Thinking about writing and writing aren't actually the same thing

I know it's a cardinal sin of blogging to write about a post apologizing for not blogging, but that's not what this post is going to be about. 

Although I only wrote one post during the month of February, but it's such a short month. That and the fact that I was looking for a new job because my company just decided that it wasn't going to exist any more meant that I was both stressed and busy.

I spend a far amount of time thinking about writing. Ideas for blog posts, ideas for short stories, ideas for books. The problem isn't coming up with topics to write about, it's just finding the time to write. I like how I phrased that just then. Makes it seem like I am just a super busy person who doesn't have the time to write, instead of making it seem like I am person who isn't as disciplined about her writing as she would like to be.

I should give myself more credit than that. I do manage to keep this blog updated. It's just that my nature to write has more to do with being in the mood to write. That's not a good habit to get into. If we did things only when we felt in the mood to do things we'd really be in trouble. 

One thing I've been thinking a lot about lately is what direction this blog is going to take or does it need a new direction? What do I want to write about? Should I be more focused on writing what it's like living here in London? 

The problem with shoulds

Should I write more about the culture, the differences between here and home, things I love about the UK, things I hate, should I be more positive sounding, should I try to communicate a more intimate side, what should my tone be? Should I move from Blogger to Wordpress? Should I care more about SEO and who reads my blog? 

Should I try to get brands to notice me? Should I have ads on my blogs? Should I go to more expat blogger MeetUps? Should I spend more time proofreading my posts? I am building enough links? Should I be scheduling my posts? 

Am I fool for posting four posts in one day? Should I be saving them up and spreading them out over the month to make up for the times I don't feel like writing? Have I lost my unique point of view because now I work in social media and someone from work could be reading my blog and judging me? Am I turning into an ego maniac because I am worried that people from work are reading my blog and judging me? Are my posts boring?

You get the picture. Too many shoulds and not enough time.

The kind of blogs I like

I like to read blogs about people's lives and the more personal the better. That's what I like. I follow up on tech/social media/creative blogs because that's what I am into for work, but the blogs I love most are about people's lives.

I don't follow a million blogs, but a few lovingly chosen few. I read blogs written by women who are American and live in the UK. I also read a few blogs by British women who live in America. 

One of my favourite personal blogs is No Sleep till Brixton, by Mary Ivers. Mary is a very talented and witty writer and I am very lucky to be able to call her my friend. Her observations on life are so brilliant that I wish she would quit her day job and become a full time writer. You would definitely want to read her books.

I also love the blog Weapons of Mass Distraction written by Sharyn Morrow. I first met Sharyn back in 2000 on the way to Iceland. She was a friend of my boyfriend at the time and we were on the same flight over. Sharyn is a fantastic writer and photographer. I like the way she blogs about the good times and the bad times in a way that is authentic and relate able. She lives in Minneapolis and I love living vicariously through her photos on Flickr.

My blog roll of favourites wouldn't be complete without mentioning Taylor Baldry's blog Gerpan. Taylor and I went to MCAD together and have been fast friends ever since. He's one of my favourite people in the entire world. He decided to take a hiatus from working in the world of marketing to teach English in Japan and has been there almost two years now. He's there now and writing about what it's like living through the tsunami, earthquake and radiation scare. What I love about Taylor is that he never looses his sense of humor. Please read his blog about his current situation in Japan.

Another favourite blog that I've been reading for years is the Candy Blog. A blog all about candy, what's not to love. I love the format, the way the author Cybele reviews the candy and her photos. It's wonderful and I highly recommend it. 

Anyway......I digress....

The main thing is that I've been struggling with how and what I want to write about mainly because I am worried about how I will be perceived. Which isn't the kind of blog writer I want to be. I am going to try to follow in the footsteps of Mary, Sharyn and Taylor and write from the heart. Here's to a new month full of exciting and real blog posts.....

Thanks for reading and for all your comments :)

Speaking Freely

"This is my first blog post through on my mobile phone. Apparently you can only leave a short message. I recorded a blog post a second ago but it's too long. So yeah it might be something new on ___ and. Cheers bye." spoken through SpinVox


Well that was my first blog post spoken from my mobile.Whenever I call my boss and leave a voice mail I get a message telling me that my voice mail will be converted into a text message through a service called SpinVox.

So yesterday I had a look at this SpinVox thing and found that I could record a voice message on my mobile and it would upload to my blog.

I thought that sounded pretty neat. Just talk away and let the voice recognition do the work. So I gave it a go. The draw back is that you can only leave a short message. I tried to speak a blog post and was cut off. I was also trying to speak slowly and clearly, you don't get much time. Also it feels really weird to be speaking a blog post, it's a very different process than writing. I felt a little strange... I might try it again, but I don't know if it will catch on with me. It reminds me a little of being a private eye and having to talk into one of those little recorders.

It was a fun little experiment, we shall see....I am all for trying something new!

++++++I tried to make another blog post through my mobile yesterday while I was sitting on a train at Euston station. I don't think I will be using SpinVox for blogging. I had a look at the message once I got back to work and it didn't come through very well. Also you don't have very long to speak your message and it just doesn't feel the same as sitting down and writing. It has more of that note to self feeling. It was fun to try it, but I am back to old fashioned typing.
+++++++