Some Reasons Why I Write

Reasons Why I WriteI published my first blog post on November 29th, 2008. Since then, I have written over five hundred posts, ranging from a few paragraphs to multiple pages of content. I obsess over content, whether it is posting a blog, flooding my Twitter feed, updating my status on Facebook, checking in on foursquare, or adding restaurant reviews on Yelp. The more content I can create, the better. It helps my personal branding in regards to search engines, and also makes me stay connected to a growing list of friends, fans, and followers.

I write on a wide range of topics as well. When I first started my blog, I was going to use it as a way to talk about my artwork and the events going on in my life. That quickly became a way to share my thoughts and opinions with my readers. That then led to me writing on more serious topics, writing restaurant reviews, and basically just going on to post about anything and everything that inspired me. And that inspiration is everywhere.

I also began interviewing bands for my blog. I first started my blog using Blogger, the blogging service provided by Google, and was off and running. But when I began to get a little more serious, I changed things up and moved to WordPress. It was a big change for me. I had heard a lot about WordPress, and was a little scared at finding a good design and being able to update it a regularly. I turned to a good friend, Alex Conner, for guidance and managed to get my blog set up, designed, and ready to start flooding it with content. And that is exactly what I did. For a while, I was posting two or three blogs a day. I was writing faster than I could keep up.

In the last six months or so I have slowed down and started to write more detailed, dedicated posts. I also had received a ton of complaints on my blog for my improper grammar and spelling errors. I have a certain style where I write once, get my thoughts out, and move on. I hardly ever go back and edit the original post. That has proven to be a fault of mine, which I recently corrected by enlisting an editor. Her name is Leah Barr, and she has been great helping me spell things correctly and use proper punctuation. She works a lot of hours, and while I have no budget to pay her, she is very quick to respond and edit my posts.

I am always looking for new content. Recently, I was listening to National Public Radio on my way home from work, and an author was discussing ideas and where they come from. He was a blogger as well, and he said that every idea he gets, he saves on a Microsoft Word document. He said that he would collect tons of these, and had a folder on his desktop with over five hundred ideas for blogs. I found inspiration in that, and I have begun doing the same thing. I post two blogs between every interview. It’s a constant battle to keep my blogs fresh and interesting.

But recently, I received another complaint on my blog. A few people were chatting over dinner about my blog content lately, saying that it seemed as if I was reaching for content. These people are dear friends of mine, so I took their advice seriously. They are loyal subscribers to my RSS feed, to read what articles interest them. But apparently, a couple of recent posts were not only uninteresting to them, but rather made them turn their noses at me.

One of these posts had to do with the rules and regulations for the pool at my apartment complex. I live in Sunblest Apartment Homes, as does half of the Fishers population, and I found this to be interesting. There was a long list of rules, some of which I have even broken a time or two, and I wanted to share that with my readers. I have readers from all over. Some live in Fishers, even live in Sunblest Apartment Homes, while some live in Russia, but still read and on almost every blog post from all those miles away.

Another post that turned some heads was about a recent silent auction that I attended. I attended Spotlight 2010 at Clowes Memorial Hall, with the help of the Indiana AIDS Fund. It was a great evening for an incredible cause, and showcased fifteen performances from an abundance of local entertainment groups. During the event, in the main entrance and wrapped around the entire venue, were tables filled with items. These items were part of the silent auction that would eventually raise tons of money for the AIDS fund. However, there were several rules and regulations that bidders had to adhere to. This was the first silent auction I had been to and was caught off guard that there would be so many rules to follow. So I wrote about it. I know that there is going to be another Spotlight in 2011, and I had interest in sharing this with those who attended this year’s event, and those who plan to attend next year’s.

My point is that not all of you will find interest in these blog posts. I cannot write for everyone who reads my blog. I am getting over 25,000 site visits a month from countries all over the world. With services like Twitter and Facebook, I have made friends from India all the way to Japan, and they read my blog on a regular basis. Does a blog post about an event held in downtown Indianapolis interest them? Of course not. But tomorrow’s blog might.  And I have to realize that when writing my blog posts. I simply cannot make everyone who reads my blog happy.

But I hope that does not deter you from reading. Sure, it might seem like I was reaching for content, but I truly was inspired to write about those pool rules. And yes, I was quite interested in learning more about why there are so many regulations on a silent auction. I just have to remind myself that I write for myself first, my readers second. And I mean that in the absolutely nicest way possible. I would still write if no one visited my blog. I have to write. I am a writer. That’s what I do.

So if you read my blog, thank you. It shows that all of the hard work I put into my posts really does matter to someone besides me. And if you read my blog, I can promise that you are going to eventually find an article or two that does not interest you. And I hope that is okay. I hope that does not stop you from coming back tomorrow and the next day. I try to post interesting, relevant, and updated content daily. When I post something that might not interest you, please understand that I am still growing as a writer. I will be a better writer tomorrow than I am today. And if you truly enjoy my work, then all I can do is hope that you continue to read and support what I am doing. Thank you for taking the time to read this. It’s tough for me to write. If you have any topics you would like to see, by all means let me know. Just because I write for myself first does not mean that I do not listen to my readers. Again, thank you for supporting what I do.