Well, for me, that is. Here they are. I’m sure they vary widely from person to person. For the purposes of this post, I’m focusing on the physical aspect of blogging. It goes without saying (well not really, since I’ve blogged about it), that social media sites, templates and other goodies are also essential!
My cat muse. My cat, Varmint, is never more than a foot away from my computer. It may be because she is trying to impart some feline inspiration, but more likely, it is because the computer is always on the verge of overheating. It’s nice and warm over there. Apparently, Andy Warhol also had a cat muse. He painted his green. I didn’t know Warhol painted cats, did you? (I now have a mental image of kittens poking their cute little heads out of soupcans.
Diet Coke is also a must. This is an improvement over last year’s Pocky, since Diet Coke doesn’t cause blogger weight gain. I am somewhat worried about drinking Diet Coke, since rumor has it that the Columbian branch of the company will kill anyone who tries to unionize over there. However, I drink it anyway. Apparently, I am a shallow, shallow person.
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My red chaise lounge. Seriously, I do all my blogging from the chaise lounge while drinking Diet Coke and dealing with the cat stepping on my keyboard. This is one comfortable chaise lounge. It is dangerously comfortable. I must have been really, really good in a previous life.
A Honey Do. For those of you unfamiliar with this term (it may be Southern), it means you say, “Honey do this little thing for me please…” and “Honey do that little thing for me, if you don’t mind”. I like to sit on my chaise lounge and be waited on hand and foot. This can be accomplished with a willing partner + one or two eager to please children who are starved for attention because you are always blogging. It’s justifiable, I mean, who has time to go find their ringing cell phone when in the middle of a post?
I love to blog in my pajamas. I have been known to change clothes before sitting down on my chaise lounge with my computer, cat, diet coke and servants children. Yes, it is the epitome of sloth, or so it seems. But I’m making money! At least that’s what I tell everyone.
Air conditioning. I really don’t know why I live in Texas, because I couldn’t survive here without the freezing temperature I keep the air conditioning turned to. If the price of electricity ever increased to the point where I could no longer afford air conditioning, I’d dig a hole in the ground and live in it. I certainly couldn’t blog without it, never mind things like clean the house. Of course, if I lived in a dirt hole, then I wouldn’t have to worry about cleaning. Or maybe I’d be cleaning all the time. I dunno. I’m confusing myself.
Music. I have to be careful with this one, because if I listen to salsa, I start feeling like I should blog in Spanish. It might be an explanation for some of my wackier posts, at any rate. If I write something that is really depressing, just ignore it. It means that I’m listening to Radiohead’s Creep. By the way, doesn’t the first line of their poster look like topics for blog posts??
A computer. (The title does say essentials…) To be more specific, a laptop computer. So I can sit on my chaise lounge with my cat, et al…
Brain. I hear that nowdays you can blog even if you are paralyzed. How cool is that?
So what are your blogging essentials?
Some of you guys wanted to know more about my nefarious picture affiliate scheme. First of all, when I emailed AllPosters.com, they told me that I do not have a specific affiliate code. So I haven’t figured out how to do 2nd tier yet. I really appreciate you asking, though! Also, at this point, there have been 30 clickthroughs and no sales. At any rate, it’s an easy way to grab pictures that are already the size you want them to be without worrying about copyright issues!
Apparently I don’t have many essentials other than my laptop and…well that’s it really. Although the servants/ children do sound good, I’ll have to work on that one! Haha!!
Kamsin’s last blog post..culture shock
The only essential that comes to mind is “something to write about” - I don’t always have something that interesting to write about, so have started to take advantage of writing blog posts in advance… I always have a few draft posts sat waiting.
I’ve found that sitting on a post tends to make you improve it too - because when you read back through it, you invariably re-word the odd paragraph.
Jonathan’s last blog post..Riding a Bicycle to Work
The only thing essential is a computer with internet connection. I wouldn’t say my laptop cuz I’ve already blogged from many computers. It’s most convenient from my laptop, though, because that’s where all my videos, pictures, and bookmarks are.
Kelvin’s last blog post..Episode 15 - Godfather Nightmares
The all poster thing was brilliant. Thanks for the great idea, and of course for another great post.
Emma’s last blog post..Bring It On; It’s Write Now Unleashed
Yea, another Radiohead fan! When I used to make jewelry having a Radiohead tune playing was a must. Now my essential items (besides a laptop of course) consist of a sharp pencil and a journal. While blogging or reading blogs I take notes and make lists about other blog-related work I need to do.
Loved this post, Michelle. I’m with you - I have to watch how much Radiohead I listen to while I blog. Otherwise I end up with longish, ranty posts like Fake Plastic Trees.
Charlie Gilkey | Productive Flourishing’s last blog post..The Elements of Leadership and Decision-Making