Capturing Chaos

In the process of trying to bring some order (and money) into my writing life, I suddenly found that blogging is slipping away quickly as a major part of that life. I’ve been doing the equivalent of house cleaning, taking a close look at what I’m writing, where I’m writing it, and what format I’m writing in. Most of what’s been bagged up and thrown out with the trash has been blogs. And the process is still going on.

I’ve always had too many blogs; for a long time they were my primary presence on the web. Each one focused on a different subject, one of them had a very substantial niche readership, and others had the potential to draw readers and, eventually, income. What happened?

#1, of course, is burnout, a danger that faces every long-time blogger. Ther day comes when you just can’t face that subject any more. Even if it’s broad enough and flexible enough to allow relevant side issues, it’s suddenly just too much. You may not have said all that you can say, but you’ve said all that you want to say.

#2, for me, was the pressure of expectations. You build an audience and then feel obligated to keep them provided with something they’ve come to expect. I never stuck to a schedule or made any promise that I would, but there was a silent agreement that the posts would continue, however irregularly.

#3 is the new factor, the blog-killer: money. For some people that would be no problem. There are a multitude of ways to monetize blogs, and some people get rich doing it. But I don’t want to run monetized blogs. I don’t want to do the kind of work it involves, and I don’t want commerce to set the tone.

The move to part-time freelance writing allows me to escape the strait jacket of limited topics, the expectations of readers, and the need to become dependent on advertisers. Each piece I write stands alone, is sold on its own, and creates no expectations. I’ll probably never stop blogging, but it now has a designated and minor place in my life.

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