I’ve recently started reading a bunch of new blogs* that get updated daily (and of course there are some blogs I’ve been reading forever, namely my friend Evan’s, which has been updated daily for years and oh my god I have no idea how he does it). I am reminded once again that frequent updating is valuable in the blog world. I long ago came to accept the fact that I could never, ever manage to post every day, and even my goal of twice a week sometimes seems too lofty. Does this reduce the value of the blog? Well… who knows. As far as I’m concerned, the only one who needs to be happy with my blog is me… and even that’s hard sometimes. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so when I go back and read my writing, I often think Ugh, that’s awkward… that’s so hokey… etc. I feel like, despite the fact that I have been writing this blog for over a year and a half, I still haven’t found my blog voice, and it makes me sad. Some of my entries feel forced and contrived when I read them later, because I wanted to make them structured and avoid being the other kind of contrived, writing entries like “OMG I made this and it is soooo frikkin good, fo’ reals ppl.” But… I dunno. My own personal journal is littered with LOLs and interjections. If that’s how I write for me, why shouldn’t I write that way here? So maybe I’ll give it a try… instead of forcing my writing style to be something it’s not, I’ll just write how my brain wants to and not worry about wrapping everything up in a clean, formulaic way.
Seriously, the last sentence in a post is the hardest for me. The title as well. I am not good at summing things up.
Maybe when I’m more comfortable in my blog-skin, I’ll actually start making an effort to gain more readers too. Heh… it’s only taken me nearly two years of writing on the internet to decide that I actually want people to see my blog! Baby steps. Somebody should write a book called Bloggers with Low Self Esteem. I’d buy it.
*will be added to blogroll soon. [EDIT: OK, they’ve been added!]
I can completely relate to this but I think that you have to remember why you started blogging in the first place. Write how YOU want to write and let it all just flow together.. eventually you’ll find out the way that works best for you!
hey baby girl. blogging every day is obviously not valuable to the blog world. i mean…look at the people who read my page. i’m afraid of them. if i saw them in a dark alley i’d grip my car key between my fingers in fear of having to punch them in the eye to ward off an attack.
the best blogs can be updated 20 times a day or once every 20 days. as long as you’ve got something cool to say and write well, people will find it and continue reading it. you’ve got both those skills. now you just have to put them to use.
xoxo
Leah: Thanks for the advice. I think I need to stop worrying so much and just write :-).
Evan: Aww, thanks, that was so sweet. You make me feel better about myself! Now you need to work on doing that for yourself. Your blog is obviously awesome; you get shout-outs on the internet from people who aren’t even related to you.
Agree with Leah. And I really think you shouldn’t look back and second-guess your writing. It’s just good to get into the habit of writing something every day. As far as style is concerned, I think most people accept that blogging is an anything-goes field, and they won’t hold anything against you, they will just not read long posts or at least not follow every link.
I do a fair amount of wild experimentation in my blog. It is cathartic and serves a purpose. But when I check comments after such a post, I’m never sure I really want to see them. And I rarely go back and read these kinds of entries. What’s fun is looking back for information purposes, maybe for a good recipe that I didn’t write down anywhere else.
Speaking of recipes, have enjoyed the classic dishes. And your writing is just fine, BTW.
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