mostly david ephgrave

I’ve got into the habit of writing my blog too late in the day recently, which can leave me disappointed with the results. The process has certainly changed over the years. When I first started it as an exercise to improve my writing ability (with the hope it would be a springboard for stand-up material), it would take up a lot of my time each day. It just so happened I wasn’t working much at that point, so I was able to devote the time to covered topics in more detail, while perhaps agonizing too much over getting the content as tightly composed as possible. As with anything you stick with, it can veer in and out of being easy and / or fun. Once I’d got a few months into writing every day, there were times when it would loom like a weight over my head if I hadn’t yet posted something. I was particularly strict with being daily for the first year, which was an achievement that teetered on an obsession, and a self-imposed pressure that could sometim...

I don't know what to write about today. There have been times when I’ve felt like this in the past, yet still forced something out (INSERT SCATOLOGICAL JOKE HERE). This can make me uptight and stressed. That may sound ridiculous to anyone on the outside looking in; after all, no-one’s forcing me to write daily, except myself. Yet for some ridiculous reason, I put greater mental emphasis on the handful of days I haven’t written something, than the hundreds of days - over two years' worth - I have. My problem is, as I intimated in yesterday’s blog, that I have unfeasibly high expectations of myself. As a result, I disappoint myself frequently. The need to churn stuff out irrespective of how it makes me feel at the time can squeeze the joy out of it – and what’s the point in that? That’s not to say that I don’t still love writing; the truth's very much the opposite. I’d also sooner keep going than stop and cease momentum – but I do...

Today is my two-year daily blog-erversary. Celebrate. Since the 17 th September 2013, I’ve written something for every day. Well, that’s not strictly true: every day bar four . I think I can let this discrepancy slide, as missing four out of seven hundred and thirty consecutive days is still an achievement. (I’ll probably post a few extra blogs before the year is through, to quell my OCD.) For someone with a propensity for giving in, I’m proud I’ve seen it through. It hasn’t been easy. Some days, as ridiculous as it may sound, it’s a weight around my neck. If I haven’t written by a certain time, I get very stressed. Occasionally - in fact frequently - I have nothing to say. I’ll stare at a blank page not knowing how to fill it. Then a picture, tweet or a fleeting thought comes to me, I’ll spin it out and another day is done. So, don’t expect every blog to be top quality. Other days, I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s been the catalyst fo...