“One hasn’t become a writer until one has distilled writing into a habit, and that habit has been forced into an obsession. Writing has to be an obsession. It has to be something as organic, physiological and psychological as speaking or sleeping or eating.”
– Niyi Osundare
In order to write a successful blog, and by that Miss Apps means a blog that other people actually read, one must post regularly. Subscribers need to know what to expect and when to expect it. Ask any paper boy and I am sure you will hear an avalanche of stories about angry customer assaults from people who expect their morning news to arrive at a set time each dawn. Miss Applesassy is one of those people. While kind to a fault to her news carrier, she does indeed become irritated when said paper does not arrive. That paper is part of her daily routine, and her morning constitution depends on it. So while she would never accost her carrier or chase him down the street dressed in robe and furry slippers, she does appreciate regularity.
Blogging is a daily discipline. To earn reader trust, the blogger must make a commitment to publish a paragraph every day. This is a contract between the loyal reader and the author. They promise to engage if the writer fulfills the promise to produce.
For writers, this discipline is divine. It forces a daily workout, warming up the grey matter, practicing the prose, and the habit of pumping out those paragraphs. I am quite convinced this routine was key to the success of many writers, like Hemingway for instance. Miss Applesassy actually met him once when H.G. dropped in with that silly time machine of his. It was a cold, grey snowy day, so we hopped in his whirlybird and went to Key West. Papa H. was there at the bar as usual. The man was such a sot. But he was a writer, of that there is no doubt. In spite of his tendencies for trouble, Ernest made sure to put “Butt in Chair” and output pages for a minimum of eight hours a day, EACH AND EVERY DAY. He himself said that eighty percent of what he wrote was pure drivel. It was the commitment of time that made all the difference.
