Blaugust 2018

All Things Geekery Podcast S2E6: Blaugust Reborn – The Mini Cast

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BlaugustRebornLogo2018Welcome to Season 2 Episode 6 of the All Things Geekery Podcast – Blaugust Reborn

This podcast will also be featured as part of the Blaugust Mini Cast series!

Today the Geeks, jump into the Blaugust Reborn event which is going through the entire month of August.

Victus and I jump in for a Q&A session about why we both got into blogging and podcasting. This is a much different episode from our usual setup, as we take a look at how our passions for content creations began.

We also jump in and give our feedback as mentors for the event and why this is one of the greatest communities we’ve ever had the chance to be a part of.

Be sure to subscribe to the All Things Geekery Podcast with any of your favorite podcast apps. Stop by and drop us a review so we know how we’re doing.

Thanks for listening, and we can’t wait to hear from you!

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Starting a Blog & Keeping the Momentum

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BlaugustRebornLogo2018Happy blogging day to you all!!!

First of all I just want to say what an amazing job everyone has been doing during the kickoff of Blaugust.  Great job on stepping out and participating this year as you all have been posting some crazy cool material!

This post is all about that first decision of why blog, and why should I put myself out there like that.  Between the thoughts of should I really do this, or the why would people ever read what I write, or just the question of what the heck do I write have probably popped into your head at some point and time.  Don’t worry, that is all very normal and that is exactly why Blaugust exists and why we have mentors here to help kick start that initial “Hump” phase of your blog.

We live in a digital world of almost everything now days and blogging / writing is no different.  The way we bring content to readers / viewers isn’t any different other than we have fancy technology to help us reach the world in seconds.  We live in a blogging world as just earlier this month I was looking through WordPress stats and tens of millions of posts have been made just this year around the world.  People love to blog, write, connect, and whether that be some digital form of social media, a novel they are working on, or even just setting down to have a good old cup of coffee to work on the next blog post.

Why start a blog? 

  • To share your passion of writing with the world
  • Making your name or brand visible with an online presence
  • Connecting with people through content you enjoy creating
  • Writing about games
  • Podcasting
  • Your a writer and need an outlet for telling stories

This list could go on an on, but basically the ideas are limitless as to why you can and would start a blog.

Today, just about anyone can get up and running in a few minutes using free services that make adding a post as easy as writing email. Knowing how to get your content out there is no longer a barrier — if you have something to say, saying it is easy.

Getting Started

There are several services that offer free blogs to anyone who wants one. The most popular services are WordPress.org, WordPress.com and Blogger, although a quick search in google will probably turn up a ton of other “free blog” options as well. Personally I prefer WordPress.com, mainly because it’s what I started with, but the foundation work is already built-in for you.  They offer stat tracking, built-in spam protection, a selection of really nice themes, a word processor-like text entry system (no coding necessary), and a lot more.

What to Blog About? 

Your blog is only limited by your passions — what do you have to say?  What purpose will this blog serve as?  Do you want a place to promote your writing, artwork, game play? The topics are limitless but you have to find something you are passionate about and a niche you enjoy writing about.

There are a few things you should know about writing a blog, though. While there are examples of every conceivable style of writing on blogs across the Web, there are a few qualities which blog writing tends to share:

Blogging for the most part is short: Reading on the screen isn’t as enjoyable as reading on paper, so people tend to shy away from really long pieces. 2,000 words is long for a blog post; 1,000 words is a pretty good goal, but it comes down to personal preference and what you enjoy.  I tend to get long winded at times and I write longer posts for the most part.  I’m a writer, what can I say?!?

Paragraphs tend to be shorter: Because you have to scroll a lot when reading on a screen, paragraphs tend to be shorter so a whole thought can fit in a browser window.
Important points are usually highlighted, as readers tend to skim through pieces a lot so the bold helps those keywords stand out easier.

It’s got a personal tone: Blogging tends to be a little more personal than most writing. What readers usually respond to is the writer’s unique voice, their personality as expressed through their writing.

Get the Momentum Going

Now comes the fun part! You’ve got the blog up, and you’ve got topics to write about. Getting the momentum to write on a schedule takes a bit of time and planning, but once you get it figured out….it’s pretty much smooth sailing from there on.

