{"id":1228,"date":"2019-10-01T19:30:39","date_gmt":"2019-10-02T02:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/?p=1228"},"modified":"2019-10-01T19:30:39","modified_gmt":"2019-10-02T02:30:39","slug":"blogtober-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/?p=1228","title":{"rendered":"Blogtober 2019!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It’s October, and you know what that means. Blog posts, all month long!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why am I doing this?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The main reason is to prepare for National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo) which is next month. I use Blogtober to help put me back in the practice of writing something every day. There is no word count goal. There is no extra pressure to create a coherent narrative. The exercise of finding time every day to write SOMETHING shows me the places in my schedule I’ll be able to utilize next month when I try to write something more meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, this is the one month in the year where I really take my blog seriously. Previous Blogtobers produced positive results. So we’re doing it again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What will I talk about this month?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I’ve succeeded at Blogtober three previous years, and I discovered the best thing I can do is prepare my topics in advance. In the past, the topics were all over the place. This year, I’ve chosen a theme: writing tips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While looking at posts from last year, I stumbled on this one titled Pithy Writing Advice<\/a>. I think it’s one of my better posts, so I’m going to try and make this month similar in tone and usefulness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a full list of topics by day:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Blogtober 2019 (this post)<\/li>
  2. How to Evaluate Writing Advice<\/li>
  3. How to Outline<\/li>
  4. How to Discovery Write<\/li>
  5. Writing Science Fiction<\/li>
  6. Writing Fantasy<\/li>
  7. Write what Matters<\/li>
  8. Internality and Show vs Tell<\/li>
  9. How to Write a Fight Scene<\/li>
  10. How to Write Dialog<\/li>
  11. How to Write Humor<\/li>
  12. Descriptions – Pacing and Characterization<\/li>
  13. Story Idea Myths<\/li>
  14. Writing Different POVS – Pros and Cons<\/li>
  15. Overcoming Passive Voice<\/li>
  16. Overcoming Distancing Language<\/li>
  17. Sensitivity Readers<\/li>
  18. Trusting the Reader<\/li>
  19. Handling Alpha\/Beta Feedback<\/li>
  20. Killing Characters<\/li>
  21. Writer Support System<\/li>
  22. Staying on Task<\/li>
  23. Handling Writer’s Block<\/li>
  24. Marketing and Writing to a Target Audience<\/li>
  25. Profanity and Other Ugly Language<\/li>
  26. World Building Pet Peeves<\/li>
  27. Writing a Compelling Character<\/li>
  28. Tone and Voice<\/li>
  29. How to Revise a Draft<\/li>
  30. Recovering a Lost Story<\/li>
  31. Nano Project: A Clean Slate<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    That’s a pretty compelling list, and I will probably stick with it. However, if you’ve been paying attention to current events, you should know an impeachment has begun. We’re living in very interesting times in the US. I may stray from the dedicated topic to share my views and write from the heart. Maybe on those days, I’ll write two posts: one political and one writing related. We will see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I also have these four other topics which I might use in place of any of the ones scheduled:<\/p>\n\n\n\n