Can you blog for the love of writing?
That question was asked recently on a Reddit forum I have started following. I believe the answer is "yes, you can" and "yes, you should". Particularly, if you enjoy writing for the sake of writing.
The poster was concerned that many blogging posts are about how to make money from your personal blog. Here was my answer. What most people want to know is can you make money writing about nothing?
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| Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash |
Let's define blogging.
Loose lips definitions sink ships. I use "blogging" and "weblog writing" and "blog writing" as synonyms. Today, others use the term "blogging" to mean "creating a website for fun and profit". Sure, writing is involved in creating a website, but creating a website and publishing content to that website is not the same as a personal blog.
What's your motivation?
My answer is probably not, and your emphasis is in the wrong place. There are probably few of us that live lives so interesting that simply writing about our daily lives will attract a readership.
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| Photo by Jess Bailey on Unsplash |
Then you are already a writer, you just haven't published your "log" on the web. However, if you don't write, then 'blogging' is not the problem, writing is. So, more than searching for whether "blogging" is right for you, you need to decide if writing is right for you.
Why are there so many blogs about making money?
Blogging is hard. Why do people think it is easy? I think it is because it appeals to us like the line in the Dire Straits song, "money for nothing, and your chicks for free". And that, kids, is satire. The years of practicing and playing guitar and singing and traveling may seem like 'money for nothing' to those who have never played an instrument, but just try to pick up an instrument and play something that others want to hear. It's very hard.
Blogging is the same way. Blogging may seem like 'money for nothing', but its not really.
Writing/Blogging is like the old Nike ad, "Just Do It".
Jump in, the water's fine. There is no "try", only do. Instead of "do you even blog?", the question becomes "do you even write?". And if the answer is that you don't write, then why would you look at blogging as an activity that interests you?
It is like the old proverb, "you are what you do". , and saying you are a blogger without blogging is simply lying to yourself.
You may have little interest in the topic about which you are writing. If that's the case, if you succeed, you may not enjoy it. Write about something you'd like to share with others. As some say, "Find your Tribe". It will make writing/blogging much more interesting.
Stay Safe, Dan
P.S. rumpelstiltskin, thanks
