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I apparently went silent again, didn’t I?

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that occasionally, I’ll disappear from my own website/blog. It happens from time to time, mostly due to whatever it is I’m experiencing in “real life.” As I get busier as a pastor, it means that I have less time to devote to these on-line activities. And since my family’s move to Kansas City, I’ve had to spend a lot of time figuring out the lay of the land and getting my feet under me. I haven’t had a lot of time to do a lot of writing and, truth be told, I haven’t had the inclination.

That’s starting to change. I’m starting to get the itch again, not just to write a “new” book (more on that on Wednesday), but also to start posting new stuff on my blog again.

But that leads me to a little bit of a dilemma. What should I write about on my blog? I’ve never kept to a true schedule here. Mondays are usually my “devotional” days, when I write about Christianity in some way, shape, or form. Fridays are story days, if I feel like doing some sort of story on here. Wednesdays are always about writing, mostly to update all of you on my writing projects. And I’ll occasionally pepper in thoughts on movies or TV shows or whatever.

Right now, though, I’m kind of at a loss as to what I should be writing. I don’t want my blog to be all John, all the time. I want to make it worth your while to click over to my little corner of the Internet.

So I’m curious: What would you like to see from me?

I have a couple of ideas:

  • Continuing the Geek Confessionals. I haven’t exhausted all of my geek confessional topics. I think I have about a dozen or so left. I could even open that up to guest posts from other geeks who have geeky transgressions they want to get off their chests.
  • The Lutheran Difference Series. I’ve been batting around this one for a while. I’m not just a writer, I’m also a Lutheran pastor. One of the things I’ve noticed, though, is that there aren’t that many Lutheran writers in the world of Christian fiction. And so I thought it might be fun/educational (funcational?) to do a series of posts that explains what makes Lutherans different from other Christians. Not in an attempt to change any minds, but I know that encountering the doctrines and beliefs of other Christians often helps me refine my own beliefs.
  • A new story of some kind. I’ve done two stories on the blog so far: the aborted found footage horror film treatment and the Darkshire Woods story. In both cases, I didn’t get a lot of feedback (or any, really), so I’m hesitant to do this sort of thing again, but if people want me to, I certainly could try.

Or maybe I’m missing something obvious right in front of me. I know a lot of writers do series giving tips and tricks about writing, but that doesn’t seem like a wise use of my time, mostly because I’m not sure how many tips or tricks I could share before I’d have to start making stuff up.

So what do you think? Do one of those three ideas sound good to you? Do you have an idea of something you want me to talk about on my blog? I’m all ears. Let me know in the comments below. And more than anything, thanks for reading. I really appreciate it.

10 Comments:

  1. what about a mash up of them all? not as in the same post, but different topic each week, or whatever frequency

  2. Series or not, write what’s on your heart and mind. I find that more refreshing than anything else. I know there are blogs out there that follow strict guidelines or ideals, keep it light, entertaining, and educational in some way, and we will love it.

  3. I think I read this blog primarily for your take on movies and television and PC games. I’m always out of the loop on these things, so I read reviews to understand what the pop culture landscape is like. And your perspective as a writer, minister, and theatre veteran gives your reviews many of the qualities I look for the most. I want to know what movies/tv means in the deep sense of its allusions and storytelling devices, as well as what it means in a cultural sense to us in our time. I originally bought FTL: Faster Than Light because of your review of it on your old Blogger blog, and it’s become one of my all-time favorite games.

    Because of that driving need to understand the meaning of things, two of your other kinds of content on this blog also interest me. I’m interested in your posts on faith, both the devotional posts and the ones on Lutheranism specifically. The relationship between different Christian traditions and theologies intrigues me because I find it both interesting and troubling, trying to work out what value there is in my own faith heritage and what I should believe about theological things, and to what extent I’m supposed to have theological beliefs as an ordinary pewsitter.

    I’m interested in the geek stuff too—what it means to be a geek from your perspective as a long-time master geek. I find it interesting to read stories of authentic fandom as it was happening.

  4. I have enjoyed the Geek Confessionals. 🙂 I would also find the Lutheran series interesting. I enjoy learning about why people believe the things they do, but discussions like that on Facebook usually end in arguing, LOL! I have friends from many denominations and have attended churches from a few different denominations over the years. Even so, I’m not terribly familiar with Lutheran doctrine. The churches in our area tend to be Baptist, Pentecostal, Calvary Chapel, and Methodist.

  5. I agree with the other 3 posts, but mostly the “write what’s on your heart” part. In addition, the perspective as a writer, minister, and theatre guy also makes sense. I have to say the one pic you put up and wrote the story to BLEW ME AWAY! I sat in tears, prayed with thankfulness, and then jammed to some old Christian Rock music in praise for the depth of what that meant to me. Some of the things you post about all different kind of topics hits me in the heart more often than I will admit *lol* I missed the posts, though, so let the Lord lead you and know I’m cheering as a reader… I’M STILL MISSING FAILSTATE ;___; BUT I CAN’T WAIT FOR MORE HIVE ^___^ Of course, my reading is kind of limited right now since my Fantasy Novel is being released on Amazon 05/07/16! Now onto formatting the Paperback and recording the last two songs for my Mini-CD with music from the book too! I’ll still keep checking for your posts, though, since they bless my heart. LUV YA BUNCHES IN JESUS WRITER/CHRISTIAN BRO! TK ^___~ http://www.eirinth.com

  6. I don’t know. Maybe Geek Confessional. I don’t know what to say I’m not saying in my books, so my posting is sporadic.

  7. I know you love fiction and, though I love novels and such, for blogs I like hearing about people’s lives and reading things that are inspirational and/or educational. I don’t know what it’s like to live in Kansas, be a Lutheran pastor and so forth. It’s OK to write about yourself a bit.

  8. All three of those ideas sound good to me.
    – Geeky things are always great, even confessions.
    -I’d also like to hear about Lutheran doctrine. That sort of thing interest me.
    – and I would love to see a new story up. What genre are you thinking of doing?
    I have been reading and enjoying your blog for some time now, and I apologize for not letting you know until now.

  9. Pingback: Wordcount Wednesday – John W. Otte

  10. I would love a series on Lutheran doctrine (actually, I would love more discussion of doctrine, online and off, across Christendom, but I digress). I found with my own blog that keeping to fewer days actually helped me stay on schedule more: 3 days was manageable (and I sometimes went past that number), but 5 or 6 made me fall behind (as I am right now).

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