A Less-than-Vicious Cycle?

I have been convicted about a number of less than disciplined areas in my life recently. I have made great progress in simplifying my life and adding boundaries to help me stay on task, but the tasks themselves I often mis-prioritize.

I have found that, believe it or not, there are more worthwhile tasks each day that I really have time to do. Additionally, the most important things often are not those things which make noise when they're ignored.

For me, writing is one of those things. I love writing. I've often been encouraged to write more. I really only like reading because I enjoy writing so much and I want to see how other people do it. That being said, there are few things in life more difficult to do than to write on a regular basis.

This boggles the mind.

From time to time I think that I would like to make money writing - not career money, but something tangible that proves those hours putting pen to paper are not a waste (also something tangible enough to buy pizza I don't have to pull out of the freezer). Recently someone told me that the publishing industry puts high priority on blog hits, twitter followers, and Facebook subscribers when deciding who to publish. They like making money and figure people with a built in audience will further that end. This explains why Ken Jennings tweets so often and with such punnish enthusiasm (also why he seems to get articles published in every conceivable location.

This got me thinking... not so much about making money or getting published, but about audience as a means of discipline and motivation. If I am taking the care to write and write well, if I am working to improve my craft and say something worthwhile, then people might actually want to read it - which could in tern give me reason to write some more.

So I've taken the bold step of changing my blog template to allow for people to link from here to various social networking sites. I'm enamored with this concept; it's an introvert's dream. I can tell the whole world about all the articles, books, movies, songs, blogs, and videos I love without actually talking to anyone (and not worrying about boring people, because they can just ignore them).

So here's the deal. If you read this blog or various other outlets for my writing and wish to read more (as indicated by comments and shares, likes, etc), I will work to actually write more. We'll make this a community endeavor. I think it may just work out well for the both of us.