What I need to do in 2010
January 20th, 2010 Posted in Career, Misc
I know New Year’s is almost a month ago, but I wasn’t about to start 2010 with some random post or another copy-and-paste feature for my portfolio (although I have just scheduled one of the latter for tomorrow evening).
2009 was a good year from me. I emerged from the wake of In Stock Magazine’s insolvency and began getting to grips with my new position on MCV. As I’ve said before, the transition from a monthly to a weekly was a massive shock to the system but thanks to more than a few firm verbal shoves from my superiors and the ever-present fear of being unemployed again, I like to think I’ve met the challenge reasonably well. For one thing, I haven’t been fired.
Now that I’ve got my workload and more settled into a weekly routine, a few decent news/cover stories under my belt, it’s time to up my game. Here’s a few goals I’ve set myself:
More news, better news
With our previous news editor now working on a rival website, there’s now more room for me to find new scoops. I need to take advantage of this and find better stories for the mag. I need to start exploring all possible angles of even the most trivial stories, find those not-quite-obvious or all-too-obvious connections. All this will not only make sure I improve my skills as a journalist but also make sure I keep my spot on the team.
More blogging, regular blogging
Shamefully, it was only the domain renewal emails that reminded me I even have this blog. The problem/pathetic-excuse-for-an-excuse is that after a day of writing about games, the last thing I want to do is write about games. However, given that I once started regular Commuter Games, Licence To Grill and Postcards From… features to encourage regularly scheduled blogging, it’s time to get back into the habit. More importantly, I need to make sure I write posts when I think of them - I have a backlog of six months’ worth of ideas that aren’t relevant anymore.
Resist the podcasting itch
When I quit The WiiDS Podcast, I said it was because I lacked the spare time required to record and edit. That is still true today - in fact, this week I had to withdraw from another podcasting project I’ve been working on for the last six months. However, recent discussions with former WiiDS edit monkey Dippy Dolittle has helped me develop ideas for several podcasts and even a schedule for them. I must avoid the temptation.
Play more, shorter games
Gone are the days when I could rack up five or six hours play every evening and twelve hours per day at the weekend. I need to start training myself away from lengthy epics like Dragon Age: Origins and Okami - no matter how much I enjoy them - and more towards the 10-15 hours like Modern Warfare 2 and Assassin’s Creed II. I also need to play a wider variety of games that I don’t usually go for, expand my horizons. I could have lived without playing Modern Warfare 2 but I recognise it was important for me to do so.
2 Responses to “What I need to do in 2010”
By John Cranston on Jan 21, 2010
It’s important to set goals, if only to realise that you haven’t achieved them simply due to life taking its course. Good luck with everything in 2010 James!
By Anthony on Jan 21, 2010
Nice to see your blog spark back in to life, and I know what you mean about writing blogs when the idea elbows its way in to your brain. I find that if you leave ideas like that more than a week, you can go back to them, assume you were drunk when you thought it up and be able to go no more than 50 words with that line of thought.