Today was one of those ‘Four Wedding and a Funeral’ days (know what I mean?!) when time got the better of me. I didn’t oversleep and miss a wedding (or a funeral). Nor did I forget a meeting or overshoot a deadline. But I felt like either was possible all day. And yes, expletives were a feature. Thankfully the day is near an end, for me at least. But as I try to coax my brain into a more leisurely state, I hear a voice nagging “What about your blog? You haven’t blogged for three weeks.”
This time I can’t ignore it. So back to the keyboard I go.
I’m typically someone for whom blog writing is an iterative process. A theme or angle germinates for a few days before it makes it to a live post. I tip a few paragraphs onto a page and keep coming back to it as other thoughts occur to me. I know that’s not the way it’s meant to be done – blog writing is supposed to be a spontaneous thing – but each to his own, I say. Well this post will be different. I am going to finish it and make it live in 20 minutes. At least I’m going to try.
No careful thought into links. No wrestling with the words. Just a ‘from the heart’ blog post about how it feels to…not blog.
Answer:
Uncomfortable – blogging should be a regular thing. A 3 week gap gives me a conscience.
Vulnerable – who’s taking advantage in the search rankings while I snooze?
Disorganised – I’m a list person and ‘blog’ has languished on the list for too long this time.
Perhaps more interesting though, I’ve missed it. The writing, that is. Burbling away in the ether is fun! And I enjoy writing. But I always vowed I wouldn’t clog up the blogosphere for the sake of it. There’s enough noise out there without Marcie Bell adding to it with ill-conceived thoughts on Social PR and all its innuendos. So I guess I’ve stayed true to that pledge.
My problem is that as a hands-on consultant I often err into delivery, because I enjoy it. But more hands-on work means less time for blogging. I often wonder how the seasoned bloggers keep it up? It seems effortless for the likes of Chris Brogan and Neville Hobson. Second nature even. Still, my blog is young and all is certainly not lost. There are lessons to learn from this period of inactivity. And some quick and easy fixes. I need to:
- refresh my blog schedule AND STICK TO IT!
- get comfortable with shorter, more ad hoc posts
- line up more guest posts to liven things up and relieve the pressure
- stop worrying
Any other thoughts? I wonder how you other bloggers cope with the expectations of the blogosphere? Is it full on, unbridled enjoyment all the way? Or does it sometimes feel like a chore? Will I get any honest answers, I wonder…?
PS I met my challenge and wrote this post in 20 minutes. 
Made two v small changes the following morning (including this comment) but heh! I did say my blogging was an iterative process. Old habits die hard.
I'm an avid communicator. Love writing, planning and co-ordinating projects and campaigns. Sometimes work solo but mostly team up with associates of 
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I’m very similar – I have a regular blog a friend and I *should* be updating every week for a bit of fun – http://www.bossypeople.co.uk/ – but invariably we leave it a lot longer when other things take over.
Blogging quickly and iteratively seems the best way to do it – get the thoughts down and come back to fix the typos after a cup of tea (or a sleep). Blogging is supposed to be immediate, and fun – if it were supposed to be polished and perfect it would just be another page on a website.
Another thing you can do is take advantage of WordPress’s embargo function – write a load of posts when the mood hits, and then put their publication dates at regular intervals in the future. If you don’t want to do this, write a load and just save as draft – you can keep them in reserve and just tweak and make live when you need something to keep the blog alive.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Marcie.
@Adam: In general, I agree with your thought about the fact that a blog post shouldn’t be “polished and perfect.” Nevertheless, this doesn’t apply to my particular industry: language and translation. I think because we are language professionals, our peers expect more from us, and that notion of perfection appears to be a determining factor at the time of evaluating our work (even though we are not translating while blogging!)
Silvina
Hello fellow blogger, i saw the title of this blog and thought i must read on! I was immediatly attracted as i too do have a bit of a conscience that tends to appear when i havent blogged in a while.
I never used to blog, but have done so due to undertaking a MA in Public Relations which requires us to keep one…Once i was introduced to the world of blogging i just cant get enough of it! You can release any thoughts you have had after a long hard days work or even just any thoughts that have popped into your mind as soon as you have rolled out of bed! Its great!
Feel free to check out my blog http://www.powar1.blogspot.com