I came onto the blogging scene much the same way I came into the writing scene: allured by the glamour of the thing. I wanted to call myself a blogger and a writer—a blogger who blogged about the creative process. It just sounded pastiche. Turns out, there’s a lot I needed to learn about both blogging and about writing.
With blogging, it’s about creating a niche and then marketing it well, so that others will take interest and give you “hits.” With writing it’s about establishing a genre, and representing it well so that others will take interest and want to publish you.
Wait… back up a sec. Is this true? Is it?
I think that for many bloggers and professional writers, this is, in fact, true. But for me, well,…ever heard of writers’ block?
Writer’s block is something every blogger and writer experiences at one time or another. It’s just part of the package. But for me, when I feel that I must be something very specific to my audience, it’s automatic blockage. I clam up when I try to conceptualize my writing, whether it’s writing a blog post or a short story, in terms of what will “sell.” It may be that all writers experience writers’ block because they’re stressed out about selling the product—their art. But I always kind of thought writer’s block was more personal than that, and I’d like to keep thinking of writers’ block as something more personal, more internally rooted--not the social anxiety thing which often occurs when I’m too concerned about what people will think about what I’ve just written. In short, I’d rather have a natural blockage of creative flow than one that stems from basic insecurity about my artistic capabilities.
So I’m working on redefining my blogging and my writing-- defining it on my terms. I love writing most when I’m writing to express something basic to myself, to express something I believe to be fundamental to the world I live in, to express some aspect of “the road less traveled by.” I think that it’s important to stay loyal to one’s own point of view when writing. That loyalty makes whatever topic or genre or medium you tackle more authentic. It’s called integrity.
So yeah, find a niche. Market yourself. But stay true to your own calling and your own vision. Blogging and writing is glamorous, to be sure, but it’s also important work, important because your posts and your prose are your little brain children floating around out there for others to see and comment on. Make sure they’re honestly represented.
Guest posting is a neat idea. To the author of this post: I found your thoughts to be very helpful! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteAnna, you're very welcome! Glad you stopped by!
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