The Daily Prompt wants to know To what extent is your blog a place for your own self-expression and creativity vs. a site designed to attract readers? How do you balance that? If sticking to certain topics and types of posts meant your readership would triple, would you do it?
My blog is one of my writing spaces. Part of it is about self-expression and creativity, the search for truth, the experience of that journey. My search for truth is an inner and an outer one. Part of the journey of life, creativity, self-expression, are all woven within the pictures and words I post as I write. Each word is a step along that path.
Do I care about attracting readers? Would I write about certain topics and types of posts if it meant tripling my readership? NO. NO. I remember when journalism was about seeking the truth. Exposing the truth. When you could open up your newspaper, listen to the radio, watch television and learn something, gain some insight about what was going on around you and the world, but the more I listen to radio and watch television and look at the newspaper the more I see sensationalized news. Reality television shows are a great example of this. That little girl and the show Honey Boo Boo is a great example of what I am talking about. I’ve never seen the show, I’ve only seen excerpts and a few interviews of the little girl and her momma. And that was more than enough for me. It horrified me that we have reduced ourselves as a society to watching that kind of CRAP.
I’d rather watch reruns of Law and Order.
I’d love to have readers who enjoy what I write, who are inspired or motivated or touched by something I said. I want those readers. I do not want readers who are looking for the next sensationalized, faddish, hot topic. I don’t want to base my blog on what is popular. For the past week or more I think I’ve written one or 2 posts. I haven’t been posting because I was swamped with my novel. I sucked at multitasking that last 2 weeks of Camp NaNoWriMo. I was busy with writing my novel, life, my grandson, my daughter who is graduating on the 10th with her associate’s degree, my husband, and suffering in pain from fibroid tumors as well as a sinus infection. Regular life and writing the novel were so much that posting on the blog was a blip on the radar of my thoughts but not a loud one. Bad blogger, I know.
I don’t write posts about religious controversies or my religious views, nor do I write posts about my political views or my thoughts on issues like gun control or the like, except the occasional rant about our current healthcare situation. If it was important to me in a way that was relevant to my blog and my life I might. And one day I just might post something about gun control because as a gun owner and a believer in our Constitution that concerns me, but there’s so much more to that issue than that so I’ve strayed away from talking about it in my blog. Just as I’ve strayed away from talking about other important issues. Once you start the ball rolling on controversial issues there is always backlash. My blog is about learning, growing, experiencing, ranting (on occasion), life, love, relationships, writing, inspiration, and motivation. It’s a place where I am away from all the CRAP and can focus on the positive or at least try to figure out what is positive. Backlash is not usually positive.
So if my ratings plummet or never get any better than they already are, and they’ve decreased the past 2 weeks because I haven’t really been posting, then oh well. I’ll still drink my coffee in the morning and read through posts on my readers, write my own posts and continue to like and/or comment on other’s posts, but my life will go on. I have to live in the real world, I don’t have to live in the blogosphere. The blogosphere is my escape.
thelissachronicles 