There are some instinctual fears for someone my age when it comes to creating videos for YouTube or TikTok. Unlike some of my nieces and nephews I didn’t grow up wanting to be a “YouTuber” – all I wanted to do when I grew up was make video games. Not afraid of lacking charisma, the process, or not getting views – I don’t feel there is much for me to say yet to propel doing it. YouTube probably has a video for 80% of any topic you could possibly want to know more about. For me it is easier to start with a keyboard or a pen where I get less frustrated erasing and rewriting until something feels right than recording and editing a video. So why then did I start a blog and think you should too? To think better! There is so much information overload and saturation of content that is hard to discern the meaning from the ordinary.

My first couple of posts talked about software at a high level. It made sense at the time; I write software for a living, but I don’t want to constrain this space meant to explore ideas, to the topic of engineering alone. A YouTube channel to explore game programming would make more sense and think that is where the medium shines.

Start a blog to be accountable to the art of distilling thought. Journaling is an excellent place to start but if you are anything like me (don’t be) being disciplined is a problem.

For my style of writing, these are a few things that help me stay consistent when trying to post a daily entry.

• Set a word count minimum. For me is 250 words.
• Pick a regular time. I don’t always keep to this one but when I do it is easier. There is something powerful about writing daily or every other day at the same time.
• Write about what you want but be open to alternatives. Sometimes I start writing about something but get stuck or lack enthusiasm. In these cases, just switch gear and write about something else.

The rest is just letting it flow. Don’t do it for the likes. Write with authenticity and build a community around that.

Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/blog-letters-on-brown-wood-262508/