Thirty Days Hath September

[one_half]September In Review
I don’t know where this month went. I’ve blogged every day in September as a part of a NaBloPoMo challenge. I have posted, essentially cross-posted, links to my daily posts whenever I can find a few additional minutes in the day to catch up with four Facebook blogging groups, as well as leaving a link on BlogHer’s Nablopomo September Posts page. Pinterest and Stumble Upon updates have been made less successfully than other updates. Google+ was utilized least well of the standard social media platforms this past month. Auto-generated and posted Twitter and Facebook posted links were the most regular. Facebook sends lots of folks to my site, but autoposts on Twitter rarely does. I have not really even dipped my toe into Instagram.
I’m going to have to rethink the entire update/marketing procedure to make it more streamlined targeted, effective, personal, and worthwhile. I’m not sure all that is possible at the same time though. Some changes do need to be made.
The most important writing and marketing lessons of September for me were the ones related to pipelines and previously mapped out, written, and scheduled posts. The stress goes away and the act of seeing words come together in a meaningful way on the page is fun when the immediate, “gotta get it out today” pressure is removed. I start posts now even though I know I won’t finish them the same day, or perhaps ever, but if the same thoughts or topic crop up as something I want to write about again, I have something from which to add to, or subtract so the blank page is not a problem for me to face.
The Wednesday Weekly App post, even though has ‘t been every week, is a definite keeper. I will probably include something like a Mastiff Monday, too, to include my undoubtedly in the offing puppy posts. The addition of another puppy into my life gives me another topic about which to have recurrent posts. Like I need another topic!
I still think that writing every single day may be a bit much for me. I might give myself weekends off, if I don’t feel like writing on a Saturday or Sunday. And if I do feel like writing, I can polish, edit or get a few days ahead with posts or work solely on the structure and back end of my sites.
I like idea of a retrospective look at my writing for the month that is ending. Briefly examining what I want to keep and what I want to change for the upcoming month sounds like a reasonable tool for me and a topic that might inform others who are interested in blogging and writing in the 21st Century.
Next month a summary will be tough to do because the end of the month is not just Halloween, but also preparation time for Dia de los Muertos which in Tucson is a very important time for historic and evolving cultural traditions. MORE on that throughout the month! There are also some birthdays and anniversaries in this coming month of people I have loved and lost. I want to write about them. I will also be prepping for a long weekend at a resort in Mexico in November, something that is way off my usual radar as “resorts” especially ones with “native villages” within the resort “experience,” are a bit too colonial and “noble savage” for me. October will provide opportunity for lots of fun and thoughtful writing. And of course the holidays are approaching with visits from the offspring and their progeny. And Done Nesting will go live, though be in Beta. I’m looking at an After the Apocalypse launch (tongue in cheek naming here!) October is gonna be GOOD.