On blogging

I am now in my fourth month of blogging and I have decided to capture the experience so far, in the hope that when I look back, perhaps in a year, that I, and the experience, would have matured or altered in some way.

Why did I start in the first place?  For one reason and one reason only, to get back into the habit of writing.  I had stopped for so many years that I just the thought of writing scared me.  I saw blogging as a way to get back into the groove, which meant, writing daily.

Initially I found it difficult to blog every day.  I had a million excuses and fifty other things to do.  I would stare at my blank screen, read my mail, write a sentence, check my Facebook page, etc.  Ad nauseum.  I do still do it but less often.

I have learnt that you can skip a day or so, but missing a week diminishes traffic to such an extent that you almost have to start from scratch.  Or maybe just when You are a new blogger.  Anyway, the discipline that goes with the exercise has been so beneficial.  In the beginning I felt that I had to finish my daily post by a certain time.  Now it doesn’t matter anymore, as long as I write.

With a bit more writing behind me, I have found that the editing time has decreased somewhat.  Initially I would write for thirty minutes and edit for three hours.  Now I am less anal about it and to be honest, I really don’t have that kind of time.  I have eased up on myself, allowing for the fact that nothing in life is perfect.  Anyway, even had I edited one post for twenty hours, I would still not have been satisfied.  At some point one has to let go.  Put the baby in the crib so to speak.  A useful tool that I learnt early on in life is not to start editing until I had finished writing.  Editing while writing takes long and is discouraging.  Writing should not be a chore.

At first I had difficulty coming up with daily ideas and made use of Digg, Plinky and similar websites.  Now, I grab an event or a thought that stood out during the day, and elaborate on it.

Today strangely enough, was different.  I had no clue what to say.  I turned to my son for ideas.

Typically boy, he replied:  “I don’t know Mommy, anything” .

“Please Kyle, just throw words at me, anything that comes into your head”.

“I really can’t think of anything Ma, why don’t you just write about blogging”.

Thank you Kyle.

I have learnt a load of new skills.  From blog building to tagging and publicising on other platforms.  The list is endless.  And as life would have it, no sooner had I learnt a new skill than I needed it for another area in my life.  For once I did not have to waste time asking Google.

I must confess, I do not look for blogs, simply because I don’t have the time.  But, when someone likes one of my posts, or comments on it, I take the time to read their About page as well as their latest post.  If it appeals to me, I follow the blog via email so that I can read it on my phone at night.

As for my own blogging style, it is not topical, nor am I concerned with current events.  I have opened myself up and I blog honestly, about myself.  I do refrain from using names when I write about others because I have no intention of offending or hurting them.

I don’t know if my blog is enjoyable, or whether any of it speaks to anyone.  What I do know is that if only one person learnt something, laughed at something, or thought about something after I had shared of myself, it is a bonus.  Over and above what I had set out to do.

There is a lot I still don’t know about blogging but I know that in time, I will learn.  I don’t know what would be considered a good amount of traffic.  What is a good hit rate after six months, or a year?  But I don’t care about that too much.  Like I said, I blog for no other reason than to write.  I would be lying though if I said I did not like seeing feet through my cyber heart.

In summary I can say that on the whole, blogging has been richly rewarding to me personally.  Not because thousands of people read what I have to say, but because I feel a sense of accomplishment every time I press ‘publish’.  I really do.  And it is because I did what I love.  The reward is even greater on the days that I did not feel like it.

So, as for my blog and I, we shall soldier on.