Create a posting schedule: When you start your blog, look at the schedule you want to have.  Do you post daily, once a week, twice a week, etc?  This will take some time structure and getting used to setting down and just doing it.  Block some time out in your schedule to do that. Start with something easy and work your way into more frequent posting. If you find you have enough time to post more, it will be a pleasant surprise for your readers (as opposed to the disappointment of readers used to seeing you post every day when you start posting every two weeks).  Personally I post a few times a week depending on my schedule and mood.

You could take the planning of the blog to whatever extreme you like and write posts in advance.  I have a few blogging friends that build up a backlog of four to five posts in advance so they have a cushion in case their schedules get to busy.  Basically you have to find what works for you, as it all boils down to what you find comfortable and enjoyable. Make it fun, make it personal, and make it enjoyable and you will find the blogging experience to be quite an amazing journey.

Don’t let the process of blogging be something that constrains your imagination, instead let it be the freedom you enjoy while writing what you love!

Happy Writing!

Cheers,

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Blaugust Reborn – It Has Begun

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BlaugustRebornLogo2018Today officially kicks off day 1 of Blaugust Reborn my friends!

I hope you all have plenty of snacks and coffee, or whatever drink of choice you enjoy while writing as this month is going to be amazing!  It’s going to require some focus and brain power for sure….hence the snacks and drinks.

Today we are jumping in and discussing writing prompts as one of the hardest things about blogging is that some days are mentally tough, and you’ll have writers block.  It happens to the best of us and it’s just part of the journey us writers are part of.  Checkout a write up I did years ago about Writers Block and some easy tips of how to break through.

Sometimes the opposite can happen though and you have so many ideas and topics spawning in your head that you don’t know what to do with them.  Think of it like a water dam that is partially open and only letting a small portion of the water come through.  My best advice for situations like this is have a journal or some place like a back log of topics and ideas you jot down.  This will definitely help with those thought clogs and ease up some moments of frustration when those fingers don’t know what to type.

Let’s jump into those writing prompts as blogging for 31 days in a row is a challenge no matter how long you’ve been writing.  I’m hoping these prompts will help you with ideas through the month, and maybe even break some writers block you might have or experience along the way.

Here Are Nine Random Writing Prompts

  • Write about your favorite coffee you drink while writing!
  • Write about a friendship that was made from gaming and some of your favorite memories.
  • Write about a favorite book series and a character within that book series you enjoy.
  • Write about your favorite nostalgic video game and what you most enjoyed about it.
  • Share about a passion you have outside of gaming or reading / writing.  Maybe it’s cooking, or wood working, or whatever you like.  It can be whatever you are crazy passionate about.
  • Write about your favorite movies regardless of genre and what specifically about the films you enjoyed.
  • Write about why you enjoy writing.  Why are you so passionate about it and what would you say to someone new getting into writing?  More for the veteran blogger/writer but can be a fun journey to explore no matter your experience.
  • Write about the lore of a favorite video game, or book series you are passionate about.  If you are like me, then lore is your thing and you love to research and write about it.
  • Write about upcoming technology in the gaming industry, film industry, or whatever nerdy industry you enjoy.

I hope these prompts will help you get started and open up those creative sparks for this blogging journey.  Personally I have a ton of material planned out and jotted down in my journal so I don’t have to feel crunched for time.  Take the time to prep for the month and get ahead of things best you can so you don’t feel overwhelmed by trying to post every day.  It can be a daunting task, but also an amazing challenge to push yourself in an event like this.  Don’t forget to have fun while doing this challenge, and shamelessly look through all the writing prompts the events mentors are posting as you don’t have to re-create a brand new wheel every time you want to post something.  Those writing prompts are there to help us all spawn new ideas and make this journey a bit easier.

Jump in, enjoy, challenge yourself and most of all have fun!

Should I Blog & How Often Do I Post?!?

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WHOA Blogosphere, it’s the day before BLAUGUST!!!!  Who’s excited for tomorrow?  The pre-show has been amazing to see as the event hasn’t even started yet and everyone is booming ideas, posting some crazy cool stuff, and brainstorming like mad!

