If you read any of the “how to blog” site or books, they’ll all tell you that at some point you are not going to want to write. The initial spark of starting a blog lasts a very, very limited amount of time. Most blogs are abandoned within 90 days. I’m buoyed a bit knowing that I’m going into month six.
I’ve written for a number of blogs. I started in 2008 writing for a blog on philanthropy. Before starting OC, all of the blogs I’m engaged with were professionally-based, and I found it was easier to hide behind an organization and the literature when writing. Five top tips of this, Ten ways not to do that. He said, she said, and I say they are both wrong. I found myself writing when I didn’t want to and often was able to write without saying very much.
OC is a bit different for me in that “hey, this is me.” I love to write. When I don’t write, I’m grumpy. It hurts my heart a bit when I don’t write on OC because I’ve put in a lot of effort to learn how to build it. Combine those feelings with my Japanese / Catholic guilt* and voila, a blog post.
There is the little devil in the background that whispers “It’s so nice outside and it’s summer, take some time off…don’t worry, the blog will be here later.” All that is true as well. As with all of my interests and commitments, I’m finding it fascinating which ones I sign up for and then quickly abandon versus the ones that I’m willing to keep doing even when it feels like I’m slogging through the mud.
Writing always rises to the top.
*Japanese guilt is a special duty-based guilt. Effects include: if you said you’d show up somewhere/do something, you do. Catholic guilt covers all other feelings of not trying hard enough/doing your best.
(Photo by Zsuzsanna Kilian, stock.xchng)
Writing…when you don't want to
