Blogging: Going Against The Grain

My Dad and I at my wedding – one of the many life changing events this year.
Photo credit to: David Toms Photography

My father, calls me and asks “why haven’t you blogged in a while….I want to read your blog”. This is coming from the man who thinks I’m an over-sharer and can’t understand why everything has to be on social media these days. So I find it ironic that he is asking me to put more of me and my personal life out in to the social universe for him to read and proudly share with his friends and in some cases, his clients, but like the dutiful daughter that I am, I aim to comply and promise I will.

Four months have gone by since then and many, many, life changing events and still I haven’t been inspired to write, I don’t know why, I suppose it’s writers block, or lack of confidence, or ego, that my life isn’t that exciting, that other people want to read about it. But my Dad does and that’s what boosts me to lie awake on a Monday night until 5am writing.

I start writing about something completely ridiculous – my thoughts on the Kardashians. Mr. K tells me it’s a shallow topic (my thought – well that’s the point of them isn’t it?) and one that he doesn’t think really puts me in a good light, so I hit delete and go back to sleep.

I feel like I’m having a crisis of confidence, a lack of clear creative thought – why do I blog? What is the point? Who cares what I think?

I take another few days to think and then decide that I would go by my own blogging rules, my 3 rules that go against the blogging grain:

1)      I have to be an established writer:

False – Did Picasso or Van Gogh worry; did they care if everyone loved their work?

You write in the way you want and people will come to you. Writing is an art. A form of expression, Some people will love it. Others will hate it – be ok with that.

2)      You need a huge audience:

False – It doesn’t matter if you have 3 views or 30,000 views, this is what you want to write about. It’s your outlet. Are your writing for money and fame or to express yourself? It’s not a failure to only have 4 views in a week and one of them is your Mum, or in my case, my Dad.

3)      You must blog each week:

False – A lot of people carve out time. Force themselves or commit to blogging once a week. I don’t agree. Forcing yourself to write by a particular time is like asking someone to be innovative on a timer. Creativity, innovation and art come to you when you’re ready. They cannot be forced so don’t push yourself in to something that isn’t ready yet.

There are no ‘one size fits all’ rules for blogging, these may work for me, but not for everyone. Find what works for you and don’t panic when it isn’t working – take time out, breath and the words will flow.

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