Page 4 | MediocreMan

Focus · 30 August 2025

I have been so focused on writing books lately that my blogging is suffering.

Okay, suffering is too strong a word. How far down can you really go from mediocre? Especially, if that is really what you are trying to achieve? Especially, if you are just trying to become good enough to be MediocreMan? Sheesh. So maybe my blogging is not suffering, it is just languishing.

I used to have ideas all the time for what I would write on my blog, but now the ideas seem to be fewer and farther between. I have written stories about my family, but the kids are mostly grown and we are all pretty boring anyway. (Okay. I am just speaking for myself.) I have written stories about my wife, but I keep messing those up, and now need written permission in triplicate to publish anything. (Shh. I am not seeking permission for that one line.) I have written stories about writing, but blogging about blogging or writing about writing seems superfluous. There are already too many people doing those things and I am no expert anyway.

So the well has run dry. So to speak.

I suppose that I could listen to those around me, and blog about teaching and coaching. The problem with that is that I am by no means an expert and am not prepared to interview enough experts to keep that up for more than a few weeks. I suppose I could actually write serial fiction, but that seems like too much stress and angst, and I am not ready for the kind of commitment necessary to keep a story flowing week after week. I suppose I could write about writing and blogging, but like I already said, there are too many people out there doing that already. We do not need another blogger blogging about blogging. Sheesh.

Actually, the most logical thing for me to do is to quit it. Quit blogging altogether. I think it is a simple solution for all involved. I could stop worrying about striving to become mediocre. I could stop worrying about what I am going to write each week. I could even stop thinking about my quality suffering. Which is what started this whole post in the first place.

But then again, I like blogging. I like the idea of putting a finished product out there each week for all to see. I like having a large body of work to point to when people ask me what I have done lately. Sure, my writing may be suspect. Maybe even mediocre. Or at least approaching that level. But it is writing. And it is what I am supposed to be doing. Not just because I am striving to become a mediocre man (and writer), but because I believe I am called to write.

I was going to talk about my other writing here. In fact, this whole post was supposed to be a promotion of what I have been writing in terms of larger projects. But alas. I have gone down the rabbit hole and have not found the way out. Ah well. Such is the way of best intentions.

When it comes right down to it, maybe my blogging is not suffering because of my focus on other writing. Maybe I just need to focus on writing. Period. Any kind of writing.

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Hmm and Argh · 23 August 2025

I am not sure that Hmm and Argh are in the dictionary, but even if they are not, I am going to keep using them.

Hmm is a great little word. It is a word that is supposed to make you think. Or at least make you think about thinking. Hmm. See, you thought about thinking about thinking. Is that even a thing? Yes, it is something called metacognition. Thinking about thinking. It is quite the concept.

At any rate.

Thinking because you read the word “Hmm” is pretty cool. I use this word in my writing to indicate that I might be thinking. Or that I think the thought I have just had could use a little more thought. Or that I think there could be more to be said. Hmm. I suppose that I even use it in different ways than those, but I would need to think more. Hmm.

I also like Hmm because it has no vowels and it does not cause my word processor to have fits. You know what I mean. Sometimes words get corrected by your word processor and you need to change them back to whatever it was that you were writing. And sometimes words get those red squiggly lines underneath them. Which is extremely annoying when the words are exactly the way you want them. Sheesh. Okay. Having the word processor change them is more of a pain. Does that make it more annoying? Hmm. I will need to think about that.

(By the way, many word processors do not change words that start with a capital letter, especially when it is in the middle of a sentence. So I wonder if hmm will cause a squiggly without being capitalized. Nope. Just thought I would check.)

Argh is another great word. I love argh because it does not cause a red squiggly underline whether it is capitalized or not (I just checked). And I love it because of its emotive content. Argh! You can just see the writer or speaker being frustrated to the point of not having any words to say. Either that or you see Charlie Brown yelling at Lucy for missing a fly ball or saying something annoying or just being Lucy. I tend to see Shrek, even though I do not know that he ever says, “Argh!” And of course, many people see pirates when they think of argh. Argh matey!

Argh is also fun to just use in a blog post. Argh! I cannot find the words to describe what I am thinking about. It is so frustrating. Argh! See what I mean? It is the perfect word to show frustration. Or maybe that is just me. Hmm.

Like I said, I am not sure that Hmm and Argh are in the dictionary, but that does not matter to me. They get passed by in my word processor, so it does not matter whether they are officially in the dictionary or not. So if you are in need of a couple unique little words to show you are thinking or that you are frustrated, think about two of my favorite little words. Hmm and Argh.

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Do You Ever Wonder? · 16 August 2025

Do you ever wonder if you are doing what you are supposed to be doing? Yeah. Me neither.

I suppose that if I ever wondered what I was doing, I would not have over 1000 blog posts since 2007 (actually, late 2006). I would not have over two dozen books on Amazon (the latest two were released on August 1, 2025). And I would not keep having more ideas for blogs and books all the time. Or would I?

I suppose that we all think about what we are doing from time to time. Or if not, maybe we should. We should take stock of our skills and gifts. We should evaluate our goals and dreams. And we should compare them to each other and the time we spend doing them. Then, we could determine whether we were doing what we are supposed to be doing.

Or maybe we should not do any of that. Maybe we should just keep plodding along. Maybe we should operate in fool’s paradise thinking that we are doing okay and not worry about making progress.

Or maybe that is just me.

Now, I must say that I do take stock of my skills and gifts. I do evaluate my goals and dreams. But even though I am just a guy striving to become mediocre. Even though I am a writer trying to get noticed. Even though I am churning out blog posts and books that nobody reads I still write. And I still love it.

I know that sounds strange. It even sounds strange to me. Think about it. Who in their right mind would write and write and write when nobody reads? Okay. I know that I would. I wonder who else would. I would write if I was the only one who read my stuff. I would. And I know I would because nobody reads my stuff but me. Okay. Not quite true. I have a couple friends who read my blog. I have a couple friends who have read my books.

But it does not matter how many people read my stuff. I will continue to write. And no. That is not a threat.

The reason that I will continue to write is not because I think that one day I will strike it rich. That I will be like one of those overnight successes who worked and worked and worked in obscurity for years and years until he or she hit it big. (I bet you thought I was going to put one more “and years” in there.) No. It is much simpler than that.

The reason that I will continue to write even if I am the only one who reads my writing is because I write for an audience of one. Okay, two. I write for me. (Two.) And more importantly, I write for the Lord. (One.)

I know it might sound strange, but I want to do everything I do for an audience of One. I want to please the Lord and only the Lord. Nobody else matters. Even me. Which is why I write. I write because I believe it is what the Lord would have me do. And since that is true, I will write with whatever earthly audience I have. Even if that audience is just me.

So yes. I do take stock of my skills and talents. I do look at who reads my stuff and who buys my stuff (I cannot really see who buys unless you leave a review). And even though it seems that I should give up and quit throwing garbage onto the internet, I will persist. I will keep writing. For it is what I am supposed to be doing.

I do still wonder if I am doing what I am supposed to do. I wonder because I do not get any accolades from the world. But that is okay. Because even if it is just in my imagination, I can see the Lord smiling at my obedience. And that is worth everything to me. Even when I wonder if I am doing what I am supposed to be doing.