If I had a Mastubatory Blog Crap category, this post would most certainly go in there. However I don’t like putting rude words on my sidebar, especially when my sister reads this blog, but you should be able to get the gist of what I’m saying here. This is me looking forward and trying to work out what I want to do with this site. At 18 months in the blogging business, I’m hitting the young adult stage of anime blogging. That time where you look forward and think ‘what do I really want to do with my blog?’. With the recent moving away from Bokutachi no Blog and the establishment of The Cart Driver, this topic has been at the forefront of my mind recently.
I’ve been experimenting with different post styles recently. We’re not just talking editorial pieces, this includes the way I structure my episodic posts. I’ve been taking post styles from different blogs I enjoy reading and try to take the aspects of their writing into my own posts. For example, I really enjoyed reading Jason Miao’s episodics and the way he used what happened in an episode to go off on tangents to discuss things outside the episode itself. Soon after reading his posts, my Hetalia episodics tripled in length. Granted, it’s very easy to go off on tangents with Hetalia but you get the drift. With every new show I blog, I try to take a slightly different approach. Sometimes it’s just something small, like blogging an over-blogged show like Durarara just to see if I could compete for attention, to big differences like my metablogging project with Sora no Woto. My posting habits have become a general mish-mash of different blog styles with an attempt to make my own stamp on them. The monthly roundups and my format for first impression posts were taken from Star Crossed. The season preview formats were originally nicked straight from THAT, although I’m pretty confident now that I’ve made these season previews my own.
A big change I’d like to make is more shorter analytical pieces. Expect more posts like my one on reviews, which actually went down quite well. Something similar to the style of posts at Ogiue Maniax (something I remarked upon on twitter and was picked up by the man himself). I’d also like to do something similar to 2-D Teleidoscope and make posts comparing two anime together in certain aspects of their messages. However these are two BIG names to say I’d like to emulate and I’ve noticed that a lot of the ideas for posts I have half formulated are…ummm, well I won’t say wrong because there’s an element of truth to each of them, but I can already foresee counter-arguments.
Which leads to the main reason I’m writing this post. What is The Cart Driver? He is a symbol of people discussing aspects of anime on the internet, convinced that their own view is true. For every post where I say ‘BUT WHAT ABOUT THE CART DRIVER!’ someone will retort ‘CC WAS TALKING TO HERSELF!’. But would it have been better to never put forward your immortal theory in the first place? No, this all encourages discussion. One big change I wanted to make was to be a more prolific writer, with about 5–6 posts per week. That’s hard to do when I’m afraid to post my ideas, so I said to myself “screw fear and post them Scamp!”. I want to challenge your own opinion and I strongly encourage you to comment where you disagree with what I say. That in turn challenges my own opinions and then you get the cycle of counter-arguments that was The Cart Driver when he was being discussed.
The more I experiment, the more I learn. I’ve come a long way since I began and I’m a hell of a lot better writer, but in no way does that mean I’m content with staying as I am. I’m trying to innovate, experiment, expand and improve. Anime blogs come and go. Those who were content with how things were back in the good old days of anime blogging get dissilusioned when things move on and newer blogs show up. Gotta constantly change to keep up.
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13 Comments
Hnn… I hope Cart Driver doesnt go under any time soon, to be honest… I happen to read it rather obsessivly… (I have a habit for checking for updates every five minutes XD) plus, it kinda makes me want to have my own blog… :3
I admire you dedication and thoughtfulness, really. Changing and constant development is also important to stay with the tides of ever changing blogsphere. One thing I kinda worry; aren’t you thinking too much? Just take your time. Anime blogging comes from love and passion
@luffyluffy
Cart Driver won’t be going under anytime soon. I spent too much money on the hosting to leave the site
@Canne
I’ve done 18 months of LOVE AND PASSION! With the move I needed to do a sit down and some serious thinking. Plus all this thinking I’ve been doing comes from LOVE AND PASSION for the site and anime in general. This isn’t me forcing myself to change, this is stuff I really want to write about
This is all well and good (especially the “no fear” attitude, props to that), but I still can’t see anything you’ve mentioned here that you couldn’t have done while at Bokutachi.
(Not that I’m trying to encourage you to go back. I guess what I’m trying to say is, you’ve left Bokutachi to make your own site, now you should really do something meaningful and fulfilling with this opportunity you’ve made for yourself, and not waste it).
As a blogger, one of the most important things to do is to establish your own “style” of writing.
…or so everybody else tells me.
I disregard these comments and go with writing whatever I feel like writing. It’s not like I’m going to be able to stick with any style of writing for long.
i agree with fangzhao here
just go and you’ll find a way that you enjoy doing things
i enjoy this little place you got here and always look forward to what’s posted next
I probably could have made the category ruder if I wanted!
I second fangzhao’s comment. Write what you think is best for you.
I remember doing episodics before on my blog, but that didn’t go down well (I blame exhaustion), so I decided to forgo that and write my own way. I don’t particularly have a schedule and I don’t have a necessity to write episodics.
Just like what Gargron told me once, “Write when you feel like it” and what Panther echoed “Write what you feel like writing”. I took those words, and now I’m finally beginning to enjoy blogging again (after a year and a half since I’ve started).
p/s: Don’t mind me placing your blog on my blogroll. Your blog is an interesting piece of work! ^^
@Sorrow-kun
“meaningful and fulfilling”? This all takes time you know. While I want to improve, I don’t want to leap straight into the deep end. Otherwise yeah, I haven’t done a whole lot that’s different from Bokutachi as of yet. That’s partly down to timing though. While I said I wanted to do some things slightly differently, that doesn’t mean I’m casting aside what I learned and what I achieved at Bokutachi.
@fangzhao
Well, style is important but it happens automatically when you write. You don’t have to try write a certain style because when you write you’ll automatically return to your normal writing style.
Hmmm…actually I’m not sure if even I agree with what I just said there. Writing about whatever you feel about writing is good, but it’s more fun to write about something when you’ve had practice at it. Riding a bike is no fun when you’re a newbie and instantly fall off…ok, I still have no idea what I’m trying to get at so I’m going to stop.
@chii
It may be little now but just you wait! This is all part of my grand-master plan to create the greatest anime blog in the world. It shall grown, expand and eventually take over the world. Who the hell do you think we are!!!
@Shinmaru
tut tut tut. I’m not sure whether I should be more disgusted that you used rude words or that you didn’t use the oppertunity to make it ruder.
@jusuchin85
I won’t be dropping my episodics anytime soon. In fact there was a time when I was seriously considering blogging 5+ shows at once. I eventually shyed away from that strategy because that would leave no time for Ogiue Maniax style posts that I’d been itching to write, even if they were based on rather dodgy logic.
@Scamp: What do you mean by “Ogiue Maniax” style posts?
http://ogiuemaniax.wordpress.com/
My favourite anime blog. It’s the way he challenges you to think that I’m trying to emulate.
You’ve made a name for yourself and now you’re wondering what that name means…
It’s good to always be thinking about the future and where you want to go and how you want to change and grow, but everything doesn’t normally happen all at once — or you lose yourself. Sometimes progress happens with a BOOM, but other times, it’s barely noticeable. You are your own boss with your own site; you have followers who’ll read whatever you post and who are honest enough to share their thoughts with you.
On another note: Your sister is Libera! How exciting!
@blindability
More like I’ve made a name for myself, now trying to find out how to make that name bigger. Like Scampethron or something.
And yeah, Libera is my sister. I’m not sure if even big boss RP knows that yet