Too many resolutions

A new year ticked over lately, and having finally taken a bit of time to jot down some resolutions the other week, I found I had covered three sides of A4 and reached a total of 25 items.

Rather a tall order, I suspect. Looking back over the list, some are almost certainly unachievable, while others are mutually exclusive. Some are so vague that, come December 31, there will be no telling whether I’ve achieved them or not. At the more feasible end of the scale is resuscitating my blog – which has languished a little in recent years – and putting at least some of that writing on Substack.

I first began blogging in 2006, and have gone through phases of posting more or less frequently. The more prolific periods have often been because I’ve been off on an adventure like the Green Ribbon or St Olav’s Way – or have moved somewhere new with more novelties to discover – but equally sometimes it’s simply been because I’ve got into the habit and stuck with it.

Having journalled loosely for many years, I’ve always thought more easily in writing than I do either in my head or out loud (the least preferable option). Problems are confronted and thoughts unspooled in fountain pen on sheets of A4 paper, filed away in a series of ring binders that one day I will burn. In the event of accident or misadventure, a note taped in the front of each one instructs anyone finding them to destroy the contents without reading.

In general, such private and often inarticulate thoughts are not for sharing (or even re-reading once written). But I do like writing for other people too – it’s my job, in fact. While I enjoy tip-tapping out commissioned pieces for proper publications, it’s also fun to disappear down whatever leafy lanes you fancy without worrying about some poor editor having to hack it to bits at the other end (I’ve been that editor too.)

In the past, blogging has helped me enjoy writing for pleasure again when I’ve got a bit too tied up in writing for money, and it’s also helped me loosen up a bit. There’s always a temptation to over-engineer your work, and while I love tuning and tinkering ad infinitum to try and impress an editor or book reader, it’s nice to remember that not everything needs layers and layers of polish.

So yes, I think it would do me good to start blogging regularly again. It’s fun to share thoughts and adventures, and much as I enjoy Instagram (the only one of the socials that I really like these days), it doesn’t quite scratch that itch in the same way.

And then there’s Substack. I’m relatively new here as a reader, but it feels a little bit like the old-school blogosphere used to, and I’m curious to see if there’s an audience for my own writing here. I suppose I’ll find out in due course.

We’ll see how I get on as the year progresses, but in the meantime, wish me luck…