Molly has a self-imposed rule never to blog about blogging, but this post has been in her head for a while and just won’t go away…
What do you do when you fall out of love with blogging?
The love affair began just over a year ago. It was a whirlwind romance. My blog and I fell head over heels for each other. We couldn’t manage even one day apart.
But then, as with all new relationships, the giddiness of those early days began to pass. We settled into a bit of a routine.
And then we started to resent each other.
It’s a familiar story, heard all too many times before. Girl meets new partner. Girl becomes willing to do anything for new partner. Girl gets bored of new partner and decides to move on.
Except I wasn’t willing to let that happen. My blog and I, we made a commitment to each other. We were in this for the long haul.
When I began blogging just over a year ago, I was in a very different situation to the one I am in today. I was on maternity leave, at a cross roads in my career, looking for a “new challenge” and a creative outlet that could bring me back from the brink of losing my wits completely to the curse of Baby Brain.
I loved it. Every time I hit that publish button I got a buzz. People began to find me, I started getting regular readers. I found that, just like before I had my baby girl, I could actually write.
I began getting commissioned to write features for other websites and magazines. I got approached about doing some radio presenting. I was asked to take on some regular copywriting and ghost blogging for a couple of companies. Suddenly life was busy and writing was about more than just finding a voice again. It was about earning money.
It was all very exciting and incredibly tiring. Around six months after starting my blog, writing it began to feel like a chore. Every time I went on Twitter, I felt confronted with a sea of amazing content from other bloggers. My inbox was flooded with beautifully written posts that I couldn’t keep up with. I felt like I was standing in a room full of a million people shouting very loudly.
Rather than shout just as loud, all I wanted to do was crawl under a cushion and put my hands over my ears. The wonderful friend my blog was in the early days had turned into a nagging old acquaintance, constantly demanding my time.
But then I got married (in real life, to an actual man rather than a website). And I blogged about it.
How I got my blogging groove back
Writing about something so important to me and sharing the photographs made me remember why I started a personal blog in the first place. It was a place to capture memories, record thoughts and feelings and be myself. And, lo, the flame was rekindled.
Shortly after my wedding, work started to get busy again. But this time, instead of burying my head in the blogging sand, I asked for help. I turned to my little online community to ask for tips on how to juggle motherhood with work, careers and relationships. Yet again, the blog came up trumps.
Now, just over a year after beginning my blog, I work full time as a breakfast radio presenter and part-time (from home) as a freelance journalist, copywriter and blogger. My personal blog is the one thing that keeps me sane in the mountain of “to do” lists. It’s the place I can vent frustrations and ask for advice.
I’m glad I stuck with it and battled through the “six month itch”. I’m just hoping we’ll be together for a good while longer yet.
–Molly Forbes, Mother’s Always Right
Twitter: @mothersright
Molly Forbes is a radio presenter, freelance journalist and writer. She lives in Berkshire with her (teacher) husband and 20 month old daughter.
About
BritMums is the UK’s original collective of lifestyle bloggers and digital influencers, fueling the country’s most influential social content. We lead the online conversation with members who are parent social influencers creating content on topics ranging from food, parenting, travel, politics, style and more.
Emma Lee-Potter
Friday 16th of March 2012
Such a good blog post - and something every blogger will identify with. It varies so much from week to week. Some weeks I feel inspired for days on end, others my brain feels completely devoid of inspiration. But I'm still a blogging addict though!
Crystal Jigsaw
Thursday 15th of March 2012
I reckon it happens to us all at some stage. For me, it was last year. I was adamant, after (then) 4 and a half years of blogging that I needed a break. My ideas for content were drying up and I couldn't see the wood for the trees. I carried on however, and battled through, but now I'm getting to that point again where I'm struggling to come up with interesting content. I don't want my blog to sound like a day to day diary of my life because I've written my blog for an audience and let's face it, after such a long time of blogging, people get a bit bored of reading the same drivel. But I'm going to keep going, for now.
CJ x
Molly
Friday 16th of March 2012
I hope you never give up CJ - I enjoy reading your posts too much! x
Him Up North
Thursday 15th of March 2012
I blogged about the creative and emotional ups and downs of blogging a couple of weeks back. In it I expounded the theory of "blogorhythms", the internal motivators which can have your gushing words like it's going out of fashion one week and staring blankly at your screen the next. I think as long as one keeps true to why they WANT to blog then the motivation will come, and that it shouldn't be the be all and end all.
Great post.
Molly
Friday 16th of March 2012
Thank you! And that is BRILLIANT advice. I love the notion of "blogorhythms".
Circus Queen
Wednesday 14th of March 2012
It's so been like this for me. I've decided that the way to keep loving it is to accept that there will be weeks when I blog once rather than every day. It may not be as good for my stats but it keeps me from burning out or starting to write things I don't enjoy. I did, after all, start blogging because I liked it!
Molly
Friday 16th of March 2012
Great advice. If that's the reason you started your blog, there's little point just writing stuff because you feel you "should". That said, sometimes I find if I haven't posted in a few days, just writing something can get the ball rolling again.
musodad
Wednesday 14th of March 2012
What a great post, can definitely relate to it as I officially retired from Blogging last week, after only 6 months! I can definitely relate to the 6 month itch but mine was more about me getting so immersed in Blogging that my homelife and work were suffering. I'll be back one day but at the moment I'm enjoying spending quality time with the family and not constantly thinking 'I really need to finish that post off'.
Molly
Wednesday 14th of March 2012
It's all about finding the balance I think. Blogging is such a great creative outlet, but when it gets in the way of other things it's probably best to take a breather. It's a very addictive hobby!