I’ve been remiss, ignoring my blog for the last year. I’m sorry.
Back when blogging was brand new, I was there posting at least once a week, if not once a day. There were even a few times I blogged twice in one day.
Again, back when blogging was new, before Blogger or WordPress even existed.
I blogged on GeoCities.
“I have a blog,” was often heard as me either having something caught in my throat or me gagging. No one knew what I was talking about, so I rarely used the words blog, blogging, or blogger when I spoke of this new fangled medium I was dipping my toe in.
I came across this blogging phenomenon by chance. I had just given birth to a very sick little girl, who was spending most of her time in the neonatal intensive care unit or the operating room, and I had friends and family begging for updates on her condition.
Yahoo Groups saved my life (and probably my daughter’s) when I discovered 7 other parents who had kids with the same birth defect my kiddo was born with. One of those dad’s had a blog on GeoCities. He told me it helped him disseminate information to concerned citizens quickly without having to make 25 phone calls after a hellish day of surgery, so I quickly started a blog. It’s a lot like what people do on CaringBridge today, but this was ages before CB existed.
I made business cards I printed at home on my new color ink jet printer and shared the web address with anyone who asked about how my little one was doing. My mom passed them out to all the church ladies who had my kiddo on their prayer list.
Side note: when we travelled back home for my step-dad’s funeral, those church ladies came up to my daughter and told her how many prayers they said for her. Poppy still talks about that. “It’s just so weird, Mom! They were stranger and they prayed for me. How did they even know me?”
That’s my blogging birth story.
So I know how to blog, but I’ve been so bad about doing so in the last year. Last year I started writing a monthly column for Prism Book Alliance®, Outside the Margins. That was about the same time I was homeschooling my kid, so I easily let the responsibility of blogging here go. But that’s going to change. It’s got to.
This will be my blogging rebirth!
Okay, maybe that’s too much, but I want to blog more regularly. I enjoy writing in this forum because it’s less… it’s more…. I just like it! Okay? 😀
I’m thinking a weekly thing, possibly on Thursdays, and then some flash fiction, because that’s good for the ol’ writing chops.
What sorts of things do you want to read about? What type of columns interest you from writers?
What a beautiful reason to start blogging. I also just recently started my blog as well. I only have 2 posts…so I know whatnot is to be just beginning. 🙂 what a beautiful photo of your daughter! Looking forward to reading more posts. 🙂
Author
Thanks for stopping by and I hope your blogging future is bright. I know I’ve enjoyed my time on my various blogs over the years. As for the pic, that is a stock photo I bought. Sadly because of the imminent risk, I wasn’t able to hold my daughter skin-to-skin when she was born. I had to wait few days for that moment. 🙂
Hi Posy!
I really appreciated your visit and comment on my blog, so I thought I’d return the favor. You’re definitely far from the only writer who’s let a blog lapse, and especially when you started one for a certain purpose–like you did with your daughter–and that purpose changes, it’s hard to keep it going. The same thing happened to me. I had a blog chronicling my journey to fight in the ring and to get published. Once I’d accomplished those milestones, my blog kind of…floundered. I had to completely reinvent it.
As to your question, at this stage in my career I appreciate advice and tips on marketing the most. I can never learn enough about what approaches work and don’t work for authors.
Nice to “meet” you!
Author
Marketing is my least favorite part about writing, if I’m completely honest. It’s not as bad as trying to sell things door-to-door or making cold calls, but it’s near that. Haha. I think that’s why I enjoy blogging. People who want to come to me do. And yes, you make a very valid point about how we change and grow. It’s tough to translate that into a blog with a readership who comes for one or two reasons when I want my blog to be more diverse. Good thing I have more than one blog. 😉