Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Expand This Blog

A week and a half ago, I took a blog-writing workshop facilitated by Chris Fraser of Firefly Creative Writing. It was two days of writing, sharing, supporting and growing with thirty-some-odd delightful, creative bloggers and soon-to-be bloggers.

It expanded my horizons and made me think bigger about what I could do with this blog. It made me see that I could make my blog more fun and interesting than just the occasional update about where I'm at.

A Brave New World of Posts

So, starting this month, there are going to be some new kinds of posts around here as well as some regular features. Expect to see:

Song Note Sundays

Every Sunday, I'll write a post about a song that I've written – possibly from one of my three CDs, or one that's currently unrecorded. I'll talk about what inspired me and what challenges I encountered during the songwriting process.

The End of Month Album Review

On the last day of each month, I'll post a review of one of my favourite records – expect lots of East Coasters, lots of Canadians, as well as a few artists from farther afield, some recent albums and some a little longer in the tooth.

Experiments

I'm going to experiment with vlogging, and with occasional shorter posts – sometimes posting just an image or a link.

Gig Reports

I'm going to report on every live show I play.

No Bull

Let's face it, there's a temptation with a "career blog" to focus on the positive, to the exclusion of everything else. Life is not like that. There are bad gigs. There are bad experiences. I'm usually pretty good about being authentic, because that's just how I like to live my life. But I admit, I have been leaving some stuff out. From now on, it's balls to the wall. If I tank a show, I'll tell you about it. If I make a dreadful foul-up, you'll read about it here. (Just writing that scares me. Oh, I hope I don't ever make another mistake again for the rest of my life...)

What would you like to see?

Is there anything you'd like to see me write about? Are you curious about my take on something or some aspect of this songwriter's life? Let me know!

6 comments:

  1. This looks fantastic! I like all of the recurring features you've got planned, and I LOVE the 'no bull' policy! You're so right! People who blog about their careers tend to show off their shiny end products without telling readers about any of the bumps in the road along the way--and that's the most interesting, easiest-to-relate to stuff!

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    1. Thank you very much, Anna! And thanks for the encouragement with the "no bull". That's the scary part - but like you say, the real and engaging part!

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  2. Like you, Alex, the blogshop session really changed things for me too. I'm on my way to so committed posts in my blog. It feels pretty exciting. Shameless promotion appears below.

    http://www.therebloomsagarden.com

    I will be looking for great things here and plan to keep visiting.

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    1. Thanks, Holly! Yes, the blog shop was great for motivation and new directions. I love your garden blog - check it out, everyone!

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  3. Yay, yay, yay! Love all the ideas!

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  4. Alex!!!!! This ROCKS (giggle) - I'm excited to see where you will go and how you will develop in this place. It's so obvious to see that you're a passionate person, and I love the idea of giving that passion this simple, do-able framework. I'm looking forward to the album reviews too! And vlogging... I'd love to know what you look/sound like just being a person, and maybe not necessarily a professional musician :)

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