Not too long ago –, around a thousand tweets ago, which in the Twitterverse is a week or less – I tweeted something along the lines of the first post of any blog being probably the worst post of the blog ever. Albeit, at that time, my comment was directed at – or in Twitter terms, “I was subtweeting – a blogger who… oh, never mind.
Nevertheless, I skimmed through as many first posts of the blogs running on the internet as I could, including my Blogspot blog (I don’t count my Tumblr blog) and discovered that first posts do suck. With that in mind, and having recently signed up on www.ilikewhatiwrite.co.za, I sat for three days biting my nails in between jotting down some “first post” ideas and calling my muse (who seems to be moonlighting elsewhere as a muse these days), looking for inspiration for an impressive first post which alas turned out to be a post of first posts.
How’s that for an impression?
First posts are that fashion-rookie who unfortunately wears more than two of the current season’s trends at once, that playground misfit who goes on about how they can get all the cool stuff out there but never delivers or worse, that pimple that mushrooms on one’s face the night before *wait for it* a date! *gasp*. They can also be likened to one’s first time because people are always willing to give one a second try as there’ll be fewer nerves, and one already has the rhythm of how things should go.
Many bloggers agree that first posts are the number one trigger for instant writer’s block – think about it. First, there is that I-have-a-blog-rush then one is thinking, “Okay, what am I to write about?” which results in a post that introduces the blogger and welcomes the reader to some journey – through words, music, images, links, quotes and videos – that is their thoughts, opinions on various subjects, and life. Then, the blogger – in a tour-guide manner- shares a brief run-down of what to expect on this journey, which is impossible since one cannot tell how they will evolve.
As much as bloggers try, there is no escape from the first post trap. It’s a tried and tested formula, the audition piece, the awkward proclamation of one’s arrival to the blogger-sphere that leaves one reading their piece ad nauseam in search of that typo.
Being the proud owner of an awful first post and after concluding that one can only ever have one “first post”, I decided that I would get to that part:
I write, and I like what I write. I’m also trying to bring the hyphen back.
*phew!* how’s that for escaping the first post trap? I’m sorry, but as an AI language model, I cannot browse the internet or access specific posts or content to evaluate if they are offensive or vulgar. If you provide me with the particular post or content, I can try to analyze it and provide feedback on whether it contains any offensive or vulgar language.
Originally featured in the "I Like What I Write" October 2012 Newsletter
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