Blapril: Topic Brainstorming Week
According to the Blapril schedule, it’s Topic Brainstorming Week. One of the most common questions that you’ll hear from new or occasional bloggers is “what should I write about”. Now don’t go thinking that some of us are blessed with more inspiration than others. The reality is quite the opposite. Most of us can come up empty on occasions and struggle to find inspiration. This is just another aspect of blogging that needs to be managed and planned for. Therefore, I strongly advocate collating a list of subjects and ideas for future blog posts and continuously adding to it. So let us without further ado, get on with brainstorming a list of potential topics for bloggers to write about. Just remember that brainstorming is a nonlinear process, and I am writing my thoughts down as they occur to me. Hence many of the ideas will be somewhat tangential to each other, without any semblance of order. You can also find some useful ideas here, in a post I wrote back in 2016 called “Got Nothing to Write About?”.
“That’s the shittest idea in the history of ideas. If you speak again Colin, I’ll cut you…”
According to the Blapril schedule, it’s Topic Brainstorming Week. One of the most common questions that you’ll hear from new or occasional bloggers is “what should I write about”. Now don’t go thinking that some of us are blessed with more inspiration than others. The reality is quite the opposite. Most of us can come up empty on occasions and struggle to find inspiration. This is just another aspect of blogging that needs to be managed and planned for. Therefore, I strongly advocate collating a list of subjects and ideas for future blog posts and continuously adding to it. So let us without further ado, get on with brainstorming a list of potential topics for bloggers to write about. Just remember that brainstorming is a nonlinear process, and I am writing my thoughts down as they occur to me. Hence many of the ideas will be somewhat tangential to each other, without any semblance of order. You can also find some useful ideas here, in a post I wrote back in 2016 called “Got Nothing to Write About?”.
Write a post about yourself, your likes and dislikes. You don’t have to give out excessively personal information if you don’t want to. But readers like to know about the people that create the content that they consume.
Keep a game (or any other kind of hobby) diary. Write about your progress in say a new MMO. Discuss the decisions you make regarding the character you create and play
Write a guide or offer tips and hints. This can be as detailed or as simple as you like. People again eat this kind of content up.
Catalogue cosmetics. This can become incredibly popular and major sites have grown around such undertakings.
Post screenshots (and write about them if you want). Not exactly hard is it. Yet people like a well composed picture, especially if they too play the same game.
“Riff off” your fellow blogger’s posts (Massively OP is also a great source of gaming related discussion and debate). These sorts of blog posts are good for building communities and interacting with your blogging colleagues. A good talking point can often see multiple responses.
Write think pieces about wider issues in your area of interests. Commenting upon the wider video games industry is always a good source of content. Just ensure that you reference your sources and that any arguments are factual and based upon tangible information.
Catalogue and review the community activities associated with your field of interest.
Comment on gaming news. There is no lack of material here.
If you’re learning a new skill such as live streaming, document your progress. Writing down what you have learned and done is also a great way of ensuring that you retain that information. Again, such posts are beneficial to others.
Review the things you like. Be they games, books, comics, movies, sandwiches, beer etc. Posting such content is a great way to build an audience and such posts often have a great deal of longevity.
Share pictures of your day to day life. You’ll be surprised how blog posts that catalogue everyday aspects of life are well received. It’s interesting to see the little differences that exist in common place activities, such as shopping, in different countries.
If formal blog posts are not to your liking, then why not just write a “stream of consciousness”. This can be very therapeutic and if done well is a rewarding alternative to more linear postings.
Courtesy of Daily Creative Thing
It is important to remember that not every blog post you write has to be some sort of literary marvel. That’s not to say you shouldn’t take pride in your creative output and exercise some sort of quality control. But it’s perfectly fine to write a post about how you logged into your game of choice, did some quests, met friends and had fun. Or to blog about your pets, share with others how you enjoyed a show you saw on Netflix and how you had a great time at a convention or Renaissance faire. Such posts are very accessible to many and again help people to connect and build communities. One of the blogs I read regularly is Daily Creative Thing by Gracie. It catalogues the progress of her knitting projects. I don’t know if I can articulate cogently why this appeals to me but it just does. I like creativity in many forms and admire those who have such skills. It’s nice to see hard work pay off with a finished product. It also proves my point that you can successfully approach blogging and any angle. Once you’ve found your niche the content should flow.
Blogging Advice
Providing advice is an important part of Blapril. Guidance that may seem obvious to those who have been regularly writing, may potentially be a revelation to those who have only just started a blog. Hence I usually write over the course of these events, three or four posts offering tips. However, I hit a minor snag today as I sat down to write such a post. As soon as I had an idea about a specific aspect of blogging, I quickly discovered that I’d already previously written about it. I have been participating in various writing events of this kind since 2012 and have therefore covered a lot of ground (as have many of my esteemed colleagues). So I decided to collate all my past posts that offer advice and insight into specific areas of writing, into a single list. They cover a range of subjects from basic advice to those just starting a blog, to how often you should write and whether or not you should allow comments. Then there are other posts about writing styles, courting controversy etc.
Providing advice is an important part of Blapril. Guidance that may seem obvious to those who have been regularly writing, may potentially be a revelation to those who have only just started a blog. Hence I usually write over the course of these events, three or four posts offering tips. However, I hit a minor snag today as I sat down to write such a post. As soon as I had an idea about a specific aspect of blogging, I quickly discovered that I’d already previously written about it. I have been participating in various writing events of this kind since 2012 and have therefore covered a lot of ground (as have many of my esteemed colleagues). So I decided to collate all my past posts that offer advice and insight into specific areas of writing, into a single list. They cover a range of subjects from basic advice to those just starting a blog, to how often you should write and whether or not you should allow comments. Then there are other posts about writing styles, courting controversy etc.
As ever, when offering advice, it should be remembered that it is just that and not immutable rules (as I was reminded recently by a discussion on the Blapril Discord Server about the use of pictures in blog posts). What may work for one writer may be of any use for another, so ultimately I offer all this for your consideration only. But I do think I’ve gained a degree of experience over the last thirteen years of writing. Therefore I would recommend the following two posts, The Realities of Blogging and When Blogging Turns Bad, to those who may harbour dreams of blogging leading to “fortune and glory”. It is entirely possible through hard work and determination to move from writing for yourself, to paid employment. There are Blapril mentors who have successfully done this. But it is not as easy as “putting on a hat” as some people still think. Hence it never does any harm to have a gentle reality check and adjust one’s expectations.
This Jamf isn’t going to get anything written like this
Blogging Advice (2016 to the present):
Should You Allow Comments on Your Blog?
The Importance of Taking a Break
Opinions, Debate and Courting Controversy
Topics, Talking Points and Ideas for Blog Posts
The Importance of Making Notes
Finally, I write a recurring “column” called Thoughts on Blogging, in which I discuss my relationship with writing and various other miscellaneous ideas regarding content creation. Again, it may be of use to other Blapril participants. Yet, despite all this wealth of advice provided by all involved with this event, there is one fundamental fact that potentially trumps everything else. At some point you have to just sit down and write. By definition a writer writes. If you just put aside your concerns and knuckle down to writing you will immediately start to improve. Practise does indeed make perfect but it’s a long journey. One that starts by writing your first post. Although advice and guidance can help you refine your writing process, if you’re not writing then you’re simply not going to make any progress. Remember, “It's the job that's never started as takes longest to finish" as Gaffer Gamgee said.
Blogger Recognition Award 2020
I woke up this morning to discover I’ve been tagged for an “award”. However, my dreams of donning a tuxedo, taking to a podium and emotionally thanking my loved ones were quickly dispelled when I realised this was one of those internet “tag and promote” exercises. Not that there’s anything wrong with such undertakings. These sorts of exercises serve a purpose and can be used to amplify the writings of new bloggers. It’s just that there’s no gold plated statuette involved. Never mind. This “award” also presents an opportunity to share some advice, which hopefully will be of use to many of those who are new to blogging and have recently signed up for Blapril. So without further ado, let us begin. First off, let’s recap what’s involved regarding the Blogger Recognition Award 2020.
I woke up this morning to discover I’ve been tagged for an “award”. However, my dreams of donning a tuxedo, taking to a podium and emotionally thanking my loved ones were quickly dispelled when I realised this was one of those internet “tag and promote” exercises. Not that there’s anything wrong with such undertakings. These sorts of exercises serve a purpose and can be used to amplify the writings of new bloggers. It’s just that there’s no gold plated statuette involved. Never mind. This “award” also presents an opportunity to share some advice, which hopefully will be of use to many of those who are new to blogging and have recently signed up for Blapril. So without further ado, let us begin. First off, let’s recap what’s involved regarding the Blogger Recognition Award 2020.
The Rules:
Thank the wonderful person who nominated you and leave a link back to their blogs.
Explain your blog’s origin story or its history.
Hand out two or more pieces of advice for new bloggers.
Nominate other bloggers and hook us up with links to their blogs.
Thanks For all the Fish:
So, to begin I would like to thank Naithin over at Time to Loot for the nomination. Naithin is a thoughtful and measured blogger who crafts engaging and intelligent posts. He writes in a cordial and informal way but there are often clear signs that everything written has been considered carefully. It’s the polar opposite to much of the “hot takes” and knee jerk, click bait that’s endemic among gaming blogs. If you haven’t added his RSS feed to your reading list, then you really should.
