Belated Blogging Resolutions (and a ramble!)

(end of January/Springtime daydreaming doldrums!) ;-)

Hi again! So….I keep meaning to write this post, and several other posts, and basically I have around half a dozen posts fleshed out in my head, but when it comes to actually writing them…it’s just not happening. I was feeling quite rubbish for a few weeks there thanks to the FLU OF DOOM that was everywhere (seriously why did I get a flu shot again?). It’s mostly gone now, albeit with a scratchy throat that has appeared like a pest but seems to be fading today.

But generally, looking back over the past few months, I see that I am blogging less and less, and possibly even worse, making less of an effort with other blogs, which I always feel super guilty about because I know how crappy I feel if I leave lots of comments on a blog and don’t get so much as a return read.

ANYWAY. Why have I lost my blogging mojo? I don’t know. Maybe I’ve just reached a bit of a slump. After blogging for three* years, I seem to be incapable of “growing my blog” at the rate that so many other bloggers seem to do effortlessly (and yes I KNOW most bloggers work super hard...but sometimes it seems like there are 19 year olds who post a few ootd pics and "This highlighter is the bomb.com!" reviews and bang! they have 20,000 followers overnight...or it seems that way...just me? ;-0).

I am too old, too disorganized, too incapable of making my life on Instagram look enviable and perfect (which we all know is fake but still…it wears, over time). And the thing is, the little rebel in me kind of does this on purpose. It is important to me to "keep it real", as much as possible, on my blog and other social media. And my content…well….that’s another story. It’s rambling, it’s occasionally self-indulgent, it’s clearly the work of a frustrated writer type who never found an outlet for her natterings and so now writes 1000+ word reviews when 100 words would be sufficient.

I always feel torn between the urge to make my blog more user/reader friendly and the urge to write whatever I dang well please. I do feel like writing about things I am legitimately passionate about/interested in is where I do best, but am also aware that that is always going to keep me at a certain (non-existent!) niche level.

I truly enjoy writing about film and television, and feel like I’m ok at it, but I’m not a professional and can’t really compete or be heard in that realm as it is so over-saturated with content. I also like writing beauty reviews, and talking about my travels, but again, I just don’t think I accomplish these things in a way that is glossy or photographically stunning enough to make a splash. I have considered buying a better camera but I honestly would have no clue how to use it, and it’s an expense I can’t really justify.

SO yeah, I guess maybe I have let the whole “you must be a success to be a blogger” thing wear me down lately. It is such a ridiculously competitive market that I don’t feel there is any point in trying to fit in or compete. 

And yet somehow I have also let it make me feel like my little blog is somehow “less than”, which is kind of unfair on my blog, because I’m actually pretty proud of a lot of things I have written,  and feel like the blog has helped me work out so many things personally. 

I feel like I have made a real connection with some genuinely awesome bloggers, I do feel like it has been worthwhile in ways that can’t be measured by stats or brand campaigns. I think I need to focus more on what I enjoy most about blogging and just let go of all of the outside pressures/b.s. involved with trying to be a “brand” (whatever) or "influencer" (just shoot me in the face if I ever refer to myself as one!) or prove my worth with followers. 

I don’t mean to moan, I honestly don’t even consciously dwell on this stuff, it’s just in asking myself “Why don’t I enjoy blogging like I used to?” that I have begun to think on it. 

So anyway, in that vein I want to make some (very belated!) blogging resolutions, to my blog and myself.

Blogging Resolutions

-Be less shy about sharing my posts, like, more than once. Try to use blogger hashtags and whatnot, you are not an island.

-Do try to learn some basic photography stuff though, you are not incapable.

-Don’t stress about conforming, but do exercise editing your word count where possible.

-Don’t take things personally that have nothing to do with you/don’t get sucked up in weird blogger drama in the old ‘sphere that makes you feel like you have no idea what is up with anything!

-Do try to be more detail oriented and less shy about taking pictures when visiting new places.

-Use your dang tripod at least once!

-Write more, of whatever floats your boat. Frustration is not an excuse for laziness/not using most of the ideas you have! (shakes fist at self! ;-))

-Believe in yourself just a little bit, it’s allowed.

Thanks for reading. xo

* I only just noticed I wrote that I had been blogging for FOUR years originally, I legitimately felt like it had been that long, but no, it's only three (and a bit, I started in Autumn 2014)! ;-0 #spacecadet #infp