The deeper I immerse myself in the book I am currently writing the more concerned I become about the quality of my blogging. I worry that I’ll only be able to make so many trips to the literary well before it runs dry and I am left bereft of ideas and words to pour out onto WordPress. I want my writing to be relevant and fresh. I don’t want to be simply going through the motions. I call it sleep blogging.
We all have gears. I know that from my running and work. It is oh so easy to hit cruise control and drift along in your comfort zone. You are loathe to put the pedal to the medal as with that come inherent risks and dangers. Why confront and challenge when you can conform and collude. Breaking through and pushing on is painful. It hurts and takes a toll. You pay a price in order to progress.
Writers must have a purpose when they set pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. There must be a reason for the activity, a message that they want to impart. Writing without purpose leads to lazy language as we drift from sentence to sentence, meandering from one paragraph to the next. It is padding, filling the empty expanses of the page or screen with the creative equivalent of white noise. Night of the Literary Undead.
Not all my blogs hit a nerve or strike a chord. Some result in healthy discussions which can last for months while others slip relatively unnoticed beneath the radar. The goal of the blogger is to find that bullseye, that common thread which brings people together and gets them talking. In order to promote debate a blogger must be passionate about their subject matter. If you blog solely for likes, follows or, dare I say it, financial gain then you are less likely to succeed.
This blog is on a mission. A mission which I view as eminently possible and will not involve me swinging from a treacherous precipice a la Tom Cruise while flicking the camera a cheesy grin. I am no hero but I am here. Every day. Seeking to encourage and motivate others to be the best possible version of themselves that they can be. Offering a helping hand to pull them out of the pit and back into solid ground.
I hope that this vision and these values come across in my writing. Otherwise I might as well retire my typing thumb and pull down the shutters on fracturedfaithblog. I encourage you to do the same. Every time you sit down to draft a post ask yourself why are you doing it, what message are you hoping to put out there. Really think. Because your words matter. They cannot afford to be wasted. We need to hear them.
Blog from the heart. Shoot that flare up into the night sky for it needs to be seen as opposed to spluttering like a damp squib, neglected and soon forgotten. Blogging is a privilege, we must never forget that. For others throughout the world to be able to express themselves freely is but a dream. Your words today can bring solace and healing to the battered and bleeding online tribe gathered around you.
I hope today hasn’t been too heavy for anyone. That wasn’t my intention but I woke up with these words on my heart and needed to share them. I’ll post something silly next time to restore the equilibrium. I look forward to hearing your comments on this post. I love this community and I love your words. You each have a message. One that matters. Make every blog count.
How do you seek to make your blogs relevant and impactive?
What are your thoughts on sleep blogging?
We all have different motivations to write and blog. In my case, I write because I want to express something; I want to get those swirling ideas out of my head. And I blog because I want to share those ideas to the world. But mostly, I use my blog as a placeholder, a repository of sorts for my writing outputs. But one thing I have noticed is that, when I started blogging, there is this nagging desire to look good to the world, to publish beautifully crafted posts or contents. So I tax myself; I worry a.lot, I put myself in a tremendous pressure to come up with something awesome. But for the most part though, I am.able to resist that urge. I can sleep blog or zombie blog anytime if I’m not feeling really creative. When that desire comes, I just tell myself that my blog is just a placeholder of my ideas, no pressure. If people like what I post, that’s awesome. If not, oh well… my blog was.merely a repository anyway. The most important gial I have is to train myself to write regularly. And having a blog helps me fulfill that goal.
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Yes, blogging is a great practice field for writers. I also know the pressure to produce quality produce.
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“Financial gain”?! What am I missing here?
Seriously, my concern has been the reverse of yours. I have noticed that I am spending so much time blogging that my next book is coming along at a snail’s pace. I write blogs when I am inspired, usually when I am telling someone something I’m passionate about that’s on my heart and that still, small voice whispers that it’s worth sharing with the world in general. I post once a week, so I schedule ahead when I know that we’re having houseguests for the next two weeks – or, when I’m just generally inspired. If I ever “run dry,” I’ll refrain from posting. There’s no rule that says I HAVE to post, and you’re right, we shouldn’t waste our readers’ time posting gibberish.
By the way, I also gain inspiration by reading other blogs, and yours have been especially thought provoking. Thanks for sharing and helping the rest of us get the creative juices flowing.
