True Confessions of a Not-So-Famous-Blogger

wpid-storageemulated0DCIMCamera2014-02-12-16.13.29.jpg.jpgIn the very wee hours of the morning, as I was mulling over (and over)Β a few blog post ideas that were swirling around inside my head, the proverbial light bulb clicked on and I was faced with the realization that I am not your average blogger.

This all began at 5:21 a.m. this morning, when I woke up to write the words to a poem I have been working on all week. I have never gotten out of bed to write something down – ever – but I will do so from now on.

Anyhow, as I tried to fall back to sleep, writing thoughts kept popping in my head. Then my creative thoughts turned to a self-assessment of why it takes me forever to write a blog post. A lot of ideas come to me at inopportune moments – like while in the shower (soap crayons for notes?) or while I am trying to sleep. So it doesn’t help that I can’t remember the complete book I have written while shampooing my hair. But I digress.

But it has been bothering me that I can’t stop what I am doing, fire off a quick post, share it for the world to see and dive back in to life. I see bloggers churn out post after post and my feelings of inadequacy take over in my head, like a mushroom cloud that forms when the dust rises after a bomb detonates. How do they do what I can’t seem to do?Β 

Apparently, I am just not wired that way. I need a long, well-thought process, inspiration, and more thinking.

Maybe I put too much thought into my writing. Maybe it is more of an artistic, therapeutic, method of madness than anything else. Most bloggers have a theme – fashion, finance, parenting, grand-parenting, food, diseases, going-green. Not me – my ramblings cover it ALL! Why make it easier on myself, and just go with one idea?! Why can’t I just write, post and publish? No, I have to develop an outline, then write a Β first-draft, a second draft, let it “simmer,” re-read, and scrap it all and start over again, then have my husband and daughters read for content (then for check errors if I decide to publish). Except for today. Oh, and then I have to take the perfect picture to accompany the text…

That’s why (a good excuse, anyway) I don’t have a blog post up on a regular basis. And so that is why SEOs and Google searches and others haven’t found me yet. I am at the mercy of my artistic self that is bucking the algorithms of digital success.

As I tried to go back to sleep, by now it is 5:55 a.m., I became more comfortable in the realization that I am a not-so-typical blogger. And, if there are other bloggers that go through this insane process, then maybe, just maybe, they will appreciate my new-found descriptive category: Β “The Starving Artist Blogger.”

Not that I write about fine art – yet (just give me time…why not add another category!) – but each post that I write has to be inspired. It may be about parenting, or it may be about knitting or faith or grief or a recipe or a news event or what ever speaks to my heart. Like painters who see something that speaks to them, and then express their feelings onto canvas, I see or hear something that speaks to me, and have to write about it. Eventually.

An artist takes their time to get everything just right – the colors, the textures, the mood, the lighting. One can’t just create without a thought process. Hours are spent visualizing and thinking and sketching.

And I do the same thing. But with words. I am sure people think I am aloof, but there are times that I am writing in my head as I stand in line at the grocery store. Maybe I sound like an airhead when I mix up the words that I am trying to speak, but it’s only because on the other side of my brain, I am trying to keep the words for my essay alive in my head until I can grab a pad of paper and a pen and jot it all down.

Currently, my “art”studio is my laptop in the corner of our home office, with a stash of yarn peeking out from behind a filing cabinet. It isn’t real inspiring, at the moment, which is why I haven’t painted the next Mona Lisa or developed a great knitting pattern – yet. However, in my artist brain, I will one day have the perfect studio cottage, where it is summer year-round, filled with books and paints and pencils and fabric and a little kitchenette stocked with essentials like coffee, tea, chocolate and wine. The summer breezes will gently dance with the gauzy draperies covering the big picture window that offers a view of a lake. My herb garden will be in full bloom, and I will be writing my novel as my painting dries on a vintage art stand in the corner.

If someone could look at my blog dashboard, they’d see several blog posts sitting in the draft mode, waiting for some TLC before I hit publish. (Oh, disclaimer – my closet is filled with unfinished knitting projects, and a few book outlines are stored in there, too, somewhere…) It’s not that these works won’t ever get finished, it is that they aren’t quite ready to be revealed to the world.

