When I started blogging about a year ago, I knew why God had me writing. I knew that He was holding me accountable for the lessons I was learning. My few readers were, in effect, my accountability partners. God was teaching me about mercy in all types of situations, and I was willing to share those lessons with anyone who had the time and motivation to read what I wrote.
As I wrote about what I was learning, there were moments of joy, sadness, fear, and sometimes humor. I was in the midst of grief, and I shared that too. A small group of friends - some old and some new - encouraged me with comments and emails, and they shared their journeys with me as well.
Somewhere in the journey, though, I got distracted. I visited many blogging communities and was swept up in their enthusiasm for writing and their love of words. I read many types of advice on blogging:
use bullet points; don't use bullet points; keep it short; write in a journalistic format; DON'T USE ALL CAPS; write poetry; don't use too many complex sentences; have giveaways; comment on other blogs so you can get more comments on your own; belong to this or that blogging group; use other peoples' link buttons on your posts; write from your heart; don't disclose so much about yourself; go to conferences where there is a lot of talking; blah blah blah; find a quiet space; read this book before you blog any more; care about what e-books are doing to the traditional publishing industry; don't overuse semicolons; know what your readers want; engage your readers with questions; use bold type for your important points; eat bacon-fried bacon on Tuesdays; add photographs to your posts; add YOUR OWN photographs to your posts; write about being a child sponsor; tout this cause; participate in this project; be a minimalist so that readers can fill in the gaps with their own imaginations; be wordy so that the reader has a sense of exactly what you mean; my head is exploding and I haven't even covered half of the blogging advice I've gotten...
Wow. That is a lot to take in, especially when you are the new kid on the block. I got so caught up in trying to figure it all out that I started feeling guilty for not doing it all. The guilt made me unable to even start typing. Thinking about being a "good" writer/blogger actually made me into nothing at all. I felt advised to the point of muteness.
I don't know if I am a good enough writer/photographer/artist/fill-in-the-blank to do all of those suggested things. I don't know what my readers want and I don't even always know what I want. I've already got so many books to read that I don't have room for them all in my house. I don't know if I want to follow all of this blogging advice and be a part of all of these projects. So does that mean I'm a bad blogger? Does that mean I'm not a "real" writer? Does it matter?
I just don't know. I don't even know if I have the energy to find out.
Let me tell you what I do know. God wants me to get up and go out and have a life. Sometimes just the getting up and going out is so hard that I lay paralyzed with fear while tears run down my face. God wants me to write about that. The times that I actually get out and participate in life, I learn so much about God, His love, His mercy, and myself that it just blows my mind. He wants me to write about that too. Sometimes God gently disciplines me to keep me from pursuing a path of destruction. He especially wants me to write about that.
So here is what I intend to do:
- I will write long, wordy posts about what God is teaching me.
- I will write about the humor God shows me in life.
- I might have a few more giveaways because they are fun and I really like fun.
- I will be kind to any commenters I might have.
- I will not beat myself up for not keeping up with 35 other blogs.
- I will not keep up with the state of the publishing industry.
- I will not let anyone but God dictate my subject matter.
- I might USE ALL CAPS IF I'M FEELING STRONGLY ABOUT SOMETHING
- I will enjoy the blessings of sitting in my cozy little corner writing for God.
Does any of this make me a good or bad blogger? I don't know, but here I am.
Nope that makes you a truthful blogger. I have been blogging for about a year. At first I got caught up in all that blogger mumbo jumbo then God reminded me that it's all about his message. He will bring the readers, I just need to write. Since starting that theory I went from posting once a week to eek 4-5 days a week. The readers have come and conntinue to do so. That's the wonder of God! I have seen more growth since listening to him then listening to books.
ReplyDeleteCarolyn,
ReplyDeleteGood to see you back. You just be you. If folks can't handle that, it's not your problem. Remember, you only have an audience of THREE IN ONE to please, and no-one else.
Still praying - and H has said she's happy for me to go to the Writers' retreat at Laity. She also said that I should be Stateside for a couple of weeks to make the airfares worthwhile :-)
you forgot to put eating bacon fried bacon in the list of what you will do
ReplyDeleteHear, hear!
ReplyDeleteIt is good to read another post from you; i have missed your "voice."
Blessings,
juanita
She's baaaaaaaack!!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like the Christian life, for some! Good for you for getting back to basics!
Speaking of books, in the Brennan Manning book I'm re-reading he quotes Thomas Merton: "the highest spiritual development is to be ordinary" - So yay for Carolyn being ordinary!
As they say in AA......K.I.S.S. Keep it simple stupid!
Glad to see you back, my love! And don't ever worry about feeling like you have to read my blog. No pressure, only love!
Can't wait to hear more about all that God is showing you! Maybe you write a post with no punctuation, just for fun :)
LOVE YOU!
Rebekah
I really have missed all of you so much. Love and peace to all of you!
ReplyDelete