NaNoWriMo | BulgingButtons

November 6, 2013
by BulgingButtons Leave a comment

Let Me Explain

I know that my last post, the photo collage about sleep, isn’t what you’ve come to expect from BulgingButtons. It isn’t what I expect from myself, either, but I did it for three reasons. First, I’ve really admired some of the photo collages I’ve seen on other blogs. I knew there was a function provided by WordPress to create those collages, so I decided to tinker with it and see if I could make it happen. I did, in a very elementary way. Yay me.

I would like to learn how to manipulate the images more until I’m satisfied with their placement and their relative sizes, but for today this was enough. I would also like to spend more time integrating text into the post, in order to explain my thought process and vision (in case it’s not completely apparent). Those are goals for another time and another day, though.

The second reason I actually posted that little collage was as a bit of a reminder to myself that I need to be careful about burning the candle at both ends. I am someone who needs sleep. I become crabby and difficult to be with if I go too many nights without adequate rest. I also become worn down and susceptible to any passing germs that might be in my environment. I teach elementary school kids. There are lots of germs in my environment. I really don’t want to become a walking germ magnet. Early to bed and early to rise and all that nonsense. Except that I like to stay up late, which makes getting up early a real drag.

Finally, I hit the “publish” button because I was a little afraid that I might not find time later in the day to blog. These November challenges have taken over my being, and I MUST complete them! It turns out that I was able to steal a few minutes here, between teaching an after-school group and attending my son’s sports banquet, to clarify my earlier post. I hope you’re at least the tiniest bit sympathetic and can forgive what is clearly an amateurish attempt at what could be a great photo essay topic. Or at least a good one.

Please put away the rotten tomatoes, or better yet get rid of those nasty things! Forgive me my lame attempt, and click somewhere else on the blog for something a little more satisfying.

Until tomorrow, I remain bleary in blogland.

November 5, 2013
by BulgingButtons 4 Comments

Giving the People What They Want – Whatever That Might Be

Dear Readers,

My hope is to share with you content that you enjoy reading. I’m trying to do that in a way that is interesting and engaging. I’ve been looking at the blog stats and have come to the somewhat painful realization that my college statistics course was zero preparation for distilling the information I’m currently facing. Actually, that’s not quite it. It’s not the realization that’s painful, it was the statistics course and its accompanying MINITAB computer labs that were painful. In graduate school someone gave me the sage advice to take my statistics class pass/fail. Remembering back to my undergrad experience, I took that advice. Mercifully, I passed.

As interesting as all that may be, it’s just back story. Something I am told time and again to avoid in my writing. I guess old habits die hard. Here’s the crux of the situation: I want to know what you, the reader, want to see on BulgingButtons. From the start it’s been a cute little self-absorbed blog about my life as a fat girl. It’s branched out from there to include my life in general, including some thoughts on parenting my dear son, with bits about my teaching career, a little about my long neglected quilt projects, and a fair amount about the wonderful world of words, aka writing.

I sometimes write about health related topics, or the world of fat girl fashion. I also write about my food obsession, both positive and negative, and about my ongoing efforts to get my fat behind in gear, i.e. exercise. Some days this is more challenging than others. Oh, and challenges. I have the ongoing 47 for 47 challenge, and the NaNoWriMo and NaBloPoMo challenges for the month of November have kept me quite busy as well. I also did a series of Daily Passions Prompts, and I have regularly written to the WordPress Daily prompts.

I suppose I’m not looking for a new direction exactly, because I really like sharing my thoughts in all different directions, but I do wonder what aspects of the blog appeal to you most, and what parts are your least favorite (or just not interesting to you). I imagine the quilters have all left the building, as my poor neglected projects page hasn’t had any action (much like my poor neglected quilt projects). And anyone seeking recipes has probably moved on, because I haven’t shared any. But I know that lots of you have chosen to stick around. I’d love to know why.

I’m ready for the feedback, bring it on! What do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of BulgingButtons, and what would you like to see more and less of here?

Thanks in advance for your well thought out and detailed comments! (See what I did there? Clever, no?)

With love and orange-filled Oreos (hey, I have to get rid of them somehow!),

November 5, 2013
by BulgingButtons 8 Comments

Will I Run Out of Words?

Between a blogging challenge, a novel-writing challenge, a professional writing group, and my weekly writing class, I feel a little bit stretched. I’m writing and writing and writing, and some of it is pretty darn good. Not all of it, mind you, but some, and sometimes that’s enough.

I’ve never attempted to write a novel before. It’s quite a challenge, and then when you put the 30 day timeframe on it, well, it’s nuts. I did set up a lot of it before I actually started writing on November 1, and that helped a great deal. I went in already having a good idea about several of my main characters, and the basic plot structure. I’ve been reading and learning about novel-writing, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I gravitate more naturally to the plot driven variety than the character driven. I find this revelation odd.

I’m generally not a big planner. My calendar often sits empty, not that I don’t have plans, but I don’t usually write them down. When I do plan ahead, say for instance I make out a grocery list, I’m just as likely to go in a different direction all together. Usually this is a result of leaving said list at home and promptly forgetting everything that was on it.

I tend to like to make things up as I go. Unless I’m putting together IKEA furniture. Then I want all the pieces laid out and I follow those directions step by step. I wish they had words. In English. I follow recipes too, at least the first several times I make something. After that I fly by the seat of my pants, and make adjustments as I see fit. I guess I’m not at that comfort level with novel-writing. Duh.

Now my only concern is having enough words to meet all of those writing commitments and challenges. I have a feeling that I’ll find them, or they will find me.