Last week, I took up Mary's challenge to try and write, edit, and post a blog in 30 minutes. I forgot to mention that we're invited to do this every TUESDAY. As you can see, I didn't make the deadline this week. (Thanks to Jamie from Steady Mom for starting this great meme!)
My mother, who will be the first to tell you that she's technologically challenged, left a comment on my blog! When we visited my parents a couple of weeks ago, I showed her how to bookmark my blog page on her computer so I wouldn't have to email her every time I posted something she might be interested in reading. Yesterday I was talking with her on the phone, telling her all about our weekend in Shenandoah National Park, and we were reminiscing about a similar trip we took when I was a teenager. I decided to email her my blog link anyway, because after all, she might also want to see my post about our recent visit with them as well. I am so proud of my mom--she figured out how to leave a comment! (Although, her comment was about our Shenandoah weekend, and she left it on the post about our visit with them. No matter!) Now perhaps I'll try and help her set up a blog of her own...Hmmm.....
If you've been following Elizabeth Mahlou's blog "Blest Atheist," you might want to know that she changed the name of her blog and the url; now you can find her at her new site, "100th Lamb." Check it out!
I realized as I was thinking about what to post here (What could I possibly blog about in only 30 minutes?) that today's post might read a little like "7 Quick Takes." (Yikes, I'm suddenly having writer's bloc; I only have 20 minutes left!) I'll go ahead and post the things I had planned to save for Friday.
7 things to remember when you go camping:
1. Towels. Without them no one can take a shower, and you'll all have to go to Mass smelling like bug spray and sweat.
2. Soap. You thought you were so clever, buying those little travel shampoos. But without a towel, soap won't do you much good anyway.
3. Marshmallows. Imagine your childrens' disappointment when you've got a great fire going, you've already roasted and eaten enough hot dogs to make you want to burst, and you pull out the graham crackers and Hershey bars you brought for S'mores... Dang! We forgot to pack marshmallows!
4. Whatever you decide to buy at the camp store because you forgot to bring it, you'll have to pay three times as much. Just sayin.
5. Before you leave, make sure your 40-year-old Coleman stove actually works. Just because it heated your coffee for you two years ago doesn't mean it will this time. Those two great big cans of Coleman fuel you bought are useless if the fuel line is clogged and/or leaking.
6. Just remember, if you can't make coffee, you can get a fresh cup of Starbucks at the wayside grill right beside the camp store. If you don't mind waiting until the place opens at 8 am, and you're willing to pay $2.50 a cup.
7. Dang, I forgot the seventh thing to remember! Is it cheating if I push the "pause" button on my timer until I think of something?
I have five minutes left, and the dog is pestering me to go out. OK, I'll pause it just this once...I'm back. Well, I've sat here for two minutes not writing anything. I wanted to tell you about a great online resource for praying the Rosary, but I think I'll save that one for another post. I'll have to settle for having no pictures with this one; (they say good bloggers ALWAYS include pictures with their posts. I usually do, but hopefully this post is short enough, you'll read it anyway.)
I only have one minute to edit, so it's goodbye for now. Have a blessed Wednesday!
You did great! I am impressed with all that you wrote in 30 minutes!
ReplyDelete"Last week, I took up Mary's challenge to try and write, edit, and post a blog in 30 minutes."
ReplyDeleteYeah, that can be pretty hard to do. I used to hold pretty strongly to that rule with my "30 minute musings" post, but I eventually gave up with that, and so now they tend to be anything which is done relatively quickly (many actually do stay under 30 minutes!).
I did find, however, that most longer posts can be broken into a series of short posts, often allowing for a series of 30-minutes posts over three days instead of a single 90 minute post (for example). Of course, this brings up the question as to whether or not it's cheating to pre-plan the posts and then break them up (does that count in the 30 minutes?), but sometimes I can just "wing-it" and make them work.
Also, kudos for this post--it's pretty good for 30 minutes!
Thanks to you both! :) I think if I keep practicing, it will hopefully get easier to post something authentic and worth reading in 30 minutes. And, no, I don't think it's cheating to pre-plan (do you agree, Mary?) For me it's a way to help me organize my thoughts better. Just last night I posted one about our weekend away, and although I wasn't timing myself, I think it took forty-five minutes at most. That's pretty good for me. I think I'm getting better about having an idea of what my post is going to look like/sound like before I start.
ReplyDeleteOn the pre-planning thing, upon some reflection, I think it's fair to say that if I'm not exactly pre-planning a post, I am often pre-writing it (especially if it's a continuation of a previous post or set of posts). Keep practicing and they may come easier! ;)
ReplyDelete