Tag Archives: blogging

So…this is the end of National Blog Posting Month. And like all aspects of personal discipline, I didn’t quite reach my goal. But, was it a total failure? I think not.

FOUR THINGS I LEARNED from NaBloPoMo:

1. My blog is not a daily diary.

I don’t propose to have a daily purpose or daily recording on my blog. It was not natural to me to start a blog, “Day 12 of NaBloPoMo….” Therefore, I didn’t do it. The days when I really felt like I had nothing to say, I published content I was not proud of. So at some point I said, “Enough!” and didn’t post anything unless I wanted to.

2. I enjoy writing everyday, but don’t enjoy the pressure to publish everyday.

There were many days this month where I wrote and didn’t publish. If I had it to do all over again, I would be tempted to join NaNoWriMo. Then I would be increasing my word count and writing discipline without the pressure of people seeing it until I was ready.

3. I need to find a focus and purpose for my blog.

Publishing on my blog would not have been as difficult if I had a roadmap. I admire bloggers who have a schedule or theme such as Monday Matters, The Wednesday Word, Fun Links Friday, etc. I’m still searching for exactly what my blog will be, but this month has helped me see what it is not.

4. The more you write the more people read.

Those of you who have been blogging for a while might think this is a no-brainer, but I was surprised at how much my traffic increased this month. The more content and categories you have out there, the more chances for people to come across your blog. Also, publishing regularly gives my followers something to read and shows them I’m serious about my blog.

All in all it was not a total waste. I appreciated the pressure to a certain degree and the encouragement to write more regularly. I also enjoyed the NaBloPoMo community. Thanks for all your support!

Looking forward to next year.

In the meantime…I plan to keep writing. 🙂

As you can see from the giant badge on my page, I’ve decided to join NaBloPoMo which is not some alien gibberish, but rather stands for National Blog Posting Month.

I started this blog to encourage more frequent writing practice. Twenty-eight posts in one year is certainly more writing than pre-blog, but not enough for me to consider myself a serious writer. This month I will attempt to write a post every.single.day. (Right now Ricky Ricardo’s “Ai yi yi” seems appropriate)  (It would also appear that today’s blog is sponsored by TVLand)

This could go wrong on so many levels. Here are just a few….

There will be bad/dumb/poorly written posts.This is just a given. If I am forced to publish every day some of it will be content that would have normally ended up on the cutting room floor (ok, the drafts folder, but cutting room floor sounds better). The purpose of the exercise for me will be to develop the habit of writing every day. By the end of the month less and less should be cringeworthy. (Unless I’m burnt out, then you get what you get)

Some of you will grow tired of hearing from me and stop reading my posts. I get it. You won’t hurt my feelings if you skip over posts that don’t interest or appeal to you. To those of you who follow my blog via email: I apologize for the inundation this month.

I won’t be able to post every day. I’m not what you would call a “disciplined” person. Other than brushing my teeth, I can’t really think of anything else I do every day that is a habit of personal discipline. I look forward to the opportunity for growth….maybe.

I will run out of things to write about. This could be the cause for 1, 2, and 3. Thankfully NaBloPoMo offers helpful prompts if we feel stuck. I usually like to follow my heart or inspiration (see #3 – discipline issues) but appreciate some direction from time to time.

Well, readers, you have been forewarned. Thank you for bearing with me on my journey. babystepstowriting