A couple of months ago, I first conceived of the idea of running a WordPress site as one outlet for my writing. However, when I started the set-up process, I ran into a large obstacle: what will the name of this site be? It was literally the first thing that I had to decide in order to create this site’s URL address.
My imagination went into overdrive as I considered a number of different ideas that summarized the site’s purpose and content. I wrote down words like “writing,” “script,” draft” and “stories” in my journal in the hope that they would inspire a title. I also listed movies, genres, and TV shows that I loved. Based on these ideas, I wrote down a few suggestions, but, at the time, none of them seemed to fit. After days of thinking and consulting my journal, I had no satisfying titles, so I made the choice to delay the site, with the unsaid admission that I may not move forward at all with the project.
With my career change set for June 30th, I decided that, if I was serious about this project, I should have the site up and running by that date. Last week, I sat down in front of my Mac fully committed to set this bad boy up. When I arrived at the URL set-up page, I didn’t open my journal, but instead considered the question, what is my plan for this site?
Suddenly, a quote from Raiders of the Lost Ark popped in my head. When asked about his plans, Indiana Jones answered “I don’t know, I’m making it up as I go.”
At that moment, I knew I had my title.
Making it up as I go perfectly describes my life right now. No, scratch that: it perfectly describes life. None of us are born with a pre-set plan in our minds (although perhaps our parents had one or two for us in theirs). Instead, we make up our plans, our lives, as we go. And as we go, we’re constantly changing those plans, sometimes in small ways and sometimes in big ways. Sometimes, well, sometimes, we learn to abandon our plans and come up with new ones altogether. As Joseph Campbell once wrote, “we must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”
I have my ideas for this site. It will contain stories, essays, and blogs about things that I am passionate about, which is mainly art and entertainment. I hope to post something new each week. To the right side, you’ll see Things Someone Said (with the Campbell quote featured now) and little notes on books, TV shows, movies, or music that I am enjoying. I’m a bit of a geek so you’ll see a little focus on sci fi, fantasy or comic books, but those topics won’t dominate the site.
That’s my intent, but get ready for the site to evolve. After all, I’m making it up as I go.
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As a post-script, in the process of writing this post, I consulted my journal so that I could list some of the words, ideas, and suggestions that I had originally months ago. At the bottom of my suggestion list was the phrase “Making This Up As I Go.”
Sometimes the best ideas aren’t recognized right away.
Making It Up As I Go 