Seven Years A Blogger

Genius fake paperback image by Todd Alcott

Seven years ago today--January 18th, 2016--the unexpected rush of emotion I felt in the aftermath of David Bowie's passing the previous week compelled me to start writing a daily blog. The blog was very briefly called CC Says, and switched within a few days to calling itself Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do). The blog began with my open letter to Bowie, and posts have continued to appear daily since then. Today is Boppin' # 2680; with leap years factored in (and plus one, since today marks the start of Year Eight), that means 2680 posts over the course of 2558 days. The math suggests there may have been a few days where there was more than just a single post.

Why?

As the Bowie piece notes, I wasn't even all that much of a Bowie fan. But his death moved me to action. I had been a freelance writer from 1984-2006--not a terribly successful one, but good enough to achieve a little bit of notoriety. That tiny bit of buzz helped draw attention to This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, the weekly radio show I've cohosted with Dana Bonn for over 24 years. I never intended to stop writing....but I did stop writing. A 2013 attempt to pick at the beginnings of writing a book proved unsuccessful. Other than the playlist commentary for the weekly radio shows, I really wasn't writing...anything.

I still considered myself a writer. But I was wrong, at least in that time frame. A writer WRITES, fercryinoutloud. If you don't write, you're not a writer. You're not. And I wasn't either.

Bowie death changed...something. I don't know exactly what it was. My wife pointed out some external factors in play; our daughter Meghan had just begun a semester in London, and it would be months before we'd be able to see her again. I felt fragile. Then Bowie died. And I needed to express what I was feeling.

Committing to the odd responsibility of writing a daily blog has changed my life. I used archival pieces to help get started, and wrote more and more as I acclimated to the task. In 2016, I wrote more new material than I had written in any single year as a freelancer. I've continued to write. The challenge of creating some kind of post every single day has been daunting. But right now, I tell ya, quitting seems inconceivable to me.

And again: why? Well, because having this responsibility--however imaginary or inconsequential it is--forces me to write. Over these past seven years, the blog has led me to finish writing two nonfiction books about pop music, one of which is scheduled for publication within the next few months. My first book, which I hope will lead to publication of that second book, and more.

I would not have ever gotten around to writing either of those books if not for the discipline and ambition of keeping this daily blog. And even if my manuscripts appeared magically without the blogging experience serving as crucible, I would not have gotten the book deal if a fan of this blog hadn't taken a shine to my rambling and introduced me to a publisher of his acquaintance.

And, without the blog, I may not have ever returned to trying to write fiction. I made my first-ever fiction sale in 2019. I have now sold eight short stories, written a few more that didn't sell (but which nonetheless tickle my innards), and I will likely collect some of these in a self-published anthology in the near future. Yeah, another book. And it all comes from this blog.

This daily blog. 

Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) has been a far greater impact on my life than I would have believed likely. I'm a writer again. I love writing; I love the craft, the sense of accomplishment, the act of bending words to my will. Fiction and nonfiction. The arrogance and drudgery that make it happen.

Blogging made it happen.

And so: a blog post a day, every single day. There's much more to come. I thank you once again for boppin' along.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider supporting this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon, or by visiting CC's Tip Jar. Additional products and projects are listed here.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.