Origins:
As for the origins of Contains Moderate Peril, it is a story I covered in the past and there’s even a breakdown of the name in the “about” section of the website. However, for convenience here is a short breakdown of my “history”. I started blogging regularly in 2007. I had a movie blog and a gaming blog that focused on The Lord of the Rings Online. After a while the gaming blog expanded into covering other titles and eventually it made sense to combine all writing into a single website that covered “movies, gaming and popular culture”. As for the name, in the UK movies are rated by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) which is similar to the MPAA in the US. The BBFC often provides a small summary in conjunction with a rating that is then used in all subsequent advertising. The idea is to give consumers an overview of a film’s themes and content. The guidance for the 2005 movie King Kong was “contains frightening elements, moderate violence and frequent peril”. I then distilled this further down to the current name. It’s a snappy and memorable title for a blog but manually typing the URL is a pain in the butt.
Advice:
Just write. It takes discipline and determination to do it regularly. But the more you write the better you’ll get. Don’t focus on others and what they’re doing. Never make the mistake of comparing apples with oranges. Just concentrate on your output and what’s good for you.
Give credit to those whose posts you riff off, link to your sources if writing a think piece and be mindful that we are all to some extent, standing on the shoulders of giants. You are not the “King of the Internet”. We are all just “Net Citizens”. Oh and respond to comments. If someone’s taken the time to leave a remark about your work, then it is incumbent upon us to respond. And yes, I’m still terrible at this.
Finally and in many ways this may be the most important piece of advice. The internet never forgets. Reflect upon this. Think long and hard before you hit publish. We all get angry with the untrammelled stupidity of other people at times. But if you’re going to be critical then do it factually and do not make it spiteful or vindictive. Once you’ve crossed the line and said something inflammatory or just plain rude, you can’t truly ever delete it and carry on like it never happened. Posts and tweets are archived and cached. Plus readers can cut and paste as well as screen capture anything they see fit. An ill conceived comment can potentially return at any time and bite you on the ass.
Nominees:
I cordially invite the following bloggers, as they all have interesting sites and are not backwards about coming forwards, as the expression goes. However, if they’re too busy to take onboard this additional request, then no worries. It’s not my job to hassle other writers.
Izlain Me vs Myself and I
Telwyn Gaming SF
Welsh Troll WelshTroll
The Importance of Making Notes
As this is the start of Blapril prep week, I thought I’d share an important aspect of my blogging experience. As ever, I would like to state that what works for me may not necessarily work for you. We all approach writing in our own unique way and ultimately it’s all about doing what is appropriate for you. I find that having some processes in place helps me immensely with my writing. And perhaps the most fundamental of these is having a way to manage my thoughts. I’m sure many of us have experienced a situation where a good idea has occurred to us or we’ve thought of a good counterpoint to something we’ve read and thought “I must write that down”. Sadly, we then all too often fail to do so and hence we waste potential blogging “gold”. Which is why I want to talk about the importance of making notes.
As this is the start of Blapril prep week, I thought I’d share an important aspect of my blogging experience. As ever, I would like to state that what works for me may not necessarily work for you. We all approach writing in our own unique way and ultimately it’s all about doing what is appropriate for you. I find that having some processes in place helps me immensely with my writing. And perhaps the most fundamental of these is having a way to manage my thoughts. I’m sure many of us have experienced a situation where a good idea has occurred to us or we’ve thought of a good counterpoint to something we’ve read and thought “I must write that down”. Sadly, we then all too often fail to do so and hence we waste potential blogging “gold”. Which is why I want to talk about the importance of making notes.
If you’re writing a post that has a fundamental point to make or indeed several, then it helps if you take a structured approach. One of the easiest ways to start this process is to simply write down bullet points. You don’t even have to do this in order initially. Just write them down as they occur to you, as you would in a brainstorming exercise. You can then group them together or eliminate those that may not be necessary. These bullet points can then be fleshed out with further detail and developed into paragraphs. You now have the beginnings of a coherent post. For example, if I am reviewing a movie, I write down my thoughts as they come to me while watching. Later I collate them according to their type IE are they related to the acting and casting, writing and direction, or production design etc. The benefits of taking notes is that you can immediately record your thoughts and guarantee that you do not forget a point you wish to focus upon later. I often write blog posts sometime after the initial notes are made.
My notes for Tomb Raider (2018). A review I have yet to write up.
Notes can also be useful not just when writing a blog post but for planning them. We all have days when we’re lacking in inspiration. So why not just keep a rolling list of potential blog post ideas and add to it as and when something of interest springs to mind. Saving interesting articles you’ve read online to something like Pocket can be very useful as well. You won’t have to waste valuable time later trying to track down the material you wish to reference. And sometimes, even saving a picture or a screen capture can be useful for triggering a discussion at a later date. As for how you make your notes, that is entirely down to you. I have multiple notebooks in my office and in the lounge where I watch movies. I recently tried to change to a more modern method and decided to try Microsoft OneNote which I installed on my phone and tablet. It proved too convoluted for my needs, although I’m sure others may feel more comfortable with this medium. Another alternative is to use a voice recorder. Most smartphones have them.
I find that notes provide an excellent way of transcribing my initial thoughts and impressions. They also allow me to marshal my thoughts and create cogent debates and think pieces. Simply put, for me they are the foundation of all my writing and therefore an integral part of my content creation process. However, if you favour different writing styles, such as an unedited stream of consciousness, then the structure that notes bring may not be required or even beneficial to that process. But if you write reviews or are debating a point, then there is a need for structure and that begins with taking notes. Notes can offer improved focus and attention to detail, as well as comprehension and retention skills. They can also teach prioritisation and organisational abilities. They can also boost your creativity by providing clarity. Which is why I’m such a strong advocate of their use.
Get Ready for Blapril 2020
Apparently, I’m not the only one who thinks that all this spare time that many of us now have, can be put to good use. Belghast over at Tales of the Aggronaut, has brought forward his yearly blogging and content creation festival Blaugust and rechristened it Blapril. As the name indicates, this event will now run throughout April. Blapril is primarily a festival of blogging (although it offers much that is relevant to other types of content creation) designed to bring together and encourage new or lapsed bloggers. It is also an ideal opportunity for existing writers to renew their motivation and up their game. The event provides a means to share information and offer valuable advice based upon personal experiences. Blapril is about community, mutual support and sharing content. As I mentioned in a previous post, self isolation is in many ways the perfect time to take up blogging, podcasting, live streaming or generally creating some form of online content. If you’re looking for a gentle nudge to start any of these activities, Blapril 2020 can provide it.
Apparently, I’m not the only one who thinks that all this spare time that many of us now have, can be put to good use. Belghast over at Tales of the Aggronaut, has brought forward his yearly blogging and content creation festival Blaugust and rechristened it Blapril. As the name indicates, this event will now run throughout April. Blapril is primarily a festival of blogging (although it offers much that is relevant to other types of content creation) designed to bring together and encourage new or lapsed bloggers. It is also an ideal opportunity for existing writers to renew their motivation and up their game. The event provides a means to share information and offer valuable advice based upon personal experiences. Blapril is about community, mutual support and sharing content. As I mentioned in a previous post, self isolation is in many ways the perfect time to take up blogging, podcasting, live streaming or generally creating some form of online content. If you’re looking for a gentle nudge to start any of these activities, Blapril 2020 can provide it.
So if you’re interested in taking part in Blapril, there are several ways to do so. The first step is to fill out the Sign-Up Form for Blapril 2020 which can be found here. This is so the event organisers can track progress, “amplify” the promotion of your work and ensure that new bloggers get the support they may need.
There is also a Blapril Discord server which can be found here. This is the third year it has been active and there is quite a substantial community that is continuously active.This is an ideal place to say “hi”, seek answers and most importantly share your content each day in the appropriately named “share-your-content” channel.
When sharing your content on social media please use the hashtag #Blapril2020 for tracking purposes.It makes it easier for those keeping up with the event to find content.
Feel free to chat and interact with those participating in Blapril as it is very much a community event and part of the fun is getting to know the community. Mentors are available to help out with more immediate, hands on advice. There is also a “gaming-together” channel on Discord for those who may want to play socially.
There is also a Media Kit page with official graphics that you can use to promote your work and the event.
“write, Jamf…”
Blapril is not as a few misguided people have suggested in the past, a means of trying to foster some sort of “groupthink” approach to content creation. Quite the opposite is true. It is an event designed to encourage doing things your way. There is no one size fits all approach to blogging, podcasting etc. If you’re happy just writing about Animal Crossing: New Horizon or the bulbs you’ve just planted in your back garden, then that’s fine. Blapril is about helping people find a new hobby and having fun while doing it. And in light of the present circumstances, fun is going to be a much needed commodity. So ignore the self appointed “Fun Stasi” and get ready for Blapril. I’ll be helping out as a mentor and I’m already preparing a list of blog posts and toying with the idea of a podcast (it won’t happen you know but a man can dream). I look forward to reading a lot of new content and chatting with new friends on Discord.
Staying Motivated
According to the Blaugust Festival of Blogging timetable, the designated writing prompt for week number five is titled “Staying Motivated”. Because at some point, all content creators will find themselves either too tired, unwilling or simply unable to produce any new material. You may well have the time and resources to do so but lack inspiration to actually apply yourself. It’s a perennial question for anyone who writes, live streams or produces videos and podcasts. Like most problems of this nature which are dependent upon personal and subjective factors, it does not have a standard or easy answer. Staying motivated is a personal battle that you have fight by yourself, in your own way. If you find a solution that works for you there’s no guarantee that it will be applicable to others. However, there are some practical steps that can be universally taken that can contribute to staying motivated.