Oh sure, some day I hope that one of my blog posts goes viral. Is my wish any different from an artist hoping for a large crowd at a gallery opening, the place filled with smiles and laughter while photographers run around to capture the moment with the dazzling guests, each raising a cocktail in a toast to the host?

Well, my soul-searching ended with the alarm clock ringing at 6:30 a.m. this morning. I got up, had my coffee and digested the fact that I am just an average blogger. I am not massively successful with thousands of readers re-posting every profound word that I write. I can embrace and accept my “Starving Artist Blogger” status. After all, it’s only my creative genius that’s getting in the way of my virtual success. πŸ™‚

Β© Lynne Cobb – 2014

Are you a “Starving Artist Blogger?” Let me know in the comments below.

18 Replies to “True Confessions of a Not-So-Famous-Blogger”

  1. I am not able to pen a quick post either and also can claim Starving Artist Blogger status (love that line!)! I think that as long as I keep true to myself and enjoy what I’m doing then I am on the right path. Love this post, thanks!

  2. Hi Lynne, I don’t think I could categorize you as “an average blogger.” You bare your soul and really give the readers the feeling that they know you personally. That’s talent!! You are a talented blogger who is willing to show many sides of your personality by delving into many subjects.

    Honestly, I think blogs that talk about a wide range of topics is so much more interesting than say a food blog. When I read your posts, it’s like sitting down with an old friend. Not all bloggers/writers have that capability. I love what you are doing and I wouldn’t change a thing!

    By the way, when you have a niche topic, I would assume it would be more difficult to come up with fresh ideas than when you have a nice wide variety to choose from. πŸ™‚

    1. Wow – Thank you. Wendy! I really appreciate your comment! And the way I do things, my blog will stay the same – just some random ramblings! πŸ™‚

  3. Great blog, Lynne! I guess I’d be considered a Starving Artist Blogger also. However, most of my blog posts are still in my head – they haven’t made it to the “draft” stage yet. I think personalities have a lot to do with how critical we are of our own blogs before we post them. I find it hard to believe that quantity is better than quality (and your blogs are quality). I like the idea of your “perfect studio cottage”. That sure sounds great to have a quiet place to reflect and create. Keep letting the critical genius be in control!!.

    1. Thanks, Bob! My husband wants to know where my perfect studio cottage is located, since it is summer year-round there! LOL πŸ™‚

  4. Hi Lynne…I’m not exactly starving…fortunately I have a VERY supportive husband but I do think that most of us struggle with what you say. I too am more concerned with the quality of my posts than the quantity….But one thing I have learned after writing for many years is that perfectionism can keep us from putting our work out–so sometimes we have to be willing to let it go without thinking it’s perfect. As artist’s say…a work is just about NEVER finished…sometimes you just have to stop and start working on the next project.

  5. Hi, Lynne
    That’s was such a good read and a great description of how writing/blogging takes time and thought. I have a theme of thrift fashion (and ageing) and am just amazed that some people blog every day! My aim is to write once a week and that means a draft on Friday an edit Monday, publish to social media Tuesday and to email folks on Thursday. Then Friday starts all over…. And like you I think about it nearly all the time…..

    And yes, I’d love just a few more people to read my blog but have had some great feedback from my regulars who like my writing a lot so likewise, my feedback to you is that you write really well and that was a tremendous quality post! πŸ™‚ x

    1. Thank you, Penny! And I like how you made a schedule. I will definitely try that. I, too, am blessed with regular readers, and they keep me going πŸ™‚

  6. I can’t blog on a regular schedule either. I’m like you – I have to really think about things and let them sift about in my brain before I can blog/write about them. I’m not too worried about it, though. It’s not my intention to become famous for my blog! Or for a post to go viral. Though – that would be cool, wouldn’t it?

  7. Just the fact that you wake at 5:15 with words running around in your head, or compose whole books while shampooing your hair makes you a writer which is the key component to blogging. Best advice from famous authors is “Write! Write! Write!” We gotta make the time. Then watch your stats soar!

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