What should I blog this week? Dangerous question, one my devious friend Nicole answered with, “write about what you could be blogging about.” Great idea. It’s the clip show of blog articles. Never one to turn down a good challenge, here we go. Here’s the many categories of ideas that come my way, some of which I’ve written and won’t see the light of day.
Steampunk
One of my hobbies is steampunk. I make stuff. Dress up. Go to events. I’m working on some steampunk stories, so I do research into the Victorian period, especially gentlemanly behavior for the characters. I’ve made a series of articles on manners from that research. The topic is interesting to me, and I might find a way to make a Steampunk Gentleman’s guide or something from it someday.
Technology
More than three quarters of my life has been spent being deeply invested in technology. From soldering circuits to programming, I’m techier than the average bear. A colleague of mine gave me the idea many years back to keep a website with articles on how to do stuff. Document things I use, so I have my own notes when I need them, and can point people to. That translates well to blog article ideas when I find something of more common interest than source control management.
Wizardry
I haven’t written as much on this subject. I’ve got a plan to start researching wizards of fiction/myth from a variety of cultures for my Alex Rune series. One idea I’m wary of is documenting how Alex’s technomagic works. The beginning point of his magic is intended to be Mythbusters Plausible. I’m not keen on posting an article on how to shoot a fireball and getting the ATF asking me questions.
Book and Movie Reviews
Book reviews are dangerous for a writer. Best practice is to not review anything you can’t be positive about. Too much backlash possibility. Movies, nobody in that circle cares what I’ve got to say. In which case, if people want to know why I didn’t like Blade Runner 2049…
Politics
I know a lot of people who are tired of seeing politics everywhere. And a lot of people who I don’t agree with their politics. It’s too divisive. Turns as many people off as it attracts. Frankly, if I ever have a chance to sway somebody’s mind through my writing, I’m more likely to do it by not being blatant with opposing political views.
Fiction
I can crank out words pretty fast, but editing them down takes me a while. Plus anything I post here can’t be sold. Related to that, I could post a first draft of chapters of a story just for the blog, but it’d be pretty rough.
Writing Info
I’ve got a few articles aimed to help writers here. I’m better at anything I take up than somebody who sucks at it. But I’ve no proven track record of many published works or degrees. I’m wary of presenting more than what I can point people to actual experts. I’ll stick to writing what I know and post when I’ve got something practical.
True Stories
I’m not a memoirist. It’s tricky to figure out what to cherry pick and present so my normal life would be interesting. I don’t see who’d be interested in the time Sam shot me in the chest with an arrow. Or when Ron tried to give me CPR when I didn’t need it.
Character/Settings
Since I don’t have have major works out yet, I’m not sure who’d be interested in backstories, character interviews etc. I saw zero activity on Google Analytics when I posted a character interview. It’s tricky feeling out what people fancy, and for blogging, a writer does need to see what works.
Pets
We have pets, but most of the pictures are of the dog laying on one of us. We never take pictures when she is doing things, because we’re trying to protect our kidneys or other vital bits as she rampages. I’m not sure what I could write about them.
Fan Fiction
I’ve never written fan fiction. I did a star trek parody based on a Mad magazine once when I was a kid. Somebody wanted a Harry Dresden goes to Hogwarts story, that I had an idea for. Otherwise, I’m not sure I would venture into it, given licensing issues.
Conclusion
That’s not the only things I could write about, but they are topics that bounce around in my head. So, what would you like to see more articles on? Add a comment below using Disqus. It works, and I get notifications, so it’s easy to respond.