Carriage Return (↵) » Blog Archive » Where I’ve Been, Where I Want To Go

Where I’ve Been, Where I Want To Go

by Wyl @ 12:00 am. Filed under Blogging, General, Heroes of the Blog, Site, Writing

Lately I’ve been disappointed with the quality of my writing here. When I started consistently updating Carriage Return I was writing much more prolifically, and with higher-quality content.

In the recent months it seems that my focus has shifted away from presenting well-reasoned, interesting, and engaging articles to a constant stream of musings and Op-Ed mush. I’m not very much happy with this development, precisely because I want to, if not compartmentalize, at least organize my writing.

I write in three different places, all with completely different purposes and directions. My columns for the Winona Daily News are generally derived from experiences I’ve had which I use to tell a larger story or to illustrate a question or point of meditation. When I originally proposed my “angle,” if you will, to Jerome, my editor, I also made a suggestion that I could act as a sort of inside-the-loop outsider. As a Winona native I know exactly how the town operates and what it is like to live there, but because I haven’t lived there in four years, I’m enough removed from the actual workings of the town to talk about life as an expatriate.

I used to be a somewhat prolific poster on a now-defunct website called Twins Territory. Twins Territory was my first attempt at serious blogging, and although it was about a game (baseball), I felt quite strongly that I made great strides as a writer there, particularly in tailoring my writing to an audience. I also felt what it was like to regularly write columns around 1000 words or more, which is no mean feat for a guy in his mid-twenties holding down a 50-hour a week job (even if I do manage to get some of this writing done at work). To be honest, I felt a little pressure when I was writing there, and I was almost a bit thankful when the Twins started falling out of contention and a big field operation came along which basically finished me as a frequent poster there.

The blogger I most admire is a guy named Aaron Gleeman. I’ve mentioned Aaron a few times in this space before, predominantly in reference to his website. Aaron’s one of the most respected bloggers in the Minnesota Twins community, and he’s been the subject of a profile in Sports Illustrated.

Aaron’s not my hero because he writes about my favorite baseball team, or even because he’s hugely famous in his own niche. Aaron’s a Hero of the Blog because of his ability as a writer to put out over 1000 words a day without fail on subjects which, for a baseball fan, are quite interesting. His opinions are well thought-out, but most importantly, he’s engaging to read, which isn’t an easy task considering how much he has on his plate. He’s also my hero for caring so much about a subject to have built himself up into such a well-respected figure exclusively through his own hard work and perseverance.

If I could be like anyone as a writer, at least in terms of my presence on the Interweb is concerned, I would like to be like Aaron. The scope of Carriage Return is different than that of AaronGleeman.com, but if I could co-opt the quality writing Aaron does into topics I’m interested in, I’d be very pleased with myself.

I never would have expected myself to become a perfectionist like this. For years I was content to do things as well as they needed to be done and then leave them at that, but first culinary school, then the military, awakened the dormant Virgo inside me. There are some things that I demand of myself now that I wouldn’t have even been worried about four years ago, and that is going to translate into a desire to make this blog a more worthwhile read.

This also necessitates me delving into the news more often than I have been of late. I firmly hold to a policy which keeps me from discussing either political or religious views outside of a small circle of individuals, mostly because such discussions tend to have a point of diminishing return which is encountered early in the process. There are plenty of other subjects, equally or perhaps even more interesting, out there to discuss, such as when I posted about the value of preserving a historical landmark like Tiger Stadium in Detroit or the ins and outs of high-speed rail service in the Midwest. I was quite proud of both of those posts when I made them, and they will serve as models for what I hope to bring back to the table in the future.

Short Term Goals

In short, I’m going to start writing over 1000 words, good words, myself in my updates. Anything else isn’t going to satisfy my much longer, and I think that, as a writer, it’s the right direction to go. The added pressure might be tough at first, but I’m trying to make something of myself here. I’m also going to shift the content back from Op-Ed stuff (which I can confine to my WDN column) and to something a bit less personal and more topical.

Long Term Goals

When I first purchased the domain I had a vision that one day I would have my own online blogging community, somewhat in the vein of Twins Territory, though not concerned with baseball. The interplay between the posters and readers at Twins Territory was a huge draw for both sides, and I think it’s much more interesting to read six different articles all in one place, with the same readers contributing feedback on each individual post, then it is to read six individual blogs.

I know quite a few talented writers who I would love to invite into a writer’s community, and I had hoped to structure this site so eventually there would be a wide variety of things to read all in one place. I’m not going to equate the concept to The Huffington Post or anything like quite like that, nor am I going to set a specific timetable. I’m simply stating that this is a direction I’d like to go, once I get my own situation in order.

Finally

Apparently something is wrong with my coding here on the site, because when we were looking at it at work yesterday on Internet Explorer everything looked all messed up. Any faithful IE users out there who can tell me how long this has been going on?

[link]

9 Responses to “Where I’ve Been, Where I Want To Go”

69.241.149.243 Says:
July 19th, 2006 at 3:54 am
“Any faithful IE users out there who can tell me how long this has been going on?”

