It's the final count down. Five days to go and I will have completed the 100daystooffload.com challenge in 100 days. I'll save the wrap up for day 100, but today I thought I would ruminate on 'what's next?'
Ending At The Beginning
At the outset of the challenge, I observed that my research work had honed my long form writing, but my ability to write snappier short pieces was lacking. Perhaps the biggest challenge of the challenge has been the daily requirement to post. Because this doesn't always facilitate the time to cover topics which require extensive rumination.
The upside is this has prompted an ideas file. A file now burgeoning with some 39 topics and drafts for articles. Something which leads me back to longer form writing to do the topics justice. Not long form (think 5,000 words or more), but longer than the short articles which made up 100 days. Enter serialisation.
Serialisation
Some of my favourite fiction comes from the tales of Sherlock Holmes. Some of the canon are short stories, but others - such as The Hound of the Baskervilles - were serialised. In literature, this is the process of splitting a single larger work into a series of shorter articles.
In the online world, this has many benefits as I am finding that shorter pieces lend themselves better to the medium. This is because people are often snatching moments in their busy day to reason this or muse that. In such cases, three or five minute reads are more appropriate than half hour reads.
It can also facilitate thinking out loud. A process that is seeing something of a resurgence in public life with thinkers knotting out issues in podcasts and on stage rather than coming with a pre-prepared script.
But whether pre-prepared or thought out during serialisation, it provides for short or medium length format which addresses a long form topic.
I am looking forward to exploring this next chapter, pun intended, once the 100 days challenge is over.
Good night, and good luck.
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This post is day 095 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. If you want to get involved, you can get more info from 100daystooffload.com.
