The View From Here: What Keeps You Blogging?

Last Monday, Shayla and I began our collaboration, which we plan to continue weekly as we discuss the subject of blogging.  I hope you enjoyed our first conversation!  It’s a great way to start the week.

Today’s question is: What Keeps You Blogging?

Last week, I mentioned that I now think of blogging as a job, albeit a really fun and rewarding one, so I try to stick to a regular posting schedule and write as much as I can when I have free time.  Since my boys are so young, free time is a luxury, and I look forward to the quiet evening hours when I can write a post or two.

Blogging really is my creative outlet, but I consider it more than a hobby, and I’m constantly on the lookout for new blog posts.  I guess my blog qualifies as a “lifestyle” blog, but since my life is pretty quiet, I try to find interesting things around me, in the places I go, and in things I see on a daily basis.  I love beauty products and clothing, and it’s fun to share those things with my readers, especially because I haven’t found many people in real life who like to discuss those topics all the time, besides my mom and my sisters.  And where else can I post a picture I took alongside a poem that touches me so much it makes me cry?  My little guys aren’t interested in hearing my thoughts on Emily Dickinson or W.B. Yeats, and they might never be.  But here, on my blog, I can share those things, and maybe someone else will enjoy them, too.

Blogging can be truly one-sided and a little self-involved, but I also think people read blogs to learn about the lives of others.  At least, that’s why I do.  One of the reasons I was drawn to Shayla’s blog in the first place was because her world is so completely different than my own, but she is so similar to me, too.  I’ve formed some amazing friendships through blogging, and just recently, discovered that a fellow Blog Trends member lives in my little town!  We are meeting for coffee soon, and it will be incredible to know someone In Real Life who really gets what I’m doing.  Another blogger I know is planning a move to Austin, and we’ve been chatting for months about what she can expect when she gets here.  And one day, I hope to meet Shayla in person, because I know we’ll have a lot to talk about!

I know the term inspire is thrown around a lot, especially on blogs, and I guess I just want to show people that you can find joy in the little things in life, like a potted plant on the porch, or a new lipstick, or a day trip to another town with a stop at the local Dairy Queen.  I try to be open and honest, and sometimes I write about more serious subjects, but I hope that my blog is a quiet little space for people to stop by every now and then, or daily if you’re a loyal reader.

And I love getting comments (every blogger thrives on comments!), so please feel free to leave one and let me know what you think!

That’s what keeps me blogging, and I’d love to hear why you blog, or craft, or sew, or cook, or do what you do.  And don’t forget to check out Shayla’s response on her lovely blog.  We’ll be back next week with another blogging question.