It’s a new year, and that means it’s time to start this new year of daily blogging out right. Last year I was very proud of myself for getting something posted every single day. One of the things that helped was to write my entries the day before, and then schedule them to go live first thing in the morning. It helped me to not feel as rushed each day, and made the entire process much more enjoyable. I would also sometimes write multiple entries in a single day, and simply schedule them out over the course of the following days. This meant I could write when I felt like it, and not because I was forced to. I’m planning to keep up these habits in 2017 as well, to make sure I have another solid year.

In 2015 I called this the Create-a-thon 2015, and then last year it was Blog-o-rama 2016. This year, I’m proud to introduce Write-a-palooza 2017! The sound you hear in the background is the collective groan of my family as I was trying to come up with a witty name for this year. Needless to say they had their own input, but I’m planning on saving those for another year.

Usually, I also like to change the blog theme to the new WordPress default, which I then customize with my own colors. These themes are called Twenty Twelve, Twenty Sixteen, etc, but unfortunately there is no Twenty Seventeen yet, as it is tied to WordPress version 4.7, and WordPress.com hasn’t rolled that version out to us yet. I do promise I will get that change done as soon as I get access to the new theme.

What do I have planned for 2017? You can expect more of the same in terms of photography and running posts, as well as my witty banter about current trends and entertainment. However, I’ve been challenged by my friend Wes over at painfullyhopeful.me to stretch myself. I mentioned to him how it’s difficult for me to publish fictional writing, as I tend to get very anxious about how it will be accepted. He felt it would be a good challenge for me in the coming year to attempt to put myself out there, much like he’s done with some of his fiction writing.

I’m still figuring out the concept of what I want to write, but my expectation is that I’ll write a portion every week and attempt to publish them all on the same day of the week. Maybe something along the lines of a Fiction Friday. As I stated above, this is going to be a big risk for me emotionally, since I’m not always comfortable writing fiction. I can write academic papers and opinion essays all day, but fiction scares me.

Hopefully, you’ll continue on with me into the new year. I don’t promote my blog very much, but I know that I have a small group of steady followers. I hope I’m able to entertain and enlighten you as the year goes on. I look forward to sharing what the future brings, and wish everyone a Happy 2017!