Guest post by Ron Miller my trusty sidekick, partner at SocMedia101, virtual office mate and all around terrific dude. Oh and he’s a phenomenal, award winning tech journalist to boot. (You know how you can tell that I didn’t write this? Because I haven’t been on a vacation in three and half years. So there.)
I just returned from vacation and there was a little part of me that was afraid I would forget how to write. Absurd I know, especially after more than 20 years in the business, but I was writing so much before I left, and I was in a groove. I was also seriously burning out and needed a break, but part of me worried that when I stopped writing that maybe I wouldn’t be able to find my groove again.
Shedding the Brain Fuzz
When I first got back on Wednesday, I wasn’t really ready to write, so I did all of the post-vacation chores. I went through the pile of email, listened to the collection of voice mail and sifted through the 2500 emails that were waiting for me. On Thursday, I needed to get serious. I sat down at my computer, and I didn’t feel like writing. My brain was fuzzy. The ideas weren’t there, then something caught my eye in Twitter as it always does. Mmm…Microsoft made a deal with Nokia. It got me thinking about how active Microsoft has been and I sat down and very quickly wrote a post for my DaniWeb TechTreasures blog called Microsoft Strategy Report Card. Slowly getting back into it.
Next, I owed a post to somedia101.com, the blog Julie and I started together earlier this year. I had been kicking around an idea about how Facebook was a great way to stay in touch on the road. I opened up a blank document in Google Reader and very quickly wrote Facebook Replaces Post Cards from the Road.
And just like that the Writing Switch had been turned back to the On position.
Like Riding a Bike
Today I posted two more posts: one for DaniWeb and one for Socmedia101.com. As I monitored Twitter and slogged my way through Google Reader I was once again flooded with ideas. It was as though I had never left. It’s so cliche, but it was like riding a bike. It was a silly fear, I know. It’s not likely I would forget how to write.
It’s part of the core of who I am and what I do, but it felt so good when I heard that click and I knew I was back.
Image credit: The Giant Vermin