There are days where I have to actively remind myself to be mindful of the impact of my words and the reality that most people think without speaking.
Don’t take that to mean that I am better or think I am better than others because that is not what I am saying or thinking.
If I am more mindful it is not because I am better but because when you get paid to write and your words serve as currency you pay attention to how they impact people.
That is a big part of why I go through periods of time where I update my Facebook status multiple times, I am testing out my words to see what sort of response they generate.
Today I am more aware of my words because I am in dire need of a vacation and family crap is wearing me out a bit.
It happens when various members of the clan catch this vomiting disease and you do what you can to avoid joining the Ralph Brigade.
Add the normal holiday ridiculousness and stress and you have good blog fodder and material that might make for a good story…just not one that you want to live through right now.
You Should Go Where The Readers Are
I stumbled across an old post today and was irritated again by a comment someone made.
It made me feel a bit stupid to realize that it had irked me a second time because it is not that big a deal, it is a simple disagreement.
Most days a simple disagreement doesn’t make me want to punch the person in their smug mouth, but today it did.
Is it because I haven’t had the vacation I want and I am frustrated about having to deal with some family stuff that I shouldn’t?
Yeah, and it is not the Ralph Brigade nor am I going to discuss it in detail here, there are boundaries in blogging and this is not something that is important enough to memorialize.
It is just a momentary irritation and to give it specifics would give it more free rent time in my head so I am acknowledging it and sending it on its way.
If it wasn’t family I’d say not my monkeys, not my circus but this time it is both and so it goes.
Anyhoo, we really should talk about the subhead about going where the readers are because that is a topic that has been discussed in person but not in print lately.
Or at least not here.
Where Are The Readers?
2016 marks my 12th year of blogging and you would think I wouldn’t pose a question like where are the readers but you would be wrong.
It is not so much that I don’t know how to find readers but when you are in a continuous state of transition and a process of evolution you don’t always know exactly what you want to write about.
If I focused solely upon being a dad blogger I could focus upon gathering and promoting the blog to the people that want to read that sort of content.
Or if I wanted to do nothing but focus upon writing fiction the Story blog would provide a home for that.
But the answer is I want to do both of those things and more.
It is part of why I created multiple blogs because I figured it might be useful to have specific areas that I could focus types of content in and upon while using this place as the central hub.
Organization and & Over Extension
The big trick is staying organized and trying to avoid becoming over extended and I don’t know how I well I have managed that.
It really depends on how you define success and that is a whole ball of wax I am not going to get into right now ‘cuz I just don’t have time nor patience for it.
What I can tell you is I spend lots of time reminding my children about the importance of defining goals and building road maps to achieve those so if I don’t define success for this particular venture I might not be able to answer the question.
Yet I can provide myself as a role model for how not to approach some things and a contradiction.
What that means is that even though I may not have a standard answer for success devised, the lack of metrics hasn’t prevented me from having fun.
And having fun is the primary metric I use for success in blogging.
After almost 12 years at this I am still having fun…most of the time.
One Day
There are still moments where I think about my promise to A Whispering Soul and how one day I would walk away from the keyboard and leave my favorite monkey and zoo to ponder why.
Not because I want drama but because when it comes to this particular medium, I don’t know that I will ever truly be done.
Writing and breathing are the same to me.
I wouldn’t want to say it was over until I knew I had taken my last breath.
But I might choose to hit full stop and start over somewhere else, you never know. It might serve me better and I might do better if I was focused only upon one thing.
All things are possible, but some aren’t as likely as others.
That is part of the joy of life and the journey.
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Larry December 27, 2015 at 6:50 pm
Interesting post here. It feels like a transition of some sorts.
Is it a new year or more to it than that?
Brian Sorrell December 27, 2015 at 10:34 am
In my mind, transitional times are times that demand great confidence. Fortunately for us, your readers, you’ve got plenty of that. I’m always intrigued by where your mind goes.
Jack Steiner December 27, 2015 at 11:53 am
I agree about the importance of confidence, especially during transitional moments. Lots of life experience has proven there is merit in that.
And so have a bunch of things that Teddy Roosevelt and Ralph Waldo Emerson have said about life and living.
Hope you are having a good time down under.
Tim Bonner December 26, 2015 at 3:48 am
I’m similar in that I don’t want to restrict myself to writing about just one thing or one niche. I’m sure that goes against all blogging advice but it works for me.
It keeps me from throwing in the towel or leaving my blog empty for months on end. It also allows me to get what’s in my head out of it!
If people come along for the ride, great and if not, no sweat.
Jack Steiner December 27, 2015 at 11:54 am
Exactly. The ability and willingness to empty our heads onto the page in front of us and not be limited or restricted is invaluable.
Keeps me sane.