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Zzzzzzzz
I, um, may do that. Occasionally.
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It must have before I started following you.
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Ha! Not at all. If one could view the time stamp on my posts, he would see that I squeak many out before midnight. If one could watch me during creation, he would see many a face-slap, caffeine-inspired paragraph of text. 🙂
We can’t all be Stephen, I suppose.
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Believe me, nobody wants to be Stephen 😂
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‘Fraid I can’t. Clearly, 6K+ blogs have that desire.
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I’m just trying to build a platform that hopefully I can launch the book from. Publishers expect first time authors to have a following now. It’s great that people are following. I’ve no idea why they do but I’m grateful.
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Well, then I’m screwed.
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You’re one of my beta readers so you have no choice but to hang on tight and enjoy the ride. Chin up 🙂
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I really enjoyed this post! I can relate to the worry of the literary well running out for me and I don’t even blog on a daily basis!
I’m fairly new to blogging so I’m still finding my voice… I try to keep my “why” in mind when I write because I want to keep my writing purposeful. I do have to admit it is very encouraging to get a ‘like’ so I have to be intentional about guarding my heart from writing for ‘likes’. If I compromise my calling for the approval of others, then my purpose is lost.
As far as “sleep blogging”, I think I’m too new to blogging to comment based on experience! Lol. I do agree we can all come to a place of comfort in our writing so we should keep ourselves in check if we want our writing to remain fresh and purposeful.
There’s always transparency, as you illustrated today. You wrote about your concern of running out of words on your blogging while you write your book and in doing so you created a great blog post!
Thanks for the insights and the thought-provoking questions! I’ve enjoyed this visit to your cyber corner of the world!
Happy writing!
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Thanks for sharing this! It really got me to thinking! It even inspired a blog post!
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Yes I’ve just read it and commented. Excellent!
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I try to find a mix of what I want to discuss and share and what my audience has a particular interest (from looking at stats and comment discussions). 🙂
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I love this post. It is well thought out and well written. You are so right in pointing out what a privilege it is to be able to express thoughts and opinions in relative freedom.
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It is indeed Carol. Thank you very much for your kind words 🙂
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You are kindly welcome!
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Well, I have two blogs. One personal, the other, a soon-to-be business; hopefully going to earn money. Both of them are written from the heart. I decided to re-do my personal site because I was sleep blogging. Great post.
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Thank you very much 🙂
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I hope to impact the lives of others by sharing the encouragement God is giving me – sometimes current, sometimes from the past. I admit that I struggle to be completely open about my past, but some things we experience are better left untold if they will hurt someone else.
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This post really hit home. A lot of times I don’t blog because I feel what i have to say isn’t important enough to share with others. Other times I am truly just too exhausted (and sometimes lazy) to put much thought into a meaningful message. So I avoid. But that is not helpful either. I don’t think I’ve really found my “why” for writing other then I enjoy it and it makes me happy. I know my blog is all over the place but I think eventually I will find a particular topic and stick with it. Thanks for the encouragement as always 🙂
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You’re welcome. I’ve just posted a blog today that might further encourage you. Let me know what you think of it.
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I enjoyed your post. I could relate with some things while others I hope I don’t. 😉
I blog in advance and schedule posts but I can’t do the impossible. Writing is what I love to do but I also like to read….that includes what other people blog. I do this mostly on the weekends and in the evening when my brain needs to be inspired by what there people have to say. 🙂
Thanks for sharing. It’s certainly thought provoking.
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You’re welcome. Thank you 😊
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It’s funny how we can see the brilliance in another work but still manage to miss the incredible quality of our writing. You darling friend share a treasure of wisdom and beauty, and your well is anything by dry. ❤️ Big big hugs to you love! Jo
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Thank you Jo 🙂
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🤗
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Love this. Thanks!
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You’re very welcome. I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
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‘Why confront and challenge when you can conform and collude.’ – Yes!! I’ve been pondering this for a while now. Thank you.
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You’re very welcome. Thank you for reading.
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Tonight I had an issue with accessing your blog, from a device with Trend Micro installed. TM blocked your page, calling it “tasteless”, which of course makes no sense. Thought I should tell you in case it explains reduced traffic and you might be able to fix it?
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Thank you. I’ve been called many things, but never tasteless.
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