Inertia is real

Gansey doing what Gansey does best.

One of the tricky parts of jumping back into writing after not writing for a while is trying to figure out where to start. And that indecision has created just a wee bit of inertia around here. That and a whole lot of “life stuff” that seems to keep happening (funny how that works, isn’t it?)

Of course, the best way to overcome inertia, is to not overthink it and just start posting. Which is what I did back in January. While that did overcome the inertia of the moment, it, obviously, did not solve the longer term problem of actually continuing to write.

The next obvious strategy is to “make a plan”. To brainstorm a list of future posts/topics. To commit to a regular posting schedule. Except I know myself well enough by now to know that is not a way that works for me.

In reflecting on what has worked in the past, I’m realizing that I write better in response to something. When I started Throwing Marshmallows in the early days of blogging (way back in 2005!) it was in conversation with other homeschool bloggers. We’d read what someone else had written and use it as a jumping off point, linking back to the various discussions. Or participate in homeschool blog carnivals where we would submit a post which then would then be linked in a central location and then shared by all the participants (a way to discover great homeschool blogs pre-social media).

I also did a lot of writing on homeschool email lists like VaEclecticHS and Homeschooling Creatively where homeschool moms in the trenches were trying to figure it out together. These at some point (with varying degrees of success) migrated to become Facebook groups. And many homeschool bloggers migrated to Instagram which, interestingly, resulted in a shift away from a sense that we were in the trenches learning together and towards looking for the “influencer” who seemed to “have the answers”.

One of the reasons I loved the Brave Learner Home was that it provided a framework for deeper dives and explorations than Facebook or Instagram. Conversations did not “scroll off” the feed in a day. You could reflect, give ideas a try and come back to share what was working or not working. We got to know each other. We could have more in depth conversations than was possible in the comments of a social media post. It also gave me a steady stream of writing inspiration.

Since stepping down from Brave Writer, I have lost that organizing framework that helped focus my writing. Yet I have not lost the desire to explore and share my thoughts. Recently, I have started subscribing to various newsletters via Substack (which I also use to send out notifications of new posts - if you haven’t already, you can subscribe here!) Substack has an old-school bloggy vibe and many have developed into wonderful communities with thoughtful discussions about interesting ideas (how many places nowadays can you say that you look forward to reading the comments?) Yet, I tend to not jump in (even though I read regularly) because they feel too large and anonymous and my Enneagram Type 9 tendencies kick in, wondering what is the point (and would anyone there care?)

It has given me an idea though: what if I use those posts as a jumping off point for myself here? That won’t be all that I write about, but it might be just enough in the moment inspiration to keep my motivation feeling fresh and provide a flexible enough organizing principle to keep me writing more consistently. Because I do miss it.

I guess the only way to find out is to try! Wish me luck. 🍀

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