Last year, I participated in Reverb10, a web-wide blogging activity in which daily prompts urged you to look back at the year nearly done. I enjoyed it, though towards the end I felt like I was repeating myself. I had pretty much decided that I wouldn’t commit to it this year, though I’d keep an eye on the prompts and respond to the ones that intrigued me.
Yesterday, I got an email from Gwen Bell, who created Reverb10 with Kaileen Elise and Cali Harris. They’ve decided not to host Reverb this year, for reasons I understand, but which make me a bit wistful. The trio encouraged people to start their own version of Reverb11 (or whatever) and share the love.
Immediately, my mind split between two options:
1) Read last year’s prompts and re-write them, or at least for the ones that have something worth writing about.
2) Create something Elgin-centric and see if I can persuade fellow Elginites to participate. Daily might be a stretch, but maybe 5 or 6 prompts throughout the month, getting people to name/discuss their favorite aspects of Elgin? Like, “What’s your favorite Elgin holiday tradition?” or “What’s your favorite made-in-Elgin product?”
Any thoughts? If I launch the Elgin-focused option, does anyone have ideas for prompts? I finish the academic quarter next Tuesday, at which point I can exhale and take advantage of some cognitive surplus for a few weeks.
Regardless, I’m starting to mull over last year’s Dec 1 prompt: Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you? Here’s what I said last year.
Adventures of the Former Elginista 