Happy Birthday Furious Cognition!

It was a year ago today that I "took the plunge" and began my hobby as an amateur blogger. At the time, I had a few things to say but no forum to say them. I was WoW raiding full blast back then and didn't want to use my guild's forum boards as my personal soapbox. I had long read Bill Harris' outstanding blog and thought myself capable of creating something similar, though more focused on PC gaming and MMOs. And so Furious Cognition was born.

Early on, my greatest fear was maintaining a writing pace over the long haul. I had a few topics I was anxious to write about, but I had no plan for what to write about past that. I was so paranoid of the ominous blinking cursor that in the first few months of the blog, I pre-wrote a ton of content and then dribbled it out over the course of the week; like a squirrel gathering nuts, I wanted to be prepared for my winter of writer's block. I used most of my weekends to build up enough stuff to sustain Monday through Thursday. The smallest idea blinking in my mind would send me scurrying for the computer to jot down a rough outline before it had the chance to pop out of my head.

I don't do that anymore. My cheeks aren't bursting with stored blog entries; I gather and eat my nuts on the fly now, which isn't nearly as scary sounding now as it would have been a year ago. But the reality is, from idea to entry has become a much more efficient process. I'd estimate that an average entry takes me about a half hour to pump out, thirty-five minutes if it's particularly poetic. And the content is never more than a click away; from television to the Internets to radio, turns out there's way more I could write about if time permitted.

Which brings me to the real challenge of maintaining a blog. I've learned these past months how to write compactly, succinctly, and most importantly, quickly. Too quickly at times, if all my typos and syntax gaffs are any indication. But it's been a great ride and I enjoy the process. Writing has long rested dormant inside me. I've long known I had a small aptitude for it but always brushed it aside. It's been great flexing this muscle. It's become so much a habit, I feel withdrawal if more than a day or two has passed without writing. I find it unimaginable I went years without doing it. Complacency and lethargy are powerful forces in me.

I've heard people quip that blogs are the very epitome of narcissism and self-indulgence. Imagine what they would say about those bloggers who congratulate themselves for a year's worth of work. Well screw them! And whether you visit once in a blue moon (like Wifezilla), or tune in regularly, I thank you for your patronage and look forward to chugging away like I have been.