Motivation is a psychological concept and not an actual location
According to the Blaugust Festival of Blogging timetable, the designated writing prompt for week number five is titled “Staying Motivated”. Because at some point, all content creators will find themselves either too tired, unwilling or simply unable to produce any new material. You may well have the time and resources to do so but lack inspiration to actually apply yourself. It’s a perennial question for anyone who writes, live streams or produces videos and podcasts. Like most problems of this nature which are dependent upon personal and subjective factors, it does not have a standard or easy answer. Staying motivated is a personal battle that you have fight by yourself, in your own way. If you find a solution that works for you there’s no guarantee that it will be applicable to others. However, there are some practical steps that can be universally taken that can contribute to staying motivated.
If you truly are just writing for yourself, then there is no requirement for any sort of schedule. It also means the question of motivation is greatly mitigated. But if you do write to interact with your audience, then a schedule is a useful thing for both parties. Therefore set a schedule that you know you can sustain. Be honest and realistic with yourself. If it’s just one post a week, so be it. At least everyone then knows where they stand. Once you’ve got a clear idea of how often you want to write (or whatever it is that you do), find the time and use it. If it helps, prepare some sort of reward such as a tasty snack, gin or ketamine that you don’t get until you’ve achieved your goal.
I find that on occasions, there are days when the writing just flows. On such days I publish a blog post and “bank” anything else I produce for another day. Film reviews tend not to be time sensitive, can be written on the fly and left to build up in my “drafts” folder. These can then be rolled out on days when my writing mojo is waning. Then there are feature columns and recurring blog posts. Articles in which you summarise what you’ve been up to. And again let us not underestimate the popularity of sharing screen captures from games and such like. If you managed to obtain that obscure armour set after grinding out a specific instance, then let people know.
“No lollygagging”
Although I do advocate schedules, I also advise taking breaks from your content creation, when you feel the need. However, if you do regularly produce content then you may want to notify your readership of your pending absence. If people know in advance that you’re taking a break, they’re more likely to return later. If you simply vanish without explanation, then your audience will evaporate over time along with any goodwill. I would also add that if like me, you tend to produce content regularly, don’t take too long a break. In my experience the longer your away, the harder it is to return.
One way to keep busy and stave off any loss in motivation is to collaborate with your fellow blogger, streamers and podcasters etc. Group writing projects can yield interesting results, especially when debating subjects that are contentious or have multiple perspectives. Podcasters and streamers can have guests on their shows or facilitate round table debates. Not only do such projects boost your motivation and strengthen community bonds, they also offer a degree of promotion for your online presence.
To date, no Lion has ever written a blog post of note
For many of the people participating in Blaugust, blogging or whatever other form of content creation you’re pursuing, is a hobby. If treat it as such, in a manner that you can sustain, it will remain so. Pushing yourself beyond what you can reasonably cope with, is the quickest way to fall out of love with the thing that you’re doing. That’s not to say you should shy away from applying yourself and sometimes maintaining a degree of discipline. But you have to find a mode of operation that is right for you. A degree of introspection and honesty is also required so you don’t bite off more than you can chew, or conversely, sell yourself short.
Finally, stay in touch with the community after Blaugust and keep a presence on the Discord server. Being around like-minded people is invaluable for staying engaged and focused. After a busy and engaging event such as Blaugust, it can feel like things grind to halt in the days and weeks afterwards. It is not unusual for many content creators to actually stop if they feel that the support network has gone. But it is still there, so it is important to keep the lines of communication open.
Celebrating Difference
The great things about Blaugust Festival of Blogging is that it’s a truly international event. For me that a big part of its appeal. Because although English may well be the universal language of all participants, it is not necessarily their first language. Hence a great deal of a writer’s native culture can bleed though into their posts. Rather than advocating a homogeneous approach to writing in which an international standard is enforced, I much prefer people writing as it naturally occurs to them, in the same way I enjoy and regional accents. In the internet age, it’s easy to think that there exists a universal, international pop culture. At a very simple level that may be true. Gaming is a major pastime all over the world. But look beyond the obvious and you’ll find that all countries have their own cultural foibles and idiosyncrasies. And that is one of the reasons I love to read other people’s blogs because I get to share in these.
Rabbits are tasty. Cats, not so much…
The great things about Blaugust Festival of Blogging is that it’s a truly international event. For me that a big part of its appeal. Because although English may well be the universal language of all participants, it is not necessarily their first language. Hence a great deal of a writer’s native culture can bleed though into their posts. Rather than advocating a homogeneous approach to writing in which an international standard is enforced, I much prefer people writing as it naturally occurs to them, in the same way I enjoy and regional accents. In the internet age, it’s easy to think that there exists a universal, international pop culture. At a very simple level that may be true. Gaming is a major pastime all over the world. But look beyond the obvious and you’ll find that all countries have their own cultural foibles and idiosyncrasies. And that is one of the reasons I love to read other people’s blogs because I get to share in these.
Back in the days when Contains Moderate Peril was relatively successful and had a wee bit of a following, it became very apparent through analysing the stats that the readership was international. As soon as that fact came to light, I decided to consider this when writing and hopefully have done so ever since. I tend to write in an informal British manner, similar to how I speak. I use a lot of phrases, colloquialisms and slang, as well as frequently making pop culture references. Why? Because this how I express myself. But I try to explain things along the way because not everything I write will be immediately accessible to international readers. So I put quotation marks around certain phrases and on occasions include links that explains them. I endeavour to do my best to clarify the foibles of UK society, its cultural habits and mindsets. Because pop culture is possibly the United States greatest export and has found its way on to most nations TV, the realities of daily life in America is far from impenetrable. I cannot say the same about German, Dutch, Kenyan or Bangladeshi culture.
Minder. A popular UK TV show from the 80s. Some of the slang may be impenetrable to international viewers. “I’ve got dodgy plates, Tel. Had’em since I was a saucepan”.
I admire anyone who has language skills. It is something we do very poorly in the UK. Less than a third of the nation is bilingual. I suppose due to English being a global language there is a sense of hubris that we shouldn’t even try. My French is very bad and my German negligible. Oddly the only language I ever seemed to get on with other than English was Latin but that’s a separate blog post. Anyone who not only learns English, which is notoriously awkward with its plethora of contradictory rules but also writes it, has achieved linguistically far more than me. I had the pleasure of working with a German engineer back in 1998 called Hendrich. He spoke textbook English but very quickly learned that it didn’t really equip him for day-to-day spoken English. He wanted to know slang and those curious turn of phrases that all countries develop. I confused him once, when we were working late and I said it was time to “knock it on the head”, which means to stop what you’re doing. “Whose head shall we knock?” he replied. Needless to say he found a means to learn informal English. He started supporting the local football team and by interacting with others quickly expanded his vocabulary.
So my advice to new bloggers who are starting out, is always keep in mind that although English may be a common language, the subtleties of your daily life are not. Don’t drive the character from your prose by slavishly writing in Standard International English (or American English). Please reference aspects of your countries culture both big and small and explain them where necessary. It brings so much more to your blog posts. In an age of growing fear regarding “difference”, we can learn a great deal about each other by reading each other’s writing. Yes, there are minor differences such as what side of the road you drive, measurement, the age at which you can do things such as vote or drink. But our overriding similarities also become abundantly clear. Also, if there’s something you’ve read that you don’t understand and you’d like an explanation then definitely ask. I will happily answer such questions about my writing, if you want clarification regarding what is a “chugger”, a “wee stooshie” or what you have to do to get totally “Leo Sayered”.
Topics, Talking Points and Ideas for Blog Posts
According to the Blaugust schedule, its “Topic Brainstorming Week”. I shall interpret this literally and see if I can come up with some hints and tips about what to write about. Because at some point, all bloggers (and potentially other content creators) will sit down in their preferred environment, crack their knuckles and then remain with their hands poised over the keyboards, waiting for inspiration to strike like a thunderbolt. And sometimes nothing comes, or more to the point none of the ideas you come up with particularly inspire you. And therein in lies the reality of blogging. Not every post is a labour of love, a literary milestone or of social significance like the Gettysburg Address (feel free to insert an alternative regionally relevant stirring speech here. I prefer Henry V Act 3, Scene 1 myself). Sometimes, you have to pick something straight forward to write about and produce three or so paragraphs of adequate material. It may not be Shakespeare but it doesn’t have to be “filler” either.
According to the Blaugust schedule, its “Topic Brainstorming Week”. I shall interpret this literally and see if I can come up with some hints and tips about what to write about. Because at some point, all bloggers (and potentially other content creators) will sit down in their preferred environment, crack their knuckles and then remain with their hands poised over the keyboards, waiting for inspiration to strike like a thunderbolt. And sometimes nothing comes, or more to the point none of the ideas you come up with particularly inspire you. And therein in lies the reality of blogging. Not every post is a labour of love, a literary milestone or of social significance like the Gettysburg Address (feel free to insert an alternative regionally relevant stirring speech here. I prefer Henry V Act 3, Scene 1 myself). Sometimes, you have to pick something straight forward to write about and produce three or so paragraphs of adequate material. It may not be Shakespeare but it doesn’t have to be “filler” either.
