So, what makes for a successful blog? There are any number of factors I suppose but conventional wisdom has it that certain elements are essential to success. The content, for example, must be good. Nobody wants to read gibberish after all. Good grammar and an easy to read style will encourage readers. Where appropriate a little humor doesn’t go amiss either. And, I am assured, a photograph or two helps. But perhaps the single most important element for a successful blog is to actually write on it!!! (“Bless me Father. It has been 7 months since my last blog post”. Non catholics may not get that reference but that’s OK).
And therein lies my problem. As much as I love to cook, learn and talk (ad nauseum) about food, I seem to stumble at writing about it. It’s not that I don’t want to write about food. I do, really I do. It’s a question of carving out a block of time to do it. Until recently that has been a problem because of certain commitments I had which broke up my week into unworkable little bits. Now I have some free time and hope to write on a more regular and frequent basis.
As I write this I think of those successful bloggers who hold down a full time job, raise a family, have a life and still make time to write and I am in awe of them. The process for writing though is different from one writer to another. For me, I need total peace and quiet with no distractions. My mind has to be calm so my thoughts can be ordered. (I sometimes think I should learn to meditate so I can get to that place more readily.) I also do a lot of research before I put pen to paper, or more correctly, fingers to keyboard; another time consuming activity.
Since my time has been freed up somewhat I now have to rethink how it can be restructured to allow me to do all the things I want to do, including writing about food. (I’ve managed these few paragraphs and that’s a good start!) In the meantime, thank you for taking the time to read these musings and I hope to return to regular food writing soon.
Stay tuned…
Your writings are an ‘easy read’ set out in layman’s terms which anyone can easily follow. You make the subject simple to follow and enjoyable to read.
I have aspirations to write (fiction, like horror and ghostly goings on etc) but I can’t seem to get the mix of narrative and ‘speak’ right.
Maybe one day. And like you, I need quiet time (maybe I should write at work. Doesn’t get much quieter than a mortuary)!
Anyway, keep up the good work! I look forward to more soon.
Thanks for the kind words, Phil. It has been said there is a great novel inside all of us. For now I’m content to dabble in writing at this level.