Mandaris

I really wanted to focus on doing more blogging on my blog. Looking back at the 416 posts from last year, I feel that I did it.

One of my proudest accomplishments was writing a response to all the 50 blog prompts by Lou Plummer. I had originally attempted to do one every day, but I didn’t have a regular writing habit so it didn’t take much for life to get in the way of doing it. It wasn’t until September/November that I really got serious about making this a goal.

I really enjoyed the prompts because it allowed me to write and think about things that I normally wouldn’t put on my blog. It also doubled as a conversation starter with my family.

One draw back about my approach of attempting to finish this by a deadline is that I didn’t give myself and readers to a chance to discuss different topics. For example, someone might respond to a prompt and I wouldn’t see it because I was so focused on a prompt that came later. I feel, that I could probably come back to different prompts to see if I feel the same way about them.

Another thing that I can attribute to doing more posting, is that I’m not as stressed about typos and grammar. I’m still feeling friction when it comes to the writing process, but I don’t agonize over trying to make things perfect. I’m in the mindset that writing more will make me a better writer versus the sitting in the draft folder and not doing anything to it.

Making new friends

I started going to IndieWeb meet ups infrequently last year and I feel that’s helped me increase the functionality of the website and give me a place to be social. Mark and James are great hosts and the time seems to fly by.

I also started to interact with Leon quite a bit. He’s got a lot of cool stuff going on.

Somethings that didn’t go as plan

I attempted to start a weekly podcast, but didn’t actually schedule the time to plan, record, and edit it.

I’ll probably make another attempt with this later this year, but it’s not a priority compared to other things in my life. Sometimes, it’s important to say no to things so that you can work on the things that are important.

What do I want to do on the blog this year?

I want to continue responding to more prompts and making my site something that I would like to read on the internet. I looked into different sites that offer a daily prompt, but I think I’ll stick to responding to different topics that I see pop up from people writing on the internet.

I’d also like to work on a longer piece of writing that is not related to changes on my blog or writing about writing. My longest post is about me debating on whether I should use popovers for footnotes. I’m proud of the writing and the journey it took to make it, but I want to have other things too.

I have been looking for this link for a very long time! I thought it was taken down for whatever reason and kept kicking myself for not saving it. I think it's a very good read as we start a new year

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The Ourobouros Fun Factory, LLC is proud to announce a revolutionary new tool for serious artists doing serious work. It’s a distraction-free writing environment that we call “ū–” (pron. “YOOOoooouuuuu…”).

50. Write about a news event from when you were still in school and how it made you feel.

One news event that I haven't written about is the California Energy Crisis of 2000. It marked the first time that I heard the word deregulation and will always have negative connotations for me.

For me, I didn’t suffer too much as the occasional blackout only inconvienced me. For some, such as people connected to devices that needed constant power or were hit with rates that lead to financial instability, it was devastating.

In addition, it lead to a recall of the governor that lead to an absolute joke of a political race that still echos to this day.

49. Do you have a set of rules or guidelines for your life? Did you write them? Why do you use them?

One of the key guidelines that I’ve set for myself is that I treat people the way that I want to be treated. People should be treated with the respect and dignity of being a human being and an understanding that you will not know what their story in life is.

I know at one point it time, I wrote down a series of principles that I’ like to strive for in my day to day life. Unfortunately, it’s in a folder somewhere that I can’t find. I think I should start scheduling time to go over these things in the future.

I’m also getting back into using themes in my life and recently [wrote about my desire to be more intentional.](https://Intention - Mandaris) How am I going to go about that? I haven’t quite planned, I have the concepts of a plan.