Reviews, virtual diaries and streams of consciousness: I don’t do brevity very well. If I write a film review that’s under five hundred words, I feel I’ve not done the subject justice. However, that’s on me and is simply a foible of my personality. Short, succinct posts can be good Therefore, brief reviews, or initial impressions or simple musings on a game, TV show, movie, book, or news item about the video game industry can make excellent blog posts. Keeping diaries about the games you’re playing, the item you’re knitting or the plant that you’re growing can also fun and straight forward. Streams of consciousness about your day can also be very engaging. Two good examples are Belghast’s daily posts and Jamie’s “What’s Occurring” You Tube channel. You’d be surprised how global readers like to get to know about you, where you live and what your life is like.
Riffing off other posts, think pieces and open debates: I make no bones about this, I regularly read the various columns, editorials and “soap box” post over at Massively Overpowered and then use them as a starting point for a blog post. Because they have exactly the same dilemma as the non-professional writer. IE coming up with interesting posts on a regular basis. So why not let them do the heavy lifting? At least they get paid. Another avenue to explore is think pieces. Is there a game mechanic that is ubiquitous, that you don’t like? Do you have an idea for an alternative? Then write about it. Why not dissect and analyse the machinations of the video games industry? When writing about what you love, you can focus or either the small or the big picture. Furthermore, when tackling a big subject, it isn’t essential to have all the answers. Throwing open a question to debate is great for comments or another blogger picking up the gauntlet and continuing the discussion.
Guides, FAQs and walkthroughs: Now these can be blogging gold, if done to the right standard. Take a website such as Dulfy’s MMO Guides. It has over time become one of the de facto MMO gaming sites, just through dogged determination in covering the things that gamers want to know about. There is great deal of information out there pertaining to games and other leisure activities that people assume is “well known”. But that is not always the case. Therefore writing the most basic of tips can be very useful to others. I recently wrote about the various libraries of data that addons in ESO are dependent on. You can update the addon but if you don’t update the reciprocal library, things still won’t work. This simple post has been well received. Therefore, never worry about sharing information or personal experiences. There’s always someone who will find it useful.
Screenshots, funny videos and “chummy posts”: As I mentioned earlier, not every post you write has to be “weighty”. A substantial amount of your potential readers don’t want to have to wade through 3,000 words of long form analysis. Sometimes a simple screenshot taken at the end of a major raid, or of an achievement or cosmetic item will delight your audience. People often invest their time into certain hobbies and pastimes as a way to unwind. Therefore a humorous post, or a funny screen capture can really hit the spot. I’ve mentioned before that I don’t care for the mantra “you are your own brand” but I cannot deny its truth. If you produce easy going content that’s light and entertaining, you’ll find your niche. Sometimes your readership or audience are following you because of your personality. A cheerful post may be what someone who is having a bad day is exactly looking for.
Naturally, this post has only scratched the surface of ideas for potential posts. Contrary to what some may think, there is always something to write about. Writers block is frankly an excuse and a lot of quality writers who I respect, calmly and rationally assert that is can be addressed and overcome. I’m interested to see what ideas some of the other Blaugust mentors come up with for “Topic Brainstorming Week”. But ultimately, this is something that has to be addressed by each individual blogger or content creator. You have to eventually grasp the nettle and produce something. And once done, you’ll find that writing (insert comparable activity here that is relevant to you) becomes a lot easier. That’s not to say it should become a job but producing anything creatively requires some effort and application. It’s not always a walk in the park. But the more you do the better you become.
Leave a Comment
It’s the first day of the month and the Blaugust 2019 Festival of Blogging is currently underway. So far there have been numerous posts from established bloggers, offering sound advice and encouragement to those participating in this annual event. However, I wish to focus on one specific aspect of blogging that appears to be on the wane at present. Something that can be invaluable to the new and enthusiastic blogger. And as Blaugust is no longer solely focused on writing, this is also applicable to podcasters, live streamers and You Tubers (I hate that phrase, but it appears to be an accepted collective term, so let’s roll with it). The thing I am alluding to is audience feedback or put more plainly, reader comments. Yes, the thoughts and musings of those who consume your work, left on your site, blog or channel, in the form of a few lines of text. They can be both praising or damning. Supportive, insulting or sometimes incomprehensible. But at least they indicate that someone thinks sufficient of your work to leave some sort of statement.
This looks strangely familiar…
It’s the first day of the month and the Blaugust 2019 Festival of Blogging is currently underway. So far there have been numerous posts from established bloggers, offering sound advice and encouragement to those participating in this annual event. However, I wish to focus on one specific aspect of blogging that appears to be on the wane at present. Something that can be invaluable to the new and enthusiastic blogger. And as Blaugust is no longer solely focused on writing, this is also applicable to podcasters, live streamers and You Tubers (I hate that phrase, but it appears to be an accepted collective term, so let’s roll with it). The thing I am alluding to is audience feedback or put more plainly, reader comments. Yes, the thoughts and musings of those who consume your work, left on your site, blog or channel, in the form of a few lines of text. They can be both praising or damning. Supportive, insulting or sometimes incomprehensible. But at least they indicate that someone thinks sufficient of your work to leave some sort of statement.
People write and produce online content for a multitude of different reasons. The pleasure of creating something, sharing a common interest and engaging with others are just some of the many motivations that come to mind. But at some point, the following question occurs to all content creators. “Is anyone actually reading, watching or listening to this?” or some such variation. And it’s a totally justifiable enquiry, because content creation does not exist in a vacuum. If you’re writing for example, the basic premise of such an undertaking is that its intended to be read. If you therefore write continuously, eventually you will want some feedback. Do people enjoy your work? Do they find it useful? Is it relatable? Or is it an unmitigated disaster and an affront to all sentient life? Content creation and its consumption is a bilateral process. A writer, podcaster or streamer cannot grow if they have no idea how their material is received.
Rod Serling thinks you should support writers by leaving them feedback…
Sadly, despite the internet being filled with people who have an opinion on absolutely everything, getting them to leave a simple comment on your blog is comparable to asking them to undertake one of the labours of Hercules. Admittedly, some blogging sites can be a bit picky about verification and logging in, which does discourage some people from sharing their thoughts. But I think the problem is more due to a cultural shift and the fact that people will use social media to leave feedback and make recommendations these days. I find that readers of Contains Moderate Peril prefer to discuss the various posts, leave feedback and question my parentage via Twitter. The advantage being there are no additional logon credential required and a link to an article can be referenced publicly. Engagement is immediate. I do still get comments left via the site but they are far from common place. It can be a little frustrating at times especially when statistics tell you that a post has been well received.
So in light of this situation I would like to do the following. Here is a list of new bloggers who have embarked upon the Blaugust experience. I would urge readers as a sign of solidarity and goodwill to visit these sites and leave a comment, to encourage and motivate these good people. You’d be surprised what a shot in the arm, a positive comment can be.
· Remus: ..in the mind..
· Tea: Cooler on the internet
· TheRoyalFamily: Dating Sims on the Holodeck
· Serum7six: Enjoying Overload
· everwake: Everwake’s Internet Journey
· Dan/Magimos/Magi: Indiecator
· Kaylriene: Kaylriene
· Sita Dulip: Synthetic Dulips
Preparing for Blaugust 2019
According to the schedule (which is purely for guidance and not a metaphorical gun to your head) Blaugust 2019 Festival of Blogging starts today. This is “prep week”; a golden opportunity to get all your ducks in a row. Now there’s nothing to stop you going into the event blind and winging it. For some content creators, that’s how they roll. However, for most of us, it helps if we have some kind of plan in place and have figured some stuff out in advance. For me this is important as I have a fluid day-to-day schedule and I’m also away for three days due to my son’s wedding. So I thought I’d share my approach to Blaugust, in the hope that it may be helpful to others. Like most things in life, there is no “one size fits all approach”, so you may want to temper my methods and adapt them to your own. You know your own strengths and weaknesses better than I. But the underlying point is still sound. Doing some degree of preparation for Blaugust will certainly help you.
According to the schedule (which is purely for guidance and not a metaphorical gun to your head) Blaugust 2019 Festival of Blogging starts today. This is “prep week”; a golden opportunity to get all your ducks in a row. Now there’s nothing to stop you going into the event blind and winging it. For some content creators, that’s how they roll. However, for most of us, it helps if we have some kind of plan in place and have figured some stuff out in advance. For me this is important as I have a fluid day-to-day schedule and I’m also away for three days due to my son’s wedding. So I thought I’d share my approach to Blaugust, in the hope that it may be helpful to others. Like most things in life, there is no “one size fits all approach”, so you may want to temper my methods and adapt them to your own. You know your own strengths and weaknesses better than I. But the underlying point is still sound. Doing some degree of preparation for Blaugust will certainly help you.
Strategy and planning: Blaugust is about creating content, so why not start collating ideas and brainstorming. If you have established regular columns or intend to do so, then these will be invaluable in bolstering your post count. Providing a diary of your progress in a game is useful and straight forward to write. As for ideas, create a list and write what you want to cover. Then add bullet points about what you want to convey and discuss with each idea. These can then be fleshed out into paragraphs. Impose structure via opening and closing statements and voila, you have a blog post or at least the first draft. Your list of ideas can then become the framework of your posting schedule. If you’re stuck for ideas then the schedule posted by Belghast (see above) offers writing prompts. If you favour writing about specifc things, then do so. I find movie reviews the easiest to write so will prepare some in advance. Also, if possible don’t just write on the fly. Plan when and where you write for best results
Motivation and the reality of regular writing: I strongly encourage all Blaugust participants to communicate with others on the Blaugust Discord Server. Don’t feel reticent about sharing your content there. You have to promote your work to some degree to get people to come and read it. You may well get visitors and comments due to the buzz surrounding the event. But be realistic in your expectations. The key to building an online presence is to publish content regularly. Potentially, this is the most valuable lesson that Blaugust can teach you. Every post doesn’t have to be an in-depth essay or a literary milestone. Three paragraphs is sometimes all that’s needed to make your point, convey an idea or express a sentiment. Remember it is your blog and you should do things your way and in a manner that you’re comfortable with. Don’t overreach yourself but don’t sell yourself short either. Realistically consider what you can produce and then strive to do so.
