Well I really had pretty firm intentions to remain quite deliberately un-productive for a little while longer yet, but I can’t shake the nagging feeling in the back of my head that says that hey if I can just spare a little time, why not log a post for the first day of Blaugust? That way if I decide to keep up with it, I won’t have missed a day.
And I rather regret not posting anything at all last year; Blaugust 2017 completely blindsided me. So even if I don’t post again for the month, I’d like to leave this little waymarker here.
In some ways, I guess I’m a little wary of our ol’ annual blogging tradition. Nowadays, it doesn’t feel like Blaugust is for me anymore. The coping habits that I used to use to get through old Blaugusts don’t mesh with the new “rules” defined by bloggers with so much more dedication and commitment than I. I don’t feel like I belong anymore. In some ways, I envy The Leaflocker for finding the adaptability to join the new wave.
In May, Staircase Witch challenged us to revisit our roots with a classic blog fest. It felt good to be blogging aside others once again. I tried something different for that challenge; actually creating the art that I posted each day. I burnt out fast, and the decline in posts from my colleagues left us without much further inspiration to continue posting. Each of us did get a bit back on the bandwagon but it was too late; the magic of a blog festival was gone.
Maybe the Leaflocker is right. The best Blaugusts are ones fuelled by camaraderie. Maybe I shouldn’t be so scared of “new Blaugust”. Still, I cling to the roots of the event and eschew the Facebook groups and other communities that steadily build stronger as the Blaugust tradition grows each year.
I think I just crave a good 100-deep email dialogue with my old co-conspirator. Send me an email sometime, Mr Owl?
The trick is managing to keep up with my own ridiculous blogging expectations as well! How am I supposed to fit in an email?
I really do enjoy the encouragement of having other folk playing along, whether that’s blogging themselves or making attempts at the quiz. For that, I’m willing to compromise on some things, but honestly these days the other Blaugust is much more chilled and doesn’t set the kind of crazy limitations that it used to. It’s a good time (though it does mean yet another busy discord server to distract me from productivity!).
It’s fun to bounce ideas off folks. It’s not quite the same as the early years of taking ideas from you and Connells and just running with them, but I do enjoy getting to know a little bit about humans from their writing.
Anyways, I hope you get a chance to make some art this month, and I look forward to seeing it if you do.
And hey, you never know, you might even get that email sometime.