, the lining is worn out and they let in a lot of water if I happen to amble into a puddle.

So, I can hear you wondering , will Mister Fweem’s Blog get a reboot in design, since that boot I’ve had up there for who knows how long is going in the trash as soon as it’s replaced?

Maybe.

I hadn’t thought of it until just now. I have other priorities this weekend. But a cleaner look to the blog might be in order. I haven’t done a refresh in years, and maybe getting a pair of new boots means it’s time for this boot to go. I’m sure you’ll be up nights wondering if and when the redesign will happen.

I won’t be. I need my beauty sleep.

A Peek at This Blog's Top Posts

Once in a while, statistics will show you startling things. Like the fact that the most popular posts -- at least the top two -- remain the top two most popular posts on this blog. One more startling thing: it just a few more months, it'll be two years since I had a new post break into the top o' the blog.

Behold, the most popular posts:

My babblings about the Yoo-Hoo bird remain as popular as ever, as does the conclusion to a novel that's changed quite a bit since that conclusion was written. The top five from the last time I checked the stats -- and I have to confess I don't remember when that was -- are still the top five.

So I have to wonder: Did I peak as a blogger in 2013? Have I written nothing worthy of the top posts since then? Apparently so.

But since no one's bothered to correct me on anything in the Yoo-Hoo bird post, I can probably rest assured I got things in that post mostly right. Or the real anal retentive bird-lovers haven't visited yet because they don't have to Google Yoo-Hoo bird to know what someone's talking about.