Expect the unexpected: As well as being a tagline for the TV show Terrahawks, this is also sound advice about Blaugust. No plan is bullet proof and sadly at times, shit happens. A major news story in the area that you write about may appear and you may want to digress from your schedule and get on that bandwagon. Also, one of your fellow bloggers or even yourself, may make a particularly cogent post that subsequently gets other writers riffing off it. You may then feel it prudent to follow up the discussion with another post on that subject. Plus life may derail you and prevent you from writing or at least interfere with your plan. There is even a possibility that you may discover that whatever content creation that you’re pursuing, is not for you after all. Blaugust is a learning curve and despite what you may think, it still has the potential to teach you something. Sometimes you have to do something to determine whether it’s right or not for you.
It never hurts to be organised and for many, imposing a degree of structure upon a month-long writing event, will make it far easier to navigate. Yet, there does come a point when you have to stop fine tuning your plan, which can sometimes become a diversion in itself, and just get on with writing, podcasting, streaming etc. It’s a bit like getting into the swimming pool when on holiday. The water looks inviting but you know it will strike cold. Once in experience tells us it will be fine but the main obstacle is just diving or climbing in. For many, the first Blaugust post is the equivalent of this but once it’s done you may wonder why you worried about it so much. So take the plunge, stay in touch with other participants and see where the month ahead takes you. If you get stuck then help is at hand. I won’t say “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” because that is a logical fallacy. But I will quote from The Lord of the Rings. As Gaffer Gamgee said, “It's the job that's never started as takes longest to finish".
Thoughts on Blogging Part 9
The last three months have been problematic from a writing perspective and my productivity and motivation have both suffered. I struggle to find appropriate time to sit down and apply myself to writing and when I do, I seldom have the correct mindset to stay focused for long. Yet due to the back catalogue of content available on Contains Moderate Peril, there is still regular traffic coming to the site. Ironically, despite my low productivity, I have started receiving an increase in blog related marketing and have received numerous emails regarding “collaboration”, “featured posts” and “SEO optimisation”. All of which I have no interest in. However, the point remains, I’m not writing as much as I used to and I miss it. The same can be said for podcasting but that’s a tougher problem to fix. It is more labour intensive than writing, so the logical thing to do is to focus on the former and not the latter to fix.
The last three months have been problematic from a writing perspective and my productivity and motivation have both suffered. I struggle to find appropriate time to sit down and apply myself to writing and when I do, I seldom have the correct mindset to stay focused for long. Yet due to the back catalogue of content available on Contains Moderate Peril, there is still regular traffic coming to the site. Ironically, despite my low productivity, I have started receiving an increase in blog related marketing and have received numerous emails regarding “collaboration”, “featured posts” and “SEO optimisation”. All of which I have no interest in. However, the point remains, I’m not writing as much as I used to and I miss it. The same can be said for podcasting but that’s a tougher problem to fix. It is more labour intensive than writing, so the logical thing to do is to focus on the former and not the latter to fix.
Fortunately, Belghast over at Tales from the Aggronaut recently announced Blaugust 2019; a yearly festival of blogging designed to bring together and encourage new or lapsed bloggers. It’s a great opportunity for people like myself to renew our motivation and get back into the writing saddle, so to speak. The event also provides a practical forum for people to share information along with their personal experiences and to help and support each other. It also offers a timely reminder that long form writing and the art of essay writing is far from dead, despite what some members of the internet commentariat would have you believe. If you’ve ever thought about blogging, podcasting, live streaming or generally creating some form of online content, then you’ll find encouragement via Blaugust 2019. There’s plenty of time to get ready as activities don’t start till the 28th of July.
Now I don’t know about you, but I am far more likely to let myself down, as opposed to other people. If I set myself a goal or a deadline and I fail to achieve it, I’m far more accepting of it as the only person who has been incommoded by my actions is me. However, if I make a commitment to someone else or group, I honour such undertakings due to all my cultural and emotional baggage. It’s just something ingrained in me like being on time or saying please and thank you. Hence, I have agreed to participate in Blaugust 2019, not only as a contributor but as a mentor as well. The net result will be that I’ll take part in the entire event and write something every day for the duration. As a result I have already started drafting blog posts and provisionally planning a publishing schedule.
I have watched several videos on You Tube recently about learning, organisational skills and applying yourself to your hobby or pastime. However, despite a lot of good practical advice, most ultimately state that there simply comes a point where if you want to succeed in what you are doing, you have to “just do it”. Now that may sound a little glib, underwhelming and too similar to Nike’s awful corporate branding mantra but there it is, an undeniable reality for those with a rational mind. So I’m going to try and abide by this statement of the obvious and get back into the habit of just sitting down and writing. It doesn’t have to be Shakespeare or reinvent the wheel. Writing is primarily an expression of ourself and I’d rather do it to some degree, than not at all. Roll on Blaugust 2019.
Thoughts on Blogging Part 8
I wasn’t expecting to write another entry in the Thoughts on Blogging series so soon, but something came up that grabbed my attention and got me thinking. A simple question that’s often asked about blogging and one that has many layers to it, as well as numerous answers. A new blogger who recently joined the Blaugust discord server asked for help “getting traffic to their blog”. An enquiry that gave me (and possibly others) pause for thought. Because we all to a degree want to attract traffic to our blogs. But I also think bloggers are too coy about this this subject. We’ll say things like “I write for myself” or “it’s not about the numbers” and although I agree with these points, building an audience is important. Let’s be honest, it can be somewhat disheartening after writing a lengthy post about a subject close to you heart, for it to fall flat and not attract any traffic. As discussed before, often it is the casual blog posts written in a hurry, that can be the most popular and the articles you’re most proud of can go unnoticed. So let us be honest. I think most bloggers want to grow an audience and enjoy the sense of accomplishment that it provides.
I wasn’t expecting to write another entry in the Thoughts on Blogging series so soon, but something came up that grabbed my attention and got me thinking. A simple question that’s often asked about blogging and one that has many layers to it, as well as numerous answers. A new blogger who recently joined the Blaugust discord server asked for help “getting traffic to their blog”. An enquiry that gave me (and possibly others) pause for thought. Because we all to a degree want to attract traffic to our blogs. But I also think bloggers are too coy about this this subject. We’ll say things like “I write for myself” or “it’s not about the numbers” and although I agree with these points, building an audience is important. Let’s be honest, it can be somewhat disheartening after writing a lengthy post about a subject close to you heart, for it to fall flat and not attract any traffic. As discussed before, often it is the casual blog posts written in a hurry, that can be the most popular and the articles you’re most proud of can go unnoticed. So let us be honest. I think most bloggers want to grow an audience and enjoy the sense of accomplishment that it provides.
So let us consider for a moment, the question of attracting traffic to your blog. First of all, what is your motivation. It’s an important question because it determines how and what you write, the kind of audience you pursue and the niche you are going to try and fill. If you are writing for pleasure, because of a sense of fandom and to contribute to a community then you’re mainly looking to connect with a specific group and be of service to them. This makes finding your audience very specific. You produce content that is relevant to the community you are part of and promote it via the platforms that community uses. If you are writing for financial gain or to achieve some sort of “internet fame”, then your content is governed far more by pursuing what is popular, affiliating yourself to the latest trends and getting “noticed”. You therefore may seek to court controversy and become involved in high profile disputes. What you wish to achieve very much determines your path. It is not unlike the differing roles of the tabloid press and broadsheet newspapers.
If therefore, you are pursuing the former of these two options and say for example wish to establish yourself of part of The Elder Scrolls Online community, then the best approach would be to produce content regularly. Ensure that your material is engaging, interesting and relevant. Maintain a schedule and stick to it. Google likes sites that do this and you will fair better in search rankings as a result. Your readers like consistency as well. Promote your work via social media, forums and other platforms. Interact with your audience, answer comments and provide your own views on the work of your peers. Riffing off other bloggers posts is always a good way of raising your profile. Discuss, debate and participate. Know when to argue a point and when not to waste your time. Do your research if your posts require factual accuracy and always link to your sources. Then do all the above continuously for several years (possibly nearer a decade) and you may gain some traction and build an audience.
And now let us consider the alternative. Regularly create content but couch it in hyperbole and click bait style of headlines. Be controversial, outspoken and outrageous. Attack those with opposing views and always make clear what you don’t like and won’t tolerate. After all, it’s a lot easier to be critical than constructive. Utilise all the rhetorical tricks of the trade; ad hominem and strawman arguments, gaslighting and “whataboutery”. Jump on any passing bandwagon regardless of whether you believe in it or not. Similarly have an opinion on anything and everything. Shit post, hangout in all the wrong places (specific subreddits, 4chan and 8chan) and always ensure that if there’s a divisive situation, you’re associated with it. Don’t deal in facts but in feelings. Ignore such concepts as the burden of proof, feel free to contradict yourself, switch sides and generally not be burdened by constricting concepts such as integrity. Make people angry then point them in the direction of the alleged “cause”. If you follow this plan, you’ll get noticed and you may gain an audience. But there’s a price to pay. You’ll have painted yourself into a corner and will forever be associated with your “persona”. Plus a lot of people will think you’re an asshole.