Answer: for the last three or four days, since the last two posts.
Jo Says:
July 19th, 2006 at 6:36 am
…whereas mine looks just fine.
Jesse Says:
July 21st, 2006 at 12:43 am
Wyl-

I have to admit I didn’t know your site existed, but I can promise I’ll be stopping by more often to see what you have to say. You’re topics back at Twins Territory were some of my favorites, and from time to time I’ve wondered where you’ve been at Twinkie Town.

Like I said, I’ll be dropping by again, and I hope you’ll feel free to do the same. Take care, and it’s nice to know you’re still out there.

Jesse
Alex Says:
July 21st, 2006 at 9:07 am
I’m using IE, but this is my first visit to the site. But I must say that the site looks just fine.
Wyl Says:
July 21st, 2006 at 9:20 am
I have to admit I didn’t know your site existed, but I can promise I’ll be stopping by more often to see what you have to say. You’re topics back at Twins Territory were some of my favorites, and from time to time I’ve wondered where you’ve been at Twinkie Town.

Jesse, it’s great to see you stopping by. I’ve been out of action in the Twins blogging community for almost a year, but the itching to return is getting stronger by the day. I loved TT.com (both your and John’s respective versions), and I’ll be returning from lurker status to something more active before too long. I might not be as prolific as I was at one time, but I think I still have something to contribute to the discussion. Thanks for leaving the door open for me; I’ll be stepping through it pretty soon.

I’m using IE, but this is my first visit to the site. But I must say that the site looks just fine.

Alex,

Thanks for coming by and commenting. I don’t know what’s going on with some selected installations of IE, but apparently the issue is with the minority of IE users. I’m pretty confused about it, but I’m glad it’s working for most folks.

Again, thanks for the comment, and stop by any time.
John Bonnes Says:
July 21st, 2006 at 10:03 am
Hey Wyl,

I followed Aaron’s link. I’m glad to see you’re still writing. Don’t get too worked up about seeing your content change, or even weaken. It goes in cycles, I think. Just stay in the habit of writing everyday and take risks with new ideas/types of articles and see what happens.

Good luck and keep it up.
Sincerely,
John
David Wintheiser Says:
July 21st, 2006 at 11:04 am
Wyl,

Congrats on the site, the work, and all the other stuff in your life. When we first ran into each other at TwinsTerritory.com, I had no idea things would work out so well for you, and I’m glad they have.

While I think your goal of reaching Gleeman-like consistency in your writing output is certainly admirable, I’d like to inject a note of my traditional contrarian caution. I read Gleeman’s site daily (his link here was how I found this place, after all), and his ability to crank out words is impressive and even entertaining, but I seldom find myself learning anything new after visiting his site. Conversely, my favorite authors, baseball or otherwise, do frequently inspire new insights, or at least present information I hadn’t known about before, which I consider much more difficult (and much more valuable). Case in point: I briefly browsed through Rob Neyer’s Big Book of Baseball Blunders over my lunch hour today and learned new things about collusion and about Amos Otis’s pre-Royals career.

If you can raise your output, but still keep writing interesting, original insights, I think you’ll have the best of both worlds. Keep up the good work!

–
David Wintheiser
69.241.149.243 Says:
July 21st, 2006 at 2:48 pm
My display’s fixed now. Hope that helps.
Wyl Says:
July 21st, 2006 at 4:10 pm
Don’t get too worked up about seeing your content change, or even weaken. It goes in cycles, I think. Just stay in the habit of writing everyday and take risks with new ideas/types of articles and see what happens.

John,

Thanks for the encouragement. Yours was the first proper blog I read. I caught a glimpse or two of it in StarTrib form when I was over in Iraq, and something about the idea stuck with me and eventually led to me joining Twins Territory.

I think you’re right about content being cyclical. In the short time I’ve been operating this site regularly, I’ve noticed that at time subjects seem to flow much easier for me than at others. It’s how we handle working through the lean times that is most important. I didn’t handle the first really lean part (last August) particularly well, but now that I know what the signs are, I can be more proactive.

Thanks again for stopping by, John. You’re welcome here any time.

….

David,

I wouldn’t expect any less than a bit of “traditional contrarian caution.” You’re right, it’s important that the content be not only substantial, but it should also engage and inform. I’ll be careful to guard against a desire for increased quantity having an adverse influence on quality. I don’t think I could manage to keep that level if I posted on a M-F schedule like Aaron does, but my M-W-F-Weekend Edition format gives me time in between to recharge my creative batteries a bit.

A thought that just occurred to me is that I could always resurrect an old posting gimmick of mine from Twins Territory, the Indefensible Position. I always looked forward to writing those because they were basically conversation starters, and if anything else, I knew I’d get a “What is he thinking?” response out of some readers.

I see you comment on Aaron’s site and elsewhere occasionally, and I want you to know you should feel free to do the same here any time. I also really appreciate the very kind words and advice, and I hope to see you around these parts on occasion. Many thanks.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

19 July, 2006

Where I’ve Been, Where I Want To Go

9 Responses to “Where I’ve Been, Where I Want To Go”

Leave a Reply

Search (↵)

Way-back Machine

Categories

About

Dailies

Diversions

Internal

Feeds

Copyright Info