Spring Blog Makeover

I have been spring-cleaning my blog, fiddling around with several layouts these last few days, including one by the enemy. Wordpress. Although the ones from wordpress looked spiffy and polished, after some days of trial running, I hit on several problems.

WP imports caused a myriad of problems, including squeezed thumbnail pics, wrong interpretation of code and a general laggy-ness in page rendering. Along the lines of Cobbler, stick to your trade, I have ruefully returned to using one of the classic blogger templates.

A warmhearted welcome back, Awesome. Inc! Hey, plus I added a new typeface to represent a more grungy outlook! Let's see if it'll last...

B.L.O.G. spells LOVE

2009 was the year Idiots and Earthquakes came into the picture, when I published my first ever blog post on the 6th of July. First steps, it was titled. 

I was unsure back then, as to blogging in English was such a good idea for me. First of all: blogging. Hubby and I set up this crazy vacation blog in 2007 and him and I had a blast writing it together. 

I never thought that I would have enough material to write a blog by myself and without a theme. As it turns out, life is an excellent inspiration. 

Secondly, blogging in English? Scary notion. I was adept at comprehending the language, thanks to the crazy amount of English fantasy books I had been reading, movies I had watched, and audiobooks I had listened to. 

Writing in English, I knew, was a different story, as it was a completely untrained muscle. I didn't have much practice, plus I didn't know a lot about writing. I knew I would need a lot of time.


 

Now, with close to four years of exercise under my belt, I have made some progress. I'm beginning to understand what I can and cannot do here on this blog. 





I believe that the early stage of my writing was distinguished by a more artful and spontaneous approach. 

Being green has its advantages and with time, I think I've lost some of that initial spark. I've gained some technical skills however, and I feel as though my intentions in presenting my thoughts have a better chance to come through. Still, the execution sometimes feels clunky compared to those of native speakers.

Why didn't I write in German? No snobbism. It was a question of audience more than anything else. I knew, that my German friends and family would have no problem "understanding" my English. But I didn't want to shut myself off to begin with. 

I'm still thinking about further developing a mean little political blog in German, since there is always room for debate about idiot politicians stomping around our political landscape, causing earthquakes. 

Who knows, once the amount of aggro in my rage bar hits a critical level, it might happen. For now, however, I am a happy blogger slash writer. Yes, this blog is much more than a sidekick to a possible writing career. It still is the main event.

Weekend Writing Warriors: At the Town Square

Hello and huzzah to another fun-filled Weekend Writing Warrior extravaganza! I'm jumping ahead in my story. Artie has crossed an ocean and finds himself in a place called Southampton, Hampshire...


Artie slid his arms through the leather straps and dropped the backpack on the stair in front of the fountain. The street café across the town square was jam-packed with sun worshippers and children, spooning ice cream from bowls with the most luscious formations. He closed his eyes to the noise, the clinking of glasses and the sound of their banter.

As he re-opened them, an elderly woman with black sun glasses and a heavy fur coat made her way towards the fountain. A brawny dog padded besides her on a leash. She dragged herself up the steps towards the brim, and for a brief moment, Artie noticed the dog frowning at him in passing.

The woman groaned with exertion as she lifted the dog up on the edge of the fountain. Once he was at the top, he craned his white neck towards the surface and began drinking the water.

Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful Sunday! :)