I don’t usually partake of the WordPress writing prompts, but my friend and author Victoria Atkinson recently took this one on, wrote an interesting piece on it, and then tagged me to join in with my own answer. The prompt is about writing, but I always find it interesting to read about how people think and view the things they do in life. So here are my answers to the “Six Questions Of Blogging” prompt.

By the way, you should read Victoria’s book, “Surviving Sue”, which Amazon reviews like this:”Surviving Sue: An inspirational survivor’s story about a daughter and her life with a mother who was riddled with alcoholism, Alzheimer’s, anxiety, depression, and Munchausen’s.” I review it like this: “You won’t be able to put it down.”

1. How did you come up with your blog name?

My blog is called Five O’Clock Shadow and I started it about the time I turned 50. It’s a reference to the scruffy facial hair that occurs on some men around dinner time. In a way, that growth signifies that much of the day is done, but that an entire evening still remains. It offers a nice moment to reflect on the day thus far and to dig in to what’s next. Having just retired from my job as a teacher, I could really see my life as one giant day, having just gotten home from work for the last time, and looking forward to an excellent evening and to the next new day.

2. If your blog was a person (fiction or real) who would it be?

I’ve come up blank on this one, thought about it for a while, still with nothing good, and have decided to move on….Suggestions welcome in the comments.

3. What helps you create new content if you feel like you need some inspiration?

When I’m not inspired to write- I don’t write.
I had to laugh when I read this question because it took me a few years of struggling with this to arrive at my answer. There were times when I was stressed out over self-imposed writing deadlines, getting readers, etc. Then it occurred to me that I was spending too much time unhappily working on creating things that were most likely not going to be read by masses of people and were also unlikely to generate any income. So why was I pressuring myself? I decided to stop writing on a schedule and resume whenever I had something to say. I don’t know if this has made my writing better, but it definitely has made my life better.

4. Is there anyone you would like to collaborate with?

There are so many good writers floating around here on WP and elsewhere- I’d be glad to collaborate with any of them. As a musician, maybe I’m used to that sort of approach, but I’m nearly always interested in seeing what happens when two people/energies are connected. I’m not saying I believe that every collaboration yields an outstanding result, but the process usually leads to something that’s worthwhile in someway.

Having said that, I also really enjoy working alone. A balance between the two is best for me.

5. Is there anything more you wish you had or would like to learn as a blogger?

As a blogger, no. I appreciate the people I’ve met and those who read and comment on what I write.

More generally as a writer? I’d like to find a way to earn income from writing whatever I want to write about without a super-strict schedule. I’m also interested in writing a column for a newspaper or online magazine- but only if I maintain ownership of the pieces I write. I have a series of little books prepared (almost) that I’d love to have published. Of course, I’d like to achieve this without devoting massive amounts of time or income to getting it off the ground.

Does anyone have a magic wand I could borrow?

6. Do you have a specific style of blogging?

I don’t think so. I started Five O’Clock Shadow with the idea that it would be like a magazine, with a whole bunch of little departments. I would fill each department with articles as I went (for a while I daydreamed about having a staff and running the thing like a real magazine), so that readers could “flip through the pages” and hopefully find something that interested them.

I do like to tell stories. I used to highlight the lessons the story holds, or to share why the story is important to me- but lately I’d just rather tell the story and let readers decide if there is any value to it. Hopefully the stories are entertaining even if they seem pointless.

Visit Five O’Clock Shadow for more of Todd’s writing, and check out his musical projects at toddfulginiti.com.