Here is to a PHENOMENAL month of creativity, connecting with new friends and blowing the doors off the interwebs with great content.

So….as we come down to the final hours of prep week, here is my small contribution going into the event.  It’s all about scheduling, should I blog, and how often do I post….which are all major questions for anyone who has ever stepped foot into the arena of blogging has had flash through their brain before!

Do you have an insanely busy schedule but love to write and throw those thoughts on a blog?  This post is going to break down four simple steps I’ve used for years which have helped me stay organized “CHAOS” and allowed me to do what I enjoy….WRITE!  For years I struggled to find time to write and get anything past a draft status at most.  Why you might ask….well I’m a family man and as much as I love writing, I love my family more!

I’m a husband, and father to ten year old triplets….yes TRIPLETS 🙂  I have two boys and a girl who stole my heart the moment I got to see them.  Ten years ago I had to figure out how to prioritize life, my writing, and “Adult” all those things that were needed from me as a husband and father as well.  Writing being one of my biggest passions I had to put a system in place that allowed me time for all of what life was calling, and time is the one thing we don’t get more of.  24 hours in a day and it’s so easy to fill all those time slots up if we aren’t careful.  OK, enough about me and more about these four steps I talked about earlier. It took quite a long time to get a system down of when I wanted to post, what content I wanted to do, and that system isn’t perfect by any means but it works for me, and I’m hoping it might help you as well.

It takes a lot of hard work to develop something creative that you love doing, even if it’s just a hobby, you wouldn’t be doing it if you didn’t love it…or I wouldn’t at least.

Hopefully these steps will help you outline some ways to condense the long hard efforts it takes to create content for a blog.

#1 Should I Blog, What Content, and How Often? 

First up is figuring out if you really want to blog and you are the only one who can answer that.  I would encourage you to experiment with it and see what might work for you.  Also, if blogging is something you want to pursue ask yourself exactly how much content you want to produce in a specific amount of of time.  Are you shooting for a daily post, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly per say.  It doesn’t matter how much you want to post or how often you post….what matters is what works for you.  Best advice I can give you on this is preset yourself a bit and plan out what you want so you give yourself enough time to research and pull material together. This will help so that you aren’t overloading the plate and playing catch up everyday.  I’ve been all over the board before….daily, weekly, etc and it was all due to my schedule and making those priorities fit together. So plan accordingly for yourself and you will have a lot more fun blogging.

#2 Categories, Categories, Categories!

Now that you know how many posts you need to write, come up with some working categories so you have a good idea of what you are going to be working with.  Pinpoint what you want to write about and keep those categories current so that multiple topics can be posted to one category.  If you only have a certain amount of posts you can publish in one month, you have to be selective on how you spend that time. That ultimately means some ideas go to the chopping block and some may get stowed away for a rainy day.

#3: Challenge The Organizational “CHAOS” Skills.

Now that you have your ideas formed and categories made, you may be wondering how on earth am I going to get all this organized and finished like I want.  It can be chaotic at times I know…. trust me I know.  I have triplets remember 😛

Organization, Organization, Organization.

Check the inventory every once in a while and see if you’ve got so much material planned you honestly can’t meet the timeline you originally had.  Don’t be afraid to cut back, and chop chop some things if needed.  A couple of key things to remember here are….

  • Research: How much time do you need for researching topics? Will it take a considerable amount of time, or is this something I’ve already got ready to go? This step can save you a ton of time and frustration if you will do it. .
  • Content and Format: Some posts are more difficult to write than others. This can be a huge frustration if not planned out well as you can spend hours getting things formatted, planned, and ready.  Do you have five posts lined up back to back that are heavy topics and take lots of research?  If so, scramble that schedule up and space those suckers out a bit.

#4 Take the Time to Review and Schedule

Take a gander at what you’ve written before you hit that submit button.  Does it play out like you want, or does it look like someone dropped a bag of scrabble letters?  It’s always nice to have things pre-planned out, but I also know that’s not always possible.  Scheduling blog posts throughout the week or whatever timeline you create is very challenging.  You put a lot of hard work into writing this content so make sure you enjoy what you’ve done.  Enjoy the process, and have fun with creating the content you are passionate about.  Once you get that down….get those posts scheduled for whenever you choose, rinse, and then repeat all four steps for next time.

