Welcome to Blaugust
stargrace I know, I’m a bad person for not starting the week with my ‘yay it’s Blaugust‘ post – but honestly there have been so many incredible starter posts that mine would have only gotten lost in the pile anyway. That being said, this theme (we’ll call it that) of the week is as follows:
The idea behind this week is to give folks time to spread their wings and get used to that daily blogging idea. For the Veteran bloggers, it is a great time to make a few posts related to helping New bloggers get started. These could be tips or tricks or just discussions about what helps you get started. Additionally it is a great time to get connected to the Blaugust Discord and meet the community as a whole.
I am on the discord! I don’t talk often because I’m shy, and a part of a bunch of other discords so managing my time is always something that I have a hard time with. Despite all of that, I’ve been blogging here for over 15 years, and I’ve learned a thing or two.
Don’t let someone else tell you what blogging is / is not, or how to run YOUR blog. See, I tend to go many days without posting anything, and then I’ll write 7-8 posts all at once, and I’ll back date them and assign each post to a day to fill out my weeks. That’s what I prefer to do. That doesn’t make me any less of a blogger (or more) than anyone else and how they decide to handle things. So find a schedule and a method that works for you and your life style. Adapt it. Be flexible.
Don’t get boxed in writing about a specific theme / subject if you’re not feeling it. This site started out as MmoQuests, and I wrote about MMOs in specific for many MANY years. Turns out, I have more interests than just video games! I knit, I read, and I draw. If I only wrote about video games some months would be very dry content wise. Instead, I’ve opened up my blog to my other interests. Sure, my audience may not always enjoy every single post I put out there, but I love having a record of what basically amounts to my entire life. Do you.
If you’re really interested in blogging, don’t worry about your audience. It will come with time. Instead, get into those good habits. Even if you’re not writing novel sized posts every day, try a bit of something. I feel good about myself knowing I’ve taken care of my ‘chores’ for the week, I try to pre-write or jot down ideas any time I have them to make up for the times where I don’t feel like writing at all. It all counts, and no one is judging you except (you guessed it) yourself.
I know some folks like to run their site with the end goal of making money, but this isn’t one of those blogs, so I have very little advice to give on that subject. Do what you like, and don’t let anyone else change your mind. You’re going to know yourself best.