Obviously, I have presented two ways of building an audience and would like to make it clear that there are naturally alternatives and variations on both discussed routes. I must admit I do find it surprising that people still think that there’s a quick and easy way to “success”, be it with blogging or any of the other ways of sharing content. Live streaming, producing You Tube videos, creating podcasts and blogging have all gone through a lot of transitions over the years and I suspect the days of any of them being a quick way to get rich and famous have possibly gone. The only constant I can really think of about “audiences” is that they can be both loyal and fickle. Core readers will stick around because ultimately, they have a sense of rapport with the author. Yet if you write less often then people will naturally go elsewhere. There’s been a notable dip in this site’s traffic in the last fortnight because I haven’t been writing. As to the newbie blogger who posted the original question, I hope you find the path that right for you. I’d be interested to learn what their thoughts are on traffic if they’re still blogging in a year’s time.
Thoughts on Blogging Part 7
I decided to take a short break from blogging last week. I have a lot on at present and the only time I’ve had available to write has been in the late evening. I prefer to write in the morning as I’m more focused and motivated. Plus I haven’t really had a lot of positive things to say of late about the two primary subjects of this website. Broadly speaking there’s not a lot of going on in the video games industry that enthuses me. Similarly, the current crop of film releases have hardly distinguished themselves. At present when I do get writing ideas, they tend to be obscure niche market subjects or commentary on social issues. For example, I’m thinking of writing a post about my continuing enjoyment of the Japanese TV show Takeshi’s Castle. I’m also forming my thoughts for an article about how society’s relationship with wildlife may be “broken”. Stuff that is interesting to me but may not be ideal material for readers of Contains Moderate Peril.
I decided to take a short break from blogging last week. I have a lot on at present and the only time I’ve had available to write has been in the late evening. I prefer to write in the morning as I’m more focused and motivated. Plus I haven’t really had a lot of positive things to say of late about the two primary subjects of this website. Broadly speaking there’s not a lot of going on in the video games industry that enthuses me. Similarly, the current crop of film releases have hardly distinguished themselves. At present when I do get writing ideas, they tend to be obscure niche market subjects or commentary on social issues. For example, I’m thinking of writing a post about my continuing enjoyment of the Japanese TV show Takeshi’s Castle. I’m also forming my thoughts for an article about how society’s relationship with wildlife may be “broken”. Stuff that is interesting to me but may not be ideal material for readers of Contains Moderate Peril.
I recently wrote about how the blogging community intermittently loses long time contributors when they decide to “retire”. I have been reflecting upon this of late and wondering whether I should be doing the same. This has mainly been due to a lack of motivation on my behalf. However, as I know exactly what the causes of this problem are (they’re mainly logistical issues), I eventually settled for a short break instead. I know that as soon as I “pack in” writing, I’ll get the bug again shortly afterwards. There is only so much a person can do to organise their life, especially when there are random external factors that can throw a proverbial spanner in the works at any time of day. So I have two choices. Accept the fluidity of things and write as and when I can. Or try to stick to my current schedule, fall behind, get frustrated and eventually throw in the towel. The logical things is to adapt and embrace the former option. So that is what I shall do at for the present. The daily writing schedule has got to give.
If all goes to plan, I’m hoping to resume writing again this week. I have several film reviews outstanding that I can finish off and post. I find these a lot more straightforward and relatively easy to collate, compared to more complex “think pieces” about gaming and its associated industry. Film reviews have also proven to be a good source of traffic for Contains Moderate Peril over the years, as unlike gaming related articles, they’re not time specific. I’m also going to pursue the more niche market articles I mentioned earlier, because the alternative is simply not to write anything. I’m sure I’ll produce more material about gaming when a subject, or angle presents itself that I find interesting. However, beyond this immediate plan, it’s best not to speculate. My caring commitments are currently in a state of flux due to illness and associated medical problems. So there’s still plenty of scope for arrangements and schedules to change.
Ride Off Into the Sunset
“At some point, KTR and other MMO blogs mostly drifted from being MMO blogs. Some have remained pure, I am sure, but we became online gaming blogs, gaming blogs, online culture blogs, general blogs. And we gradually trailed off”. Zubon. Kill Ten Rats. And so another MMO blogger who has been part of the community “furniture” for years, decides that they’ve said everything they can upon the subject and that it’s time to move on. It’s a familiar story, one that I totally understand and can identify with. Passion waxes and wanes, scenes change, as do people. There comes a point where you don’t feel there’s anything left else to discuss or whether anyone is actually listening, except in Zubon’s case they definitely were. It’s always a shame to see a community stalwart go, but nothing remains the same forever.
“At some point, KTR and other MMO blogs mostly drifted from being MMO blogs. Some have remained pure, I am sure, but we became online gaming blogs, gaming blogs, online culture blogs, general blogs. And we gradually trailed off”. Zubon. Kill Ten Rats. And so another MMO blogger who has been part of the community “furniture” for years, decides that they’ve said everything they can upon the subject and that it’s time to move on. It’s a familiar story, one that I totally understand and can identify with. Passion waxes and wanes, scenes change, as do people. There comes a point where you don’t feel there’s anything left else to discuss or whether anyone is actually listening, except in Zubon’s case they definitely were. It’s always a shame to see a community stalwart go, but nothing remains the same forever.
As I said to Scormey recently, “there's a list of fellow bloggers, You Tubers and members of the MMO commentariat, that I regularly check to see that they're still in business”. All of whom have been contributing to the gaming community for many a year. I consider all of them to be of great value, even though many of them are focused upon games I may not play. A sense of shared fandom helps bind this lose cabal of content creators together and feeds into a wider community. Broadly it is a measured, thoughtful and friendly enclave, something that is not so common in gaming these days. Therefore it is reassuring to see it endure and know that it is still out there doing its thing. Naturally when a long-term member “retires” is does make me wonder as to the longevity of this community.
Yet events such as The Newbie Blogger Initiative and Blaugust Reborn still attract new content creators and despite the inevitable churn, fresh blood and new perspectives continue to join the community. This influx keeps the torch burning for MMOs and other genres of games. Although I can’t see a return to the halcyon days of MMO blogging of a decade plus ago, it is pleasant and dare I even say comforting to see sixty odd active blogs in my RSS Feed. Every day I still find lengthy, interesting, passion fuelled posts to read. There are also plenty of solid You Tube channels to enjoy as well as some entertaining and consistent streamers to follow. All of which are created and maintained through the good will of fans. This remains something for which I and others are very grateful.
Thoughts on Blogging Part 6
As January comes to an end, I am pleased that I have so far managed to maintain a daily writing schedule. I hope that I can continue in this vein throughout February. As ever the actual process of sitting and writing has proven a somewhat mixed bag so far this year. Some days the word simply spill out of me and a blog post potentially writes itself. On others, composing just three coherent paragraphs is like pulling teeth and much time is spent procrastinating and getting side tracked. But a mixture of self-discipline and a degree of pride have helped oil the creative wheels and kept the content flowing. Whether any of it is any good is for others to decided. However, it was nice to find one of my posts quoted in an article over at Massively Overpowered. It means that at least someone is reading my work and pondering upon the points therein. Writing is after all a means of communication and sharing ideas so it is rewarding to know that you’re not just yelling into the wind all the time.
As January comes to an end, I am pleased that I have so far managed to maintain a daily writing schedule. I hope that I can continue in this vein throughout February. As ever the actual process of sitting and writing has proven a somewhat mixed bag so far this year. Some days the word simply spill out of me and a blog post potentially writes itself. On others, composing just three coherent paragraphs is like pulling teeth and much time is spent procrastinating and getting side tracked. But a mixture of self-discipline and a degree of pride have helped oil the creative wheels and kept the content flowing. Whether any of it is any good is for others to decided. However, it was nice to find one of my posts quoted in an article over at Massively Overpowered. It means that at least someone is reading my work and pondering upon the points therein. Writing is after all a means of communication and sharing ideas so it is rewarding to know that you’re not just yelling into the wind all the time.
I like to write about a broad spectrum of subjects, but naturally I self-edit my posts and so some content remains unpublished. I try not to do too much politics or social issues although I’m not averse to expressing an opinion. But sometimes you have to refrain from “indulging” yourself and focus on the meat and potatoes of your writing. For me that is still movies and video games. I have no problem with constructive criticism and analysis of the things I enjoy, but I am cognisant of not perpetuating a continuously negative narrative. Hence, I endeavour to be as even handed as one can be, despite being human and therefore having personal bias. Frankly it’s just lazy writing to sit in the balcony and barrack the stage continuously. Yet as a culture, in recent years we’ve become far more focused on what we don’t like, what we’re against and what we think is beyond the pale. Actually expressing positive sentiments or extolling the virtues of something you enjoy is bizarrely frowned upon in some quarters or seen as sappy.
