in·no·va·tive
/ˈinəˌvādiv/adjective
1. (of a product, idea, etc.) featuring new methods; advanced and original.
“innovative designs”
o (of a person) introducing new ideas; original and creative in thinking.
“an innovative thinker”
I watched a Wired YouTube channel video of Nick Offerman and Seth Rogen testing and rating gadgets I never knew existed. (Click here if you want to see that.) Like a machine to measure the humidity in wood. Um, okay. Or a magnetic wristband to hold nails and screws. I guess there’s a need for that.
I’ve never been a gadget inventor. My father likes to come up with labor-saving gadgets. My grandfather and uncles on my dad’s side tinkered with machines and other gadgets. They also were good at fixing and building things, because they were taught to do so at a young age.
When it comes to writing, I’ve been taught to be innovative, to go beyond the usual and press toward the unusual. But, hold the phone, I hear some of you say. Is it hard to be innovative when you see the retellings, adaptations of existing works, and other things being bought and marketed? Or maybe it’s just me asking that. But I know you’re thinking that. You are also thinking, What has this got to do with blogging? I’m getting to that.
When I first started this blog, I didn’t know what I was doing. I still don’t, by the way. I was challenged by my younger brother and a guy I barely knew at church to start blogging. So I thought to write about what I knew: writing and life. I see that look in your eye. Both are very broad topics. And I’m no expert at either. But when has that stopped anyone from sharing an opinion? I also chose to write the blog under a pen name because that was the name I would use for my fiction.
And here we are—nine years later. Actually, my blogoversary was at the end of February. But I’m still in the ninth year. I’ve learned a lot about myself in nearly a decade of posting. For one thing, I didn’t think I would last even one year as a blogger. So I learned that my predictions can be wrong. For another, I didn’t think anyone would read my posts. I learned otherwise. So I’m grateful that you found your way to my little neck of the blogging woods. I’ve met many wonderful people who are not just bloggers or people I happen to know—they are family.
If you came here looking for the weekly challenges that many other bloggers follow, you’ll be disappointed. I determined at the outset to do my own thing, mainly because I’ve never been good at a routine like that. But if you came here looking for posts like the perfect bathroom reading (an actual post—click here), you’re in the right place!
Blogoversary image from somewhere online that might no longer exist since I used this image seven years ago. Innovation image from inventhelp.com.