Writer's Block

Alternate title for this post: "Why I haven't done JACK for two months"

TL;DR: I deleted the default page for my blog, so Live Writer didn't know where to publish it, and now I'm challenging myself to write as much as possible.

I recently updated my website from Sitefinity 3 to 4 in an effort to rededicate myself to blogging and content writing in general (as you probably have already noticed, I suck at writing! more on this later).

Unfortunately, immedately after launch, I discovered that I could no longer connect to Sitefinity using Windows Live Writer. Now don't get me wrong; blogging using Sitefinity is not only possible, but works pretty damn well.

Unfortunately, I'm the kind of stubborn, OCD writer who can't accomplish anything unless everything is perfect; all the ducks in a row and all that.

I figured this is probably a minor bug in the system and, in true procrastinator fashion, figured I'd "get back to it".

Two months later, I get my hands on a Sitefinity internal build, and I figure "surely they've fixed this by now" and try again with the same result. Bonkers!

Then it finally occured to me: why isn't Sitefinity getting FLOODED with irate authors complaining that they can't use Live Writer? Surely I'm not the only one who uses both platforms together...

And of course, I'm not. Sitefinity's integration with Live Writer is spot on. So, reluctantly, I had to admit to the possibility that the problem might lie with me. I don't particularly like to do that, because it usually means

1. I'm the one who screwed up
2. I'm the one who has to fix it

So with the help of the Sitefinity team I started looking through my error logs. Without going into too much gory detail, it turns out that for some reason during the migration process, I ended up deleting and recreating the landing page for my Software Blog. However, I never updated the settings for the blog itself to point to the new page.

The reasons why this caused an error are more technical, and for details on that as well as the fix check the associated blog post in my software blog: Missing Sitefinity Blog Default Page.

Suddenly all is right again with the world, with the possible exception of the smack in the face I have to give myself for not having fixed this two months ago...

Practice Practice Practice

So that leads me to my next point: I've got a long backlog list of things I want to write about. Unfortunately, I'm not a writer, and that blank page is intimidating as hell.

Until now, I had the excuse that my blog wasn't working to get out of having to write anything. Now that everything is fixed up, I no longer have anyone left to blame but myself...

But there is hope. I recently discovered a very motivational article suggesting that writing 500 words before 8am literally turns you into a productive author. This basically tells me what I, you, and everyone already knows: JUST WRITE.

Okay, so it was a bit more deep and philosophical than that, recommending tools like Penzu (which I ended up signing up for, and actually drafted this blog post on) as well as setting goals like writing first thing in the morning, commiting to X number of words, etc.

So if this article seems needlessly wordy, you're mostly right. My ramblings are for the most part an exercise in writing. I just need to write, because I really, REALLY suck at it.

Which is ok. You see, before, I figured the reason I didn't write was because I didn't have anything to say, or at least not anything anyone wanted to hear about.

Well, over the past year, my job at Telerik has given me PLENTY to talk about. Learning something new every day, at this rate I'll NEVER run out of things to say.

I'm just not all that good at saying them. Well that, like everything else in life, takes practice. So bear with me, because I'm waaay out of my comfort zone now. Which I have to keep reassuring myself HAS to be a good thing...