Waxing and Waning

My first instinct was to apologize again for the lack of updates recently. But the simple truth is that the blog has not gone as well as I had hoped. I've been thinking a lot about it recently, and I realized that I hit the stage where the blog became work. For those that blog, you probably already know exactly where I am at. For those that don't, let me explain.

When I started this, the idea was simply to catalog my progress and experiences as I worked on my Dystopian Wars models. At first I was all excited and could not wait to make posts. Painting models fueled the posts, and posting fueled my desire to paint more models. Fantastic synergy.

And then change occurs. Its the only constant in the universe really. Work, life, kids, etc...you know those things we hobbyists call "excuses" for not working on our stuff. The simple fact is though that other things rose in priority. And with that came the guilt. I had this blog and now I'm not putting up updates and my reader counts are going down and blah blah blah. I'll blame it on gamer ADD. But that isn't the truth. The truth is that priorities change. And I am a gamer. I have thousands of models and many different games that I all play and like. But now I felt like I had to work on DW. I had to create content for my blog.

Suddenly this hobby that I wanted to do became something I had to do. Ever notice how when we "have" to do something, our enthusiasm for it drops significantly. I wonder if anyone has posted about the stages of blogging....would have been a good thing to read before doing this. :)

So here I am, in that trap that we all fall in to. I stupidly found a way to turn something I wanted to do, into something I felt I needed to do. It went from fun, to work. I think this is the honest truth about gamer ADD. It isn't that we can't keep attention on a project. I think it really is that at some point, the expectations we put on ourselves for getting something done, turns our project into a job. And who wants another job?

So, what does that mean for the blog? Well I could start blogging about whatever it is I'm doing at the moment. But I don't want to do that. This is a blog about Dystopian Wars. I want to keep this blog on topic. You want to read about DW, not Bolt Action or Flames of War, or League of Legends, or anything else I'm doing.

The task I have at hand now is find a way to blog about Dystopian Wars, even if it isn't high on my priority list. Maybe my personal projects aren't moving forward, but I'm still reading the forums and keeping tabs on local play. I might start reviewing the rules a bit too. So the honeymoon is over for the blogging experience. Now it is time to find that new pace that is still fun and rewarding, but doesn't put the same type of pressure on me. And I'm betting that whatever that pace is, it will wax and wane too. And that is okay. It's my hobby damnit! ;)