>> I was looking for some advice. I'm thinking about
>> starting my own blog ... I would like to know how you
>> kept yourself motivated to keep posting on a
>> regular basis. I know it's tough at first and I'm
>> trying to find the motivation to keep it going.

>I'm honestly not sure how to answer that. I think
>one of the most important tricks is to stick to a
>schedule until it feels so much like part of your
>normal life that you can barely remember not doing
>it. The trick there is: how does one find the
>motivation to keep it going long enough to
>establish that? How long is that time period
>between 'something new' and 'something normal'?
>Depends, but I tend to think after 6 months you're
>in the clear.
>
>i wish I could put a finger on my tactic to keep
>at it. In my case, I planned everything out way in
>advance and I didn't start until I was really
>ready to commit to it. I saw many other bloggers
>and podcasters rise and fall, so I knew it wasn't
>going to be a cakewalk to avoid that fate, and
>ultimately everyone quits at some point, I guess.
>The trick is to go long enough that people wish
>you would quit. :)
>
>Having a goal is good too. With the podcast I
>said: I'd like to have 800 listeners. That took
>awhile. Then I said: I'd like to have 2000
>listeners. By the time I had 500, I was already
>committed because I could always say: "It's Sunday
>afternoon. 500 people are expecting a show by
>tomorrow morning. I can sit here and watch TV or
>I can go do something for 500 people." The choice
>is always clear. Even more so now with 5 to 6
>times as many people listening.
>
>One other thing that helped me move forward is the
>setting of a window of time within which I promise
>to keep trying. I looked at other gaming websites
>on the internet and noted that most of them took
>about 4 years to 'make it'. For the last two
>years I've been telling myself, this is going to
>take 4 to 5 years. Just see it through, keep at
>it. Sometimes I burst fast and work really hard
>at new stuff and improvements and sometimes I just
>hold steady. Both are ok. Rest is important, but
>stopping will not do. Every time a podcaster or
>blogger misses a scheduled show or post they're taking a
>tiny step toward completely quitting. Sometimes
>it only takes missing one week to completely break
>the chain. Stick to a schedule no matter what.
>
>And good luck.
>
>-Brent