I’m super stoked for the event and watching all of you blow the doors off of this years Blaugust!

Have an amazing night!

Cheers,

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Kicking Things Off – Blaugust is REBORN!

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BlaugustRebornLogo2018Have you been browsing the blogosphere lately?  If so….I’m sure you’ve seen chatter going on about Blaugust returning!  It’s not only returning, it’s being kicked off in a new fashion like never before.  In just a couple of days the vast community of this lovely realm we call the blogosphere will be furiously posting articles of all sorts throughout the month of August.

This is my first post of many to come throughout the month about Blaugust, and I can’t tell you how excited I am  for this event!  People talk about blogging being dead, but that’s the farthest thing from the truth.  This is a large thriving and very strong community of beautifully creative people, and I’m honored I get to be a part of this wonderful chaos.  I jumped on board this year as a mentor, and would love to jump in and get to know you all more.  I took the blogging plunge in 2009/2010 and have enjoyed every second of it…..though it’s come with a roller coaster ride, the journey has been amazing!

What To Expect

First off this is a place of community and encouragement, so if you are nervous or not sure you want to take this ride…..I highly recommend you jump in as you won’t regret being around this amazing community of peeps.  Our mentors participating in the event have already begun blowing up the blogging realm with prep-posts about all the fun to come this month!  Check out the spread sheet of everyone who is joining in this year and where you can find them!

Blaugust was originally started by Belghast at Tales of the Aggronaut which was focused on a challenge for the month of August by posting each and every day.   This year the event has become a hybrid of Blaugust and the Newbie Blogger Initiative or (NBI) as some who participated in it may know.  NBI was the very first blogging event I had the pleasure of participating in, and it was an amazing experience as I learned so much from everyone.  If you want to know more about these events and where they came from, the passion behind them, and why the blogging community has such a big heart for writing and coming together please click here to see more. 

Participating and Goals

Haven’t ever blogged before, not a problem! Just started a blog and figuring things out, great! A veteran of the blogosphere and looking for the dusting cloth….no worries at all! Come join and jump in as we are gonna have some fun, and there are awards for no matter what level of blogger you are!

  • Newbie Blogger Award – You did it, you created a new blog and by god we are going to sing your praises for doing it!
  • Bronze Award – You made at least 5 posts during the Month of August 2018.
  • Silver Award – You made at least 15 posts during the Month of August 2018, go you!
  • Gold Award – You made at least 25 posts during the Month of August 2018, you are a badass!
  • Rainbow Diamond Award – You did it, you posted every single day during the Month of August 2018 and deserve accolades.

Need Help – No Problem! We have Mentors!

Doesn’t matter how experienced of a blogger you are, it’s always nice to have a community that you can reach out to for advice.  During this event we have a Mentor system and a very structured set of themes to help during the month!

  • July 25th – July 31st – Blaugust Prep Week – posts about the technical details of getting started in blogging.  Tutorials, advice, tips for naming your blog… that sort of stuff to get people ready to hit the ground on August 1st running.
  • August 1st – August 7th – Topic Brainstorming Week – posts about ideas for topics that the participants can then mine for the rest of the month.
  • August 8th – August 14th – Get to Know Each Other Week – hanging out and meeting other people in this new fledgling community and hopefully gaming together a bit!  Also highly support doing some sort of collaboration on shared topics!
  • August 15th – August 21st – Developer Appreciation Week – post about the things that you really appreciate in gaming or any other community… because chances are there is a developer or designer behind the things you love.
  • August 22nd – August 28th – Staying Motivated Week – tips and tricks that you might have to stay motivated and keep creating content against the tyranny of a blank screen.
  • August 29th – August 31st – The Final Stretch: Lessons Learned – as a way of getting us across the finish line, talk about some of the experienced you had during the month and maybe things you learned about yourself.

Ok seriously, who’s excited to jump in and come join this amazingness!!!  Come hangout with some of the most amazing bloggers on the face of this planet.

Bel put together a signup sheet if you choose to join, and we also have a Discord server where you can connect with all the bloggers and mentors.

What are you waiting for!!!! Click the links below and come say hello! You won’t regret it!