(re)Thinking about Butchtastic’s future

I’ve been thinking about a lot of things, about how I’m spending my time and energy and what changes I should make in my priorities.  Part of that pondering has been about Butchtastic.  This blog has been up for a little over two years now and we’ve hit some great milestones already.  I’ve posted sex toy reviews, erotic stories, stories from my life and my imagination, essays and rants, lots of pictures.  I’ve participated in memes, contributed weekly posts like Microfantasy Monday and Half-Nekkid Thursday.   Sometimes my musing gather very few eyeballs, other times I’ve gotten lots of comments and cross-links.

Writing for and managing this blog has been really good so far, but I’m considering what I might tweak, what features and assumptions are ready for retooling or scrapping.  As a guide to this process of refactoring, I’ve mentally gone back to the pre-launch days to remember why I started this blog in the first place:  the writing.  Yes, I was excited by the prospect of getting products from sex toy companies to use and review.  I had a sense of the larger community of people with ‘sex blogs’ and wanted to see what it would be like to be a part of that community.  I enjoyed writing dirty stories and getting feedback, loved the idea that readers would be turned on and, possibly, inspired by what I wrote.

The first and foremost motivation was, and still is, the writing.  I wanted a way to find readers for my stories.   With that in mind, I’m going to move back to regular writing installments.  One of my favorite weekly exercises has been taking the Microfantasy Monday prompts from the Sweltering Celt and turning them into micro stories.  That series has been on hiatus for a while (but Ang said in a recent post that she was bringing it back — yay!).  So Microfantasy Monday posts will soon return as a weekly feature.

When I first introduced my Suburban Butch Dad Reports, I envisioned them being a Sunday feature.  They have been not so regular, coming at random points in the week, if at all.  I’d like to get back to a regular schedule with them as well, and I like doing them as a wrap-up before starting a new week.

Up until the past month or so, I’ve been a regular on the Half-Nekkid Thursday roster but I haven’t been feeling it lately.  I’d gotten to the point where I was sitting at the computer on Wednesday night, ready to head for bed, when I realized I hadn’t chosen a photo for HNT yet.  I don’t think HNT should feel like work, it should come out of fun and inspiration and energy — at least mine should.  So future HNT involve is up in the air for now.  Kudos and thank yous to Roxy who rescued me multiple times by providing excellent pictures for my use.

Sex toy reviews are also getting pushed off the stack for now.  I have three to write to fulfill my current obligations.  After that, I’m gonna take some time away and consider what I want to review and for whom.   Trying out and reviewing sex toys is something I started because it was fun, and right now it feels too much like work.  And I have plenty of things in my life that are work right now.

What I’m really trying to figure out here, for myself and for my readers, is “What’s Butchtastic all about?”  What are the best things about my blog and the things I post here?  What do I want to accomplish, what can I contribute?  I want to do write about things I find interesting and useful and entertaining.  Hopefully you, the reader, will agree with my choices.

So to summarize:

1. Microfantasy Mondays:  yes

2. HNT: maybe, sometimes, if the mood strikes me

4. Suburban Butch Dad Reports: definitely

5. Sex toy review:  finish the three outstanding reviews I have.  Future reviews may or may not happen, depending on time and energy and enthusiasm.

6.  Dirty stories:  oh hell yes, that’s the main reason I have this blog

7. posts about gender, identity and sexuality:  more and more and more.  I enjoy the conversations that happen around those topics and I’ve met cool people and found cool new blogs as a result.

8. Maintaining a list of blogs by Genderqueer/Butch/Trans writers who identify as transmasculine: absolutely, I enjoy finding new blogs and sharing them and will continue in the future.

9. Writing about events and happenings relating to the work I’m doing with Butch Voices and Pizza Klatch (queer youth support):  yes, and yes.  I’d like to promote those and other organizations and activities I feel contribute positively to my various communities.

I realize that some of you may be disappointed by the lack of HNT and sex toy review posts in the future.  Feel free to leave a comment telling me why you’ll miss those posts.. maybe you’ll succeed in changing my mind.  I’m not trying to take away your fun, I’m trying to find a balance that works and this is my first draft on re-balancing.

I’d love to do some kind of site redesign with a cool banner and all that, but the reality is I don’t have the time or energy (or graphic talent), so that project will stay in the background for a bit.   However, I could do some cleanup with regard to the proliferation of tags and categories I’ve cluttered the place up with.  So perhaps no remodel for the time being, but some housekeeping for sure.  I at least want to make it easier to find my own posts and related series (and hopefully that makes it easier for you, too).

Will I continue to post meandering items like this?  Yeah, you’re kinda stuck with that.. it’s a blog after all 😉

 

Thanks for reading, contributing and being a part of my community.  Cheers, and happy new year!

 

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