I've been thinking a lot about my blog lately. I'm not sure yet if I have really found "my voice" or my niche. I've been struggling with figuring out what works best for me on posting specific topics or following certain formats. I believe, for the most part, that some of my content has been good and valid, but it also seems like what I have been writing is more appropriate for a paper for school rather than something directly from my heart. And I have been more worried about consistency rather than connecting. I don't want my posts to seem like I am giving a lecture or a sermon (although many a good sermon has changed lives). :) But I would like for people to want to read what I write.
So far, with most of my past blog posts, I have pre-written my copy over a few weeks time, collecting quotes and reworking the text every time I open the Word document. When I'm about done with the copy, I begin looking for photos. Sometimes it takes me longer to post something because I haven't found the "right" images yet. I copy and paste the words into my blog and then format it, making sure to start with a photo and Scripture and end with a photo and Scripture. How crazy is that? Why do I feel all my posts need to look the same? I guess it's the Editor in me.
Anyway, just to let you know where I am at right now, what I am writing today is fresh and current and off the top of my head. I have not pre-written any of this, but of course, I've given it some thought—because I'm the type of person who mulls a lot of things over ... and over. And I will go back and correct things while I'm working on this because I'm a perfectionist. Sometimes that's a good thing; sometimes not so much.
My other fault—well, one of many—is that I compare myself to other writers. I read several other blogs and devotionals each week and there are many that just blow me away. They are so real and so relevant and so wonderfully written. But I know that I have my own gifts and I am not supposed to be like anyone else. However, I can learn some things from other writers. A post by Lysa Terkeurst really spoke to me recently: Lysa Terkeurst, I don't want to be a writer.
Basically, she said "there's a difference between writing and connecting. ... Connecting is crafting words with movement. Words that stir and pop and buzz and linger and best of all mess with the reader." See, that's what I really want to be doing. I want to mess with you. Well, really, I want to make people who read my blogs think. I want to encourage my readers, to help people move toward or move past something. I want what I write to be meaningful, but still real, and still a part of me. I want to connect with others and have them connect with me.
So, today's post is my first attempt at figuring out what I hope to accomplish with my blog and creating motion, which will lead to emotion. And I will try to reign myself in. Instead of trying to make too many points and losing readers, I will file some of thoughts away. Heck, I only have a few followers anyway, and most are family members. I don't want to lose the readers I have.
One last note, and I promise I will close today's post out. Or as a friend often says a little too late in the conversation, "Long story short..." :) The title of my blog is Everyday Moments: Celebrating Life, Love, and Laughter. To me, that sounds like it should be a lot more lighthearted than the messages have been up to this point. I'm not saying I won't tackle serious issues about life in future posts. But, I'd like to share a little bit more of the love and laughter parts. So, stay tuned for future posts. Hopefully, you will enjoy them and you will learn a little bit more about me.
So, what can I tell you about myself or my life? What do you want to know? How can I connect better with you?
