I have noticed that a large part of the reason I am not as active in the Steem Community as I would really like to be.... is that it quite simply takes me too long to create any given post.
Maybe that's not entirely true, because there's a difference between writing "in public" and writing "in private."
All the time in the world...
I also have to be honest with myself and recognize that I suck at "short posts;" and I am simply not willing to lend my name to 50 words of garble and a stolen image from the web... and call it my post.
On Having Contiguous Time
I don't actually have any dedicated writing time. I'd like to think that I do, and I'd like to think that I can "make time" to sit down and craft elegant posts for my long from start to finish... but that's just not a happening thing.
When I say that I "write in public," it means that there is a constant stream of interruptions, and I end up looking at the clock at 4:00pm and realizing that I still haven't done a damn thing. Or maybe I've written about two-thirds of a post in three minute increments between other stuff.
The high desert near Joshua tree, California... near sunset
Procratination? Sure, that's also a monkey on the back... to the extent that I tell myself that I am not going to bother till I can set time aside. But that's really just a "cover story,"
I just don't have the luxury of writing in peace.
I know from (limited) past experience that I can whip out 1,000 words of pretty decent prose in 15 minutes or so... IF there are no people, no phones, no emails or texts pinging.
It's Actually the "Polishing" That Takes Time...
Of course, there's a lot more to writing a post than just stringing 500-1000 words together in some semi-intelligible order... then there's formatting, pictures, sub-headings and so forth.
Apple blossom
Perhaps my biggest "enemy" is the fact that I am — among a few dozen other things — a professional Copy Editor by trade. So I'm no more inclined to publish schlock of my own, than I am to allow others to do so... my own worst critic, basically.
Similarly, I am also the source of many of my own frustrations. Going far beyond writing and keeping blogs, I value "doing a good job," and "doing things properly." I also recognize that doing so... regardless of whether it's this Steemit post or building a raised vegetable bed in our garden... simply takes more time.
Which sort of brings me to the heart of why I even started writing these words: In this world that seems to be forever speeding up and taking shortcuts... I feel like I am slowly "growing obsolete." We seem to value speed that there is less and less time (and demand) for any other way. What's more, people might still appreciate "a job well done," but fewer and fewer are willing to pay the price associated with someone taking the time to do something really well.
Change of strategy ahead? It's a strange philosophical crossroads, really... I don't really believe in "if you can't beat them, join them," I believe (at least if I am offering something worthwhile) in pounding "a higher common denominator" into "their" heads until they just give up and join me.
But maybe that's not realistic, anymore. The judge and jury are out on that one...
Thanks for reading!
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(As always, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 190314 16:40 PST
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