2019 Blog Resolutions
2018 had been the most successful year of blogging since I started three years ago. I found a groove, set a schedule, and put out five posts a week if I was on top of it. This year also produced some of my favorite, and my most proud, posts such as Did Disney Ruin the Hulk? , Who Is the Most Tragic Universal Monster? , and my 100th post The Graduate and the Corruption of Youth. Unfortunately my schedule also produced rushed reviews, lazy lists, and other posts that I'm embarrassed by like The Oncoming Toxicity of Batman, Novelizations that Could have Improved their Movies, and my recent Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse Review. More than anything else the past year had been a learning curve for me and I'm going to try my hardest to improve upon what I learned going forward, which leads me to this post; My 2019 resolutions relating to the Film Assist Blog!
Changing my Reviews. When I started blogging on my first film blog while in college I found writing reviews difficult. I couldn't quite find the balance between the positives and negatives in a written review and more often than not was left feeling that I didn't represent my thoughts all too well once published. I preferred lists and single blurbs to convey my thoughts. Since then I do feel like I've become a better writer, but my thoughts on reviews haven't fully changed. I think I do them well now, but in the end it only feels like a recap to me. What I've discovered about myself in the recent year is that I much prefer film discussion over reviews, and had stopped writing for a time. It wasn't until very recently that I have been engrossed in the written review again and have found film critics that write great reviews and balance both the recap and the discussion. So with that in mind I'm going to slightly change the way I review a movie. It'll take some time, but hopefully by the end of 2019 I will have evolved my writing into something far more interesting than your average Joe's.
Reading. I have discovered many a film critic in 2018 via podcasts and twitter that I had not heard of before, and found their reviews quite interesting. But 2018 had also produced some really cool topical posts about the film medium. My goal for 2019 is to read far more posts on film. Whether they be critics from the highest of websites, or my fellow independent bloggers. I want to consume as much as I can and connect whenever possible.
Film Discussions. My 100th post meant a lot to me not because it was a milestone, but because I got to gush about a movie that I initially hated six years ago but now love. It meant a lot in ways that could only be formulated because there was no rush for it to get out. Unlike the weekly film reviews I could take my time and watch it, analyze it, read and listen to other people's thoughts, all before I created my first film essay on this blog. Not only that, but it felt so darn good. I want to continue doing these, and I want them to be why people come to my blog. That might mean I have to do them a few times a week, or spend more time on them producing a lengthy, but interesting, post. At this point I'm not quite sure what I'm doing toward it, but I definitely want more analytical posts that can dive deeper into films than a simple review.
Recaps. Another new segment I introduced in the fall were TV recaps in which I'd write a recap (not a review) for an episode of television per week. This I actually enjoyed and had fun with because it was so casual. I wasn't reviewing a season, or rushing to finish a show in time for the next week. Instead I got to sit with my thoughts on one hour of my life and just have fun. This will be staying, but I will not be recapping live TV anymore. Doing a recap for The Flash and Doctor Who every week was difficult, especially if I missed the episode, and it ended up feeling like I was always behind. Now, I will proceed with shows that are either already done, or their seasons are complete. For example, Lost in Space S1E1 Recap is a full season that is already done and I can take my time getting through it at my own pace. So look forward to that!
Podcast. To be quite honest I have no idea what I'm going to do for this. It's been on and off for the last 4-5 months and hosting by yourself is difficult. So 2019 will be the year I decide whether to continue it or close it down. Right now I put up two recent posts; one about the Oscar shortlist and the other previewing 2019 in film. I enjoyed doing them and feel it worked much better than my last format of three movies tied together by a "thesis." The problem where this comes in though is I do not like film news. The only exception is the Oscars, but other than that it doesn't leave me much to do on my podcast since I'm putting out the majority of my discussions and reviews in writing. So, as I said, 2019 will be the year I find an identity for my podcast or let it rot in the expansive wasteland of the internet.
Changing My Look. Lastly, I want to change my blog's look. I've been fiddling with it throughout 2018 and haven't landed on a style that I feel is this site's identity yet, so at some point this year I'll be taking a day, or maybe a weekend, to sit down and reinvent the look of this blog.
Well, that's my 2019 resolutions for this blog. What did you think? Have any suggestions that I may have missed, or just want to tell me what you hope for this blog in the coming year? Don't be shy and comment below!
