The wonderings, ponderings and other 'ings' of me. Lifestyle, review, news and opinion posts. Chic with a hint of sarcasm... hopefully!

Wednesday 18 November 2015

5 Years A Blogger - The ups and downs of a small time writer.

I began blogging over 5 years ago, before it was the manic craze it seems to be now and before it was taken seriously as a career.  I started because I had all these thoughts and ideas circling my brain, like a plane waiting to land in Heathrow, incidentally with the same amount of nausea.  I found that once I wrote them down they seemed to dissipate. It calmed me what's more I loved it and there's no better feeling then finding what your creative outlet is.

Anyway cut to January 2012 and I discovered twitter, embarrassingly I once had a Facebook status which said ‘I don’t get twitter and will never have an account’.  Nearly 1,500 followers, countless chats and over 1,000 photos later it’s safe to say I changed my mind a bit there.  Twitter was the place I first uploaded my links and found other people had actually been reading them!  Blogging's been a rather odd journey and the advice for what to do and how to do it is conflicting to say the least.  Among other tips I have seen:

Find a routine - Get a space that’s just yours, pick a time and stick to it.
Mix it up - Write at different times/places don’t get stuck in a rut!
Write Constantly -  Even when you don’t feel like it, push yourself.
Don't Write Constantly -  If you're not feeling it do something else, take your mind off it and inspiration will kick in.
Pick up your phone  - Its a great way to connect/get inspiration for your next post.
Put down your phone  - It’s distracting, you’ll end up on Twitter/YouTube wasting the day away

Tricky huh?

So rather than offer advice I'm just going to tell you my highs and lows through the years.  Maybe you'll recognise or have a few of your own to add:

Great things about blogging
Discovering a new love.  As a baby blogger I would just lift images from the web and add them to my page. Not recommended unless you are really good friends with the person that took the photo (you’ll see why I added this in a bit).  Later I learnt this was tantamount to walking into Reiss and saying I'm just gonna wear this dress and talk about how much love it without paying OK? byeee! Luckily, other than writing I discovered a joy in photography which I hadn't explored previously.  When taking my own images I don't have to worry about permissions, furthermore its becoming a seriously passionate pastime. 

Finding #CambMeetUp
Sigh - these girls and they are all girls, which isn't to say men aren't welcome - get a part of me that some of my other friends just don't relate to.  They're funny, clever, interesting, odd, lovely people and I'm feeling all gushy just thinking about the friendships they have added to my life.  

Inspiring Others

So yeah, apparently GirlRunningLate started blogging (in part at least) due to my doing this one - I still feel a bit like a fraud writing this and am sure she's going to privately email me (cos she's nice like that) saying "erm what? no I didn't!" in which case this paragraph will disappear quick smart. On the off chance I didn't make this up its beyond cool.  Seriously who would've thunk it?

Working with Brands – Umberto Giannini, Nude Jewellery, Antonio Ben Chimol, Kiss Air Candles, Bacoca Boutique to name a few! – I've actually had companies send me their products to test and talk about at no (financial) expense to me and a definite expense them. Many of these items have been jewellery and to a "shiny-things-rock" magpie like me it’s insane this is happening.  Its such a privilege, one I genuinely appreciate. 


Comments on my posts:  That people bother to say anything about my blog is still a wonder to me.  Granted it can be another thing to become obsessed with but these mini appreciations at the end of my posts are most welcome.  Seriously... please keep them coming.

Not so great things about blogging.
Stat-checking: Sometimes I curse the day I first discovered the blogger stats page.  The addiction really took hold when I got the rush of adrenaline that comes with seeing a jump in views from 200-300 to 2000.  Similar to the experience Essena O’Neill must have felt at her first 100,000 views I imagine, just less impressive to the rest of the world.  Its uber difficult not to let this be my first refresh every morning, I'm working on it though.

Crippling insecurity: Unless you’re completely immune to comparing yourself to others (in which case I want to know what chemicals you’re taking) at some point you’ll see another blog that is prettier, funnier, better written, or more popular than yours.  This happens to me on a regular frickin' basis and it took a while before it became something that I learnt to use as inspiration rather than just comparison.  

So there you have it. Looking at all I've learnt, the person I am and who I've surrounded myself with I'd say I'm on the right track. 

And in my own mind at least I'm kind of a big deal.


Have you anything to add to my best/worst things about blogging list?


PS that photo of Lauren? completely stolen.... I'm hoping she'll forgive me due to the above! 
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2 comments

Anonymous said...

That's excellent. Really inspiring. Thanks.

TmS said...

Not a problem, thanks for stopping by.

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