The Conservative Zone

Mark!

I feel your pain, buddy, and I think I can help.

1. First of all, if you feel like quitting for a while, then just do it. You really will feel better, and the blog really will be there when you get back. A few comments on the blogs that link to you will be more than enough to announce your return to your readers.

2. If you don't have enough wind in your sails, find someone who really pisses you off and respond to what they said. Works like a charm. Remember that wind is nothing more than what happens when hot air meets cool air.

3. As a liberal, I would guess that this is a depressing time to be a conservative. If that's what's got you down, I would remind you that it is simply a depressing time to be an American, period. Take it from a liberal, Mark, these are just blue days, no matter what your politics. If you're down, or overwhelmed, or whatever you've got going on that is sucking your energy, try writing about it. Odds are good that your readers are probably feeling the same thing.

4. If you want to write alot, you must read alot. For every word you write, you must read a hundred. I actually try to keep my ratio closer to 1/1000, but the danger there is that someone else's bad writing habits get stuck in your head. Choose your reading carefully. Reading something really deep that interests you, no matter what the subject (fiction is fine for this, so long as it is sufficiently complex) is a really good way to get the wheels turning again.

5. Remember that this is an election year! I'd bet that if you hit up one of the local GOP candidates with one of your cards and asked for an interview, they would grant one. The challenge of simply trying to accomplish something like that will be enough to get you in the spirit of things.

6. Remember that blogging is only as interesting as you make it. Invent some new feature for the blog, some regular note that you can sound when you're out of ideas. Write up something on Barry Goldwater or whoever you like and call it the first in a series of the "Conservative of the Week." Think of something like Mike's QOTD or my Moment of Zen. I've got lots of good ideas on this subject, but I'm saving them for my next blog.

Which brings me to my last point:

7. Remake the blog. Leave a note at the top of the page with your new address, make a new blog, and move in. Clothes do sometimes make the man, the phoenix does rise from its own ashes, and sometimes you just need to reinvent yourself. A change of style or venue might be the thing you need. Hell, it's hard to know how much of a difference a change of color might make unless you try it out. Tinker around with the site design and see if it moves something inside.

I hope that helps. Those are the tricks I've learned in the last year and a half of blogging, but above all, remember that the most important thing is to blog for yourself.

Oh, and one more thing: MUSIC!