Moving forward into 2019, I have several ideas regarding developing further recurring themed posts. At present I use Thoughts on Blogging and Diary of a Podcaster as means to provide commentary on both mediums as well as update readers about my own endeavours in these areas. I also use the Classic Themes posts as a vehicle to explore my love of film, TV and video game music. After some thinking I’m considering writing regularly about various common tropes and archetypes that occur in movies. I also had an idea about a similar game related series of articles, where I could focus on mainstays of the industry and how certain mechanics become established. I’ve also reflected upon my need to write more about books, graphic novels, obscure TV shows from my childhood and a wealth of other topics. But all such ideas have to be realistically tempered by the time I have available and my desire to pursue other interests. All things considered, I should be able to sustain my writing schedule for the next month. But ideas for content is only half the equation. The other is motivation. That is a far more nebulous commodity. However, one positive thing to consider is that February is a shorter month than others.
Thoughts on Blogging Part 5
This week, a rather high profile sub-reddit associated with the Star Trek Online community, changed its status to “private” as a means of protesting against the state of the game and the way developers Cryptic are handling things. That matter was surprisingly resolved within 24 hours after an olive branch was extended from the STO community manager on reddit. However, it is not the protest itself nor the state of the game that I wish to focus upon, but the importance of /r/stobuilds as a shared community resource. A lot of STO players enjoy optimising their builds and tweaking their loadout and this site it the place to go to share such information. There is also a group of hardcore players that dig deep into the games data and comprehensively crunch number and generate useful information. Hence if a resource such as this was taken offline for longer period of time, it would have a tangible impact upon players and the wider community.
This week, a rather high profile sub-reddit associated with the Star Trek Online community, changed its status to “private” as a means of protesting against the state of the game and the way developers Cryptic are handling things. That matter was surprisingly resolved within 24 hours after an olive branch was extended from the STO community manager on reddit. However, it is not the protest itself nor the state of the game that I wish to focus upon, but the importance of /r/stobuilds as a shared community resource. A lot of STO players enjoy optimising their builds and tweaking their loadout and this site it the place to go to share such information. There is also a group of hardcore players that dig deep into the games data and comprehensively crunch number and generate useful information. Hence if a resource such as this was taken offline for longer period of time, it would have a tangible impact upon players and the wider community.
Now not every fansite, blog or player run resource are of a comparable size and significance, but I would cogently argue that they all contribute to their respective communities in essentially the same manner. They’re sharing information, enthusiasm and support for the things that they love and are entertaining and communicating with others. A fellow blogger who wrote a popular MMO fansite, once told me that they considered their writing as a public service in a way. I do not think the remark was a reflection of their vanity. It simply showed that they enjoyed participating in a wider community and sharing what they knew. However, they also remarked that once you find yourself in a position where your work becomes important to the wider community, you can become a “prisoner of your own success”. This then raises the spectre of “obligation” over writing for pleasure. If you’re creating guides for an MMO or data mining the latest patch, then you can end up in this position.
I have a plethora of websites and blogs, bookmarked in my web browser. Most are run by fans and despite the fact they are amateur publications, many are of an extremely high standard. In fact, they often put the professionals to shame. Such blogs are often done by sole individuals, busy couples or over stretched collectives who are passionate about their subject. A lot of people benefit from the hard work that they put in. The recent LOTRO renaissance has highlighted for me just how many great fan-based resources still exist, but it has also reminded me of how many blogs and podcast have retired of “faded” over the years. The absence of some are still sorely missed. Expressing yourself through written words is more labour intensive than producing content for other platforms. It is less ephemeral due to the thought and consideration that good writing takes. In some respects, the bloggers surrounding certain games are a microcosm of the of the wider community.
There’s been a lot of talk of late regarding preserving video games history. It is indeed an interesting proposition because it is in historical terms such a relatively recent phenomenon. However, if you wish to preserve games per se, as we currently do with other art forms such as movies, music and books, then surely preserving their associated impact on popular culture is equally as important? Fifty years from now when it can be safely assumed that World of Warcraft should have run its course, having access to the myriad of websites and fan resources that evolved around the MMO will be key to understanding the popularity of the game itself. Surely, such a concept logically extends to blogging around any aspect of popular culture? Naturally not every site or blog is destined to be of paramount historical importance, but all contribute in their own unique way to bigger community picture. Consider that next time you write, and it may help motivate you. Or it may do the opposite.
Searching Content on Contains Moderate Peril
If you are a WordPress user, there are a multitude of plugins that you can apply to your blog to tweak and customise it. The only downside of this is that every time WordPress upgrade their software, all your plugins subsequently need to be updated. Many plugins are written by third parties and therefore you do not have guaranteed long-term support. Plugins can also be exploited, which is why I ultimately decided to stop using WordPress for my website. I made the transition to Squarespace for my hosting needs in August 2015 and have never looked back since then. However, I have been using the same template for three years now and I was pondering recently whether it was time to change it. Yet a change of this kind is bound to have knock-on effects and could potentially end up creating more problems than it solves. So rather than go off half cocked, I decided to do some research to see if I could improve the functionality of my blog.
If you are a WordPress user, there are a multitude of plugins that you can apply to your blog to tweak and customise it. The only downside of this is that every time WordPress upgrade their software, all your plugins subsequently need to be updated. Many plugins are written by third parties and therefore you do not have guaranteed long-term support. Plugins can also be exploited, which is why I ultimately decided to stop using WordPress for my website. I made the transition to Squarespace for my hosting needs in August 2015 and have never looked back since then. However, I have been using the same template for three years now and I was pondering recently whether it was time to change it. Yet a change of this kind is bound to have knock-on effects and could potentially end up creating more problems than it solves. So rather than go off half cocked, I decided to do some research to see if I could improve the functionality of my blog.
After taking an in-depth look at my blog stats, both via Squarespace and Google Analytics, it’s clear that a third of readers are using their phones to access Contains Moderate Peril. Fortunately, the template I’m currently using is mobile friendly and I’m pleased with its performance. For PC users the blog is functional, despite lacking is certain interactive elements such as sidebars, blog rolls and social media links. All posts are clear and easy to read. As I think that content is by far the most important aspect of any blog, as long as it is accessible and easy to navigate then the current template is doings its job. I also consider it important to provide readers with links to similar material to that which they are already reading. Hence, all articles have a list related posts at the bottom of the body of text. This is invaluable for building an audience and exposing readers to more of your work. I find it most rewarding when I look at my blog stats and see that someone has read an article about LOTRO and then perused further content of a similar theme.
However, there is one limitation to these “summary blocks” as Squarespace calls them. They only display a maximum of 28 links to previously posted content. Subsequently as more content is added to Contains Moderate Peril, older material is gradually excluded from the “summary blocks”. Yet there is an obvious and convenient workaround. All posts are indexed by categories displayed at the page footer. If you click on any category it will then list all other posts associated with it. Hence clicking on “movies” will list all posts in that category. The site shows twenty posts at a time and readers can then access the next twenty by clicking on “older”, again at the bottom of the page. You can search by author in the same fashion. There is also a calendar on the Post Archive page (which you can access via the top menu) which lists all posts for the month. The month can be adjusted, and so readers can comprehensively see all posts that have been published since Contains Moderate Peril migrated to Squarespace. There is also a search facility for the entire site, again found on the top menu.
Ultimately, all the changes I have made to the website template are to the backend. Minor changes to SEO, key words and indexing will hopefully improve performance and allow readers to find further material if they so wish. It will be interesting to see if this post has an impact upon traffic and the way the site is used. As I’ve said in such events as The Newbie Blogger Initiative and Blaugust, writers or bloggers shouldn’t be driven by purely stats and website traffic. But if you are publicly publishing your work it is logical to make it as accessible to you readers as possible and to ensure they can search it effectively. Promotion of content via social media is one way of doing this but having an online presence that is easy and intuitive to use is also essential. Not all posts are time specific and there may be occasions when you specifically want your audience to find older content that is still pertinent. Therefore, if you aren’t already using a “related posts” or a post archive facility on your blog then you are doing yourself and more importantly your readers a disservice.
Analysing Blaugust
There is a blog post over at the Greedy Goblin, where Gevlon crunches the numbers to see how many bloggers are still writing a month and a half on from Blaugust. Needless to say, I am not surprised by his results. Writing events such as Blaugust and before that, The Newbie Blogger Initiative, have always had a high attrition rate. I know lots of good writers who cannot sustain a regular writing schedule due to their work commitments. This is especially true of those with families. Then there are those bloggers who simply run out of stamina. Posting regular content is hard and requires focus and discipline. Producing in-depth and longform posts with any regularity is even harder. So, Gevlon’s summary merely proves what many of us new in advance. But I guess you'd find the exactly the same results if you were analysing the aftermath of an event that encouraged podcasting, live streaming or posting videos of You Tube. Creating content of any kind takes time and effort. The better the quality of that material, the more time it takes. Hence some will cease their efforts.
There is a blog post over at the Greedy Goblin, where Gevlon crunches the numbers to see how many bloggers are still writing a month and a half on from Blaugust. Needless to say, I am not surprised by his results. Writing events such as Blaugust and before that, The Newbie Blogger Initiative, have always had a high attrition rate. I know lots of good writers who cannot sustain a regular writing schedule due to their work commitments. This is especially true of those with families. Then there are those bloggers who simply run out of stamina. Posting regular content is hard and requires focus and discipline. Producing in-depth and longform posts with any regularity is even harder. So, Gevlon’s summary merely proves what many of us new in advance. But I guess you'd find the exactly the same results if you were analysing the aftermath of an event that encouraged podcasting, live streaming or posting videos of You Tube. Creating content of any kind takes time and effort. The better the quality of that material, the more time it takes. Hence some will cease their efforts.
