Maybe I shouldn't have started this blog now, not with everything that's been going on.

As of today it has been one year since I started this journal.

In honor of this I would like to impart four aspects of blogging that I have learned in the last 26 fortnights, that hopefully may be useful to those in my creative writing group who would want to use the weblog method of literary practice.

1. Consistency: Since I started here, I've begun to believe that the first step to writing well is to write often. Set a schedule of how often you want to write, and stick to it. It doesn't have to be everyday. A regular once a week touch base is fine, as long as it becomes a habit - natural - which is what's important.

We wish to write so that others may read our words. With a potential readership base of millions on the internet, and speaking as one who has visited others' blogs regularly for a time, it is best to have a set period when your audience can expect to hear from you, or otherwise assume that you've fallen off the face of the Earth.

2. Continuity: Following from the first, if there is a time when you were not able to post an entry regularly, explain your absence. Again this is from the point of view of a reader who has at one time or another checked a site unupdated for some time, wondering if the author was dead.

Another aspect of this is that literary class adage: "but what happened to the baby?" Make sure that points you have brought up in previous posts are carried out to a satisfactory resolution. If there is no progress, at least mention that there's nothing new to report, so that the reader does not feel that you as the author have forgotten about it also.

Actual recent offenders: someone who talked about going to a medical appointment the next day, but never mentioned it again; and another one who relayed that he had an argument with his boss, but never discussed its resolution, even though future entries told of him in speaking terms with the boss again.

3. Thoroughness: Again stemming from the last one, looking again from the point of view of the reader, give enough details so as to satisfy their curiosity. Withholding information can be used as a literary device, but make sure there's a payoff somewhere down the road, otherwise the readers will be frustrated. Otherwise, don't mention it at all.

This also goes hand in hand with the previous aspect. Going into particulars on certain topics yet staying obtuse with others, whether intentionally or unintentionally, shows incongruity in the level of storytelling, and again leaves the reader uncontented.

Some bad examples from a discussion list I'm part of, that had me asking questions I knew I'd get no answer for: "My sister just entrusted me with the most amazing secret, but of course I can't reveal it here." "I've been feeling empty lately. I don't want to talk about it." "I went to a prayer meeting last night, then I went home."

4. Individuality: Posting regularly can be such a pressure, but it's no excuse to upload unoriginal material just to keep the deadline.

Even a short self-written entry will suffice, as long as it's self explanatory. A good example is from "The Windhover Tapes" by Warren Norwood, one of my favorite science fiction books in the form of a journal: "They let me go. No words, Windy. Let's just take off from this planet."

There's enough forwarded material floating around in cyberspace without us adding to it. If you need to copy and paste something from others' writing that can be found on the net, make sure it's only a few lines. Otherwise, just post a link. In either case, add your take on the matter to give it your personal spin, other than total agreement or disagreement.

The same is true with material you've just found out from your favorite cable program. If you're going to fill an entire post with facts that look like it could have been written by anyone else, with no unique insight of your own, then I'm not reading.

And that's it. Things I try to emulate in this blog that I found out I like reading in others' online ramblings. Personal preference notwithstanding, individual results may differ.