Blogging 102

Is blogging dead?? Have ideas stopped coming?? Have priorities been rearranged?? For me i think the above are true, if only slightly. I haven't unzipped my big brown notebook in about a week and a half, and it's made me a little edgy. Not being able to write has been awful. This habit has been formed quickly and i feel like i have to write. The problem is, i don't feel like i have anything to write about anymore. And you know, i think that's the problem for some of you as well. "nothing left to say" has been the theme of a lot of blogs lately, or, even more prevalently, silence. What happened??! It seemed like just days ago we were writing frequently and i would wake up and be excited about reading your latest post, and also publishing mine. Now i see on my blog list, "updated 2 weeks ago" more often than not. Have the ideas stopped? Maybe... I'm not sure really, i'm just shooting in the dark and wondering why nobody has posted in a while...

Hmmm... i'm definitely not saying this is a bad thing. Like i said, i understand how things can catch up on you and you don't find any time to post. This post probably won't even get posted until a week from now. But, for those of you that WANT to post (and have time to) I have a couple tips for you, i hope they help.

#1: If you have many thoughts through the day that you want to share, and then you sit down to post them and find you can't remember a single one, try keeping a journal (or diary for you girls) and jotting down your thoughts as they come to you. You'll have everything right there, thoughts already composed, when you're ready to post! Another upside of keeping a journal is you can write things in there that you don't want anybody else to read. Haha you should read my posts before i edit them :-P I'm guessing most of you do this already, but if you don't, it's a great way to keep your blog well-posted.

#2: Never assume your life is too boring to post about. One amazing thing about people is that each of our takes on life, and definitely our life experiences, are different. What seems like same-old-same-old to you could be very interesting to me. Plus sharing about life helps people
get to know each other. So when all you've done that day was go for a run or a lot of school or work at Chic-Fil-A or a few errands with your Mom, or whatever you've done, try writing it on your blog. I know i would love reading about it, and i'm sure others would as well.

#3: If you think you don't have anything to post about, that your thought are dry or your day has been boring, try reading a book (i'd recommend "Worldliness" edited by Cj Mahaney) that stimulates your thought activity, write down your thoughts on each chapter, and then post those. Remember to keep it in context, though.

#4: Ask questions on your post. A post isn't supposed to be all-inclusive or have all the answers. Sometimes it's better to ask. See, you never know - someone might have the answer for you! And you also might find material for another post in the post's comments. Don't hesitate to ask.

#5: Review your goals for the blog. Do you maintain it as a social network where you connect with other bloggers? Do you view it as something to get your thoughts out where they can be read and analyzed by yourself and others in an attempt to benefit from fresh perspective? Do you write to hone your writing skills? Maybe to inform people about things that you do? Possibly to encourage friends with what God has been showing you? Maybe a combination of these or something entirely? Whatever your reason, review it and you'll find a fresh perspective on it.

Well that's five tips, i couldn't think of any more. I hope this helps you if you were having trouble with your posting! I'm gonna go wait two weeks procrastinating posting this =P

Oh and this post is named blogging 102, because i'm not a professional and can't give a "101" - i can only do the next best thing :-P