Another point of note is how some of the blogs listed (such as my own) no longer exclusively focus upon gaming. I can shed some light upon this matter. There comes a point in the life of a fan where you look back through your past posts and realise you've pretty much said everything you can about that which you enjoy. I started blogging about games back in 2008 and the apple of my eye at the time was LOTRO and the MMO genre. Those halcyon days are gone and MMOs are now a specific niche, so unless a major controversy raises its head, then I don’t have that much to say about things. The gaming industry “is what it is”. It's corporate driven and focused primarily on satisfying the needs of shareholders. Hence, I am no longer surprised or appalled by poor business decisions, egregious monetisation strategies or the general indifference it habitually shows towards customers. It's like shouting at a compass for pointing north.
So regardless of the inevitable attrition rate that come with events such as Blaugust, if it leads to just a handful of new writers who stay the course and continue to post good material, then the undertaking has served its purpose. And if this event is held again next year, I believe you’ll see very similar results. Because Blaugust not only provides support and encouragement to new writers, it also offers a crash course in the realities of writing. It’s a bit like looking after someone else’s dog for a week while they’re on holiday, allowing you to realistically assess whether you really want one of your own. Furthermore, it isn’t always necessary to look at all leisure activities in terms of “success or failure”. For me, part of the appeal of events such as Blaugust, is the ongoing enjoyment of reading new posts and interacting with those who are participating. Sometimes it can be about the journey and not just the destination.
Blaugust Reborn: Event or Cause?
The Blaugust Reborn is an event, which promotes blogging and offers advice and guidance to those who have just started or who are toying with the idea of doing so. It has no agenda beyond providing encouragement and support. The advice that is offered through various veterans’ content creators collective experience, is just that, advice. It can be taken or ignored, because ultimately blogging is a very personal pastime and there really isn't a right or wrong way to do it. If doing what you do and the way that you do it brings you pleasure, then you've pretty much well nailed it. I see Blaugust Reborn as a benign undertaking. It has no agenda that I am aware of. In fact, I could argue that my involvement is a little self-serving, in so far as I hope that some great new blogs emerge from this year’s event that I can read on a regular basis. Overall, I see the Blaugust Reborn as a simple exercise in offering a helping hand. For me it's not any more complex than that.
The Blaugust Reborn is an event, which promotes blogging and offers advice and guidance to those who have just started or who are toying with the idea of doing so. It has no agenda beyond providing encouragement and support. The advice that is offered through various veterans’ content creators collective experience, is just that, advice. It can be taken or ignored, because ultimately blogging is a very personal pastime and there really isn't a right or wrong way to do it. If doing what you do and the way that you do it brings you pleasure, then you've pretty much well nailed it. I see Blaugust Reborn as a benign undertaking. It has no agenda that I am aware of. In fact, I could argue that my involvement is a little self-serving, in so far as I hope that some great new blogs emerge from this year’s event that I can read on a regular basis. Overall, I see the Blaugust Reborn as a simple exercise in offering a helping hand. For me it's not any more complex than that.
However, may not see it in such straight forward terms. A few years ago, when the equivalent event of Blaugust Reborn was the Newbie Blogger Initiative there was criticism from some quarters of the Blogosphere, who saw the it as an organised attempt to try and stamp some sort of standard identity upon new writers. It was even labelled as some sort of Orwellian Groupthink. There was a great deal of hyperbole involved and very little clear thinking. This view stemmed from the fact that a lot of those at the time participating in the NBI had written about their indifference to GamerGate and thus there was the ubiquitous binary backlash from those who equated ambivalence with holding a contrary view. However, this matter did highlight the fact that something as simple as benign as trying to offer help and support could be misconstrued.
I think what I found curious about the pushback that happened in NBI back in 2015 was the fact that someone saw fit to label the event as a "cause". This has got me thinking whether anyone thinks that Blaugust Reborn is a cause instead of an exercise in self-help? A supportive event is optional and non-threatening. A "cause" is a much more subtle beast. It has socio-political connotations. There is usually an undercurrent of moral rectitude. Causes seek to correct something. Something that is deemed to be currently wrong, hence the ethical undertone. Events simply facilitate, whereas causes will by their very nature have those that are diametrically opposed to them. Suddenly an activity goes from being functional (and fun) to something far more partisan.
Consider something like advice on weight loss and eating healthily. In essence it is a harmless stance to take and advocate. Yet if it is promoted in an overzealous and judgemental way and treated as a cause rather than optional guidance, it suddenly becomes a political football; something that is strongly resisted and reviled in some quarters as a form of social engineering. I don't want the Blaugust Reborn to fall into this trap. I don't want it to become burdened with ideologies and dogma. I want it to be perceived for what it is; an event that offers a helping hand and facilitates the participant to blog in a manner that suits them.
The thing about Blaugust Reborn is that the advice offered can be used in whatever way the author wishes. I could be argued that Blaugust Reborn could even end up facilitating writers who produce hateful content filled with bigotry and prejudice. So far from what I’ve seen of those who have signed up to participate, that seem unlikely but it’s not impossible. However, that goes with the territory and I do not fear those who have contrary views to my own. Blaugust Reborn is just a process. What people choose to do with the information they can obtain from it is their decision. It's a bit like running a woodwork class. If someone wants to use the knowledge they’ve gained to fashion a club instead of a chair, then that is their prerogative (feel free to add your own Bobby Brown gag here).
Now I realise that Blaugust Reborn is not defined by just one person's perception of it. It runs due to the involvement of multiple people, all of which probably have a unique view of exactly what the event is and what it aims to achieve. Yet I think that its inherent simplicity adds to its appeal. Therefore, I have made the assumption that other participants do not see it as a "cause". However, I may be wrong. I've been round the block several times and in my youth been involved in politics, trade union activities and various social issues. Yes, I have supported "causes". Sadly, none of them has been without problems or remained 100% true to their roots and goals. It is just the nature of ideologies and concept, that implementing them often requires compromise. But I don’t see Blaugust Reborn falling into this category though.
Age has taught me to be both mindful and sceptical of such things as "causes". Too often they can be a Trojan Horse for something more sinister. But again, I don’t see Blaugust Reborn being like that. So, I'm asking the following question out of curiosity to all who may be involved with Blaugust Reborn to a greater or lesser degree. How do you perceive this event? Or is it simply an exercise in self-help. Do you see it as part of a wider undertaking with greater meaning? Do you consider it as a cause? If so what do you want the event to achieve beyond helping content creators? Is it an open invite to all, or would you be concerned if someone with a “radical” online presence wished to get involved? It’s certainly food for thought. Feel free to comment.
Blogging and Self-Discipline
Although blogging is great fun and a very rewarding hobby, it is also at times hard work. I don't say that to discourage you, but it is a fact that needs to be considered by all embarking upon their content creation journey. Writing per se requires a degree of self-discipline. Without it, your aspirations will remain just that. Nothing will get done, posting will become irregular and you'll readers will simply lose interest and look for material elsewhere. So, what exactly do you need to be self-disciplined about? Well if you want to write posts regularly that are engaging and of a good standard then consider the following points:
Although blogging is great fun and a very rewarding hobby, it is also at times hard work. I don't say that to discourage you, but it is a fact that needs to be considered by all embarking upon their content creation journey. Writing per se requires a degree of self-discipline. Without it, your aspirations will remain just that. Nothing will get done, posting will become irregular and you'll readers will simply lose interest and look for material elsewhere. So, what exactly do you need to be self-disciplined about? Well if you want to write posts regularly that are engaging and of a good standard then consider the following points:
- Set aside a specific time to write, that is free from distractions.
- Find an environment that is conducive to writing.
- Establish a schedule that suits you and is sustainable.
- Strike the right balance with self-criticism and editing.
- Commit to your writing. Don’t do it half-heartedly.
I would also add not rushing or writing in the "heat of the moment". It is often a mistake to go off “half-cocked”. Also ensuring that you are factually correct and have linked to any source material that you may be discussing.
Now adhering to these criteria requires commitment and adds another layer of work to the process of writing. Ignoring them is often very tempting. However, you will not produce your best material by doing so. The writer that knocks out a post at the end of a busy day, while the TV blares in the background is likely to make mistakes. The writer that pens a vitriolic reply to an article they've misread will end up with egg on their face. Plus, there is no shortage of self-appointed internet policemen who will happily write a comment of epic proportions, pointing out how you made a schoolboy error over some minor detail. Poorly conceived posts and bad argument won’t gain you any traction with readers.
It is possible to do all the above and still have immense enjoyment from blogging. None of these suggestions have to be a chore. If you can factor them into your writing process, then they will become a lot easier. Your output will certainly be better as a result. Don't beat yourself up if you deviate from them from time to time. We're all human. I have on numerous occasions done the complete opposite of what I have suggested. In fact, while I was writing this post I wasted several minutes being side tracked by You Tube videos and a Discord thread featuring pet pictures.
Exactly how much of a process you impose upon your writing is ultimately up to you. There is no one size fits all. It may take some trial and error to find a routine that suits your specific needs. But having no process whatsoever is not likely to be beneficial. Therefore, do not see self-discipline as being a burden but more of a practical tool that contributes to your overall blogging experience. Self-discipline leads to a routine and a routine is great way of polishing your writing process. Please feel free to share any ideas you may have on writing routines or how you maintain self-discipline and motivation in the comments section below.