Sometimes I briefly lose track of some of my blogs. I have a secret spot on one of my homepages that takes me to my personal cheat sheet which has links to just about everything that I do on the Internet.
It has been over four years since I first started writing on the Internet. My first post entitled, My Welcome to Windows, was written on November 23, 2004.
I have easily written a couple of thousand posts since then. Yet I still enjoy writing.
In the last few days I have written about things as diverse as the Canadian Parliament being prorogued, using a $199 HD video camera with my Mac, spam causing email censorship, seasonal peace on the beach, the Silver line in Reston, Va. and winter color saving the day.
In addition to regular posting on those blogs, I do a bi-weekly update on my Crystal Coast homepage, and now I a write a blog, Crystal Coast Living, for pay. I also write articles as the spirit moves me.
I have a real estate blog and contribute to the new Crystal Coast Electronic Village. I post regularly to the forums at City-Data.
I have tried just about every blog platform that has been a serious contender. I even have a blog using Apple's infamous iWeb. Some of the platforms that I have used have disappeared.
It has been a very interesting four years of writing. I have certainly learned a lot, met a tremendous number of people, and responded to some very strange requests.
I am pleased that some of my articles and posts have turned out to be hits. I wrote an article for the Guardian in London. That was a lot of work, but the traffic it generated was in the tens of thousands.
Some of things that I have written have touched people. I have received a lot of wonderful notes that keep me writing. Over the years there have been a few nasty grams but not enough to deter me from enjoying what I am doing.
I am pleased that my travel guides to Swansboro, Emerald Isle, and Beaufort have become very popular.
I have done lots of photo sites also including the waterfront subdivision Cannonsgate, Tryon Palace, fall leaves in Roanoke and a number of other photo sites like Emerald Isle this summer and Mackerel Morning which is just one of my fishing exploits here on the coast.
I have found that I can only write about things that I have actually experienced. My writing production is therefore limited. There has to be a real connection at some point in my life before I can write about something.
I also need pictures to inspire me. More often than not I can be found chasing sunsets or other great scenery before I start writing. Other times we enjoy life and the seasons here on the Crystal Coast, and the stories just come naturally.
I have expanded from photos of sunrises and sunsets into video which is just another way of telling a story.
So far I have had no trouble coming up with topics.
I plan to keep writing. Perhaps now after four years of lots of online experience, I just might devote more time to my book project which has been on the back burner for a couple of years.
It will be interesting to see what my next year's worth of writing will produce.
