I’ve been writing this blog for about six months now. And over the last month I’ve been wondering what I’ve learned and what direction to head in.
What I’ve learned is that I can write this way, well enough to satisfy my standards anyway, and that I can keep producing worthwhile content. I didn’t know whether I would find that, after the first few dozen posts, I would simply have nothing left to say.
As to where to head. I’ve been helped by talking with two friends. One suggested that I needed to blog about what I truly care about most and that I need to be personal so that people have a sense of connecting with me as a person. As to what I write about – this is what I care about most (health broadly defined). I’m not however nearly so good at being personal. I tend to present the information and leave me out.
So I’ve decided to still have good information but intend to speak more from my heart – to put in more of me.
My second friend, he had asked me how I was doing with blogging, said that what people were looking for was stuff to ‘help them get through the day’. I think this is exactly right.
It feels to me that these two go well together: that talking directly to others about problems they may be having will mean me speaking from my heart.
I find this exciting and energising.
I’m also thinking of doing a series of posts on one subject straight after each other. Until now the series I have done have been spread out over several weeks. This is an experiment so all comments are very welcome. Let me know what you think about this and about my slightly changed direction.
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Hello Evan. I’ve found your site via a comment you made on skelliewag. I’ve had a quick look around and very much like what I see. I certainly hope you won’t drop the strong content (e.g. your article on evidence based practice has been helpful to me – I’ve been asked to brief some psychotherapists on the topic). Having said that, relating that material to yourself (anecdotes from your life…) could make it very lively. It’s quite a skill writitng non-indulgent personal matter – but I think that it can be done if each post has a larger point it’s making. What I’ve seen of your writing makes me optimistic you can get the tone right. Go for it!
Thanks. I’m glad you like my focus on content. I don’t want to drop it. I do hope I’ll be able to make it more lively by putting more of myself in. Getting the tone right and not being self-indulgent (which I’d hate to be) is tricky – I’m still learning to write I think.
Please let me know if you think I slip into self-indulgence, that’s one way of me finding out.
Thanks for your comment.
I feel your friends have offered you some very good advice. Most people like to connect great and helpful information with a real person, not like reading a text book. When you put your heart into your work, people respond in a positive way, and are more likely to return to your site. Especially if you are providing useful tips relating to your subject. I love finding blogs that show a caring person behind the content.
Enjoy!
Teri
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Thanks Teri. Im working on it. Im happy with the direction, and I think Im learning how to make it real (no apostrophes because this site is misbehaving not because I dont care about grammar)
Evan