Need a Little Blog Help

Software
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I have a few blog-related issues I’d like to get out in the open. Feel free to address whichever one you feel most qualified to help me with! I put it under “Software” as finding a new platform is a major reason behind this post.

First, Some Background (2012-2016 or so…)
A few years ago I had a tech blog of sorts. It wasn’t huge, but I wrote articles a couple times a week that aimed to help my friends and family with their tech issues. I introduced them to cool apps, walked them through backing up files, told some funny stories (I thought :man_shrugging:t3:), and I wrote a few guest posts on some app sites. I even got some Trello and Evernote swag at one point, along with some Day One/1Password licences to give away (before subscriptions took over the world). In the end, I hated maintaining Wordpress, and I didn’t like the constant pressure of having to keep posting, even when I didn’t have anything particularly life-altering to say. It became more of a chore than a fun hobby, so I shut it all down.

2023 (Blot.im)
Seeing some of you maintain blogs, I was inspired to get back in the game. I knew I didn’t like Wordpress and I wanted a friction-free experience for very little money, given the fact I wasn’t committed to this project in the first place. I landed on Blot based on some recommendations in this forum. I liked it a lot, but using Obsidian as my front-end, I found it very finicky. I only posted three times over a six month period, so figuring out where to store image files, how to link to them, and all the little Blot tricks – it wasn’t for me. It’s a genius piece of software/setup, but even with my background in programming, I just found the setup to be very particular. I was constantly looking up how to do things. I deleted the site yesterday.

A Future Site, But on What Platform?
Currently thinking of Micro.blog and Ulysses. You can publish posts directly from Ulysses and I’m familiar with the app. Ghost is too expensive and as mentioned, I’m not a Wordpress fan. I have my own domain through Fastmail, so I would like to implement that if possible. That’s my current line of thinking for a new site…

Future Steps
A little history again first, sorry. When I returned to University for some part-time courses a few years ago, I did an Arts Degree with a major in History. For my elective courses, I chose a lot of classes that were focused on writing (e.g. Intro to Academic Writing, Creative Writing etc) because it is something I enjoy and a muscle I had never really flexed before. I had a few profs tell me I was a good writer, and on class forum sites my fellow students would sometimes comment that I wrote well, always with an eye on entertaining the reader. So it seems I’m decent at it, and I enjoy it, though I’m definitely more of a casual writer than someone who should be investigating for the NY Times. Also, a few random compliments don’t put me in Charles Dickens territory. I’m not saying that to make it sound like I’m really great or extraordinary. I’m just saying I seem to be okay at it and I do like it.

But let me take you away for a minute here…

I remember in highschool our teacher was talking about Romeo and Juliet, and she said it wasn’t so much that they they were in love with each other, but they were in love with the idea of being in love. I may have fumbled her interpretation of that, it WAS 25 years ago, but you get the idea.

I sometimes wonder if I don’t love writing but rather, I love the idea of writing. :thinking:

My point is, part of me wants to fire up Ulysses and Micro.blog and make a run at writing a bit more. The other part of me dreads the idea of sitting down at my desk to write a blog post after already sitting on a computer all day for work. I also don’t love the idea of paying $100-$150 a year to keep a site going when I never post to it. But I also feel like a blog has value that’s worth working for as well. Maybe in the future I’ll want to look at a job more in communications or with a more admin side. Having some online writing on display would be a benefit. It would give me a home base on the web. It would get me off the couch and away from YouTube when I’m writing a post.

Finally – it’s hard to put the effort into all this when your audience starts at zero. It’s a slog to get going. With kids, sports, social activities, work – I’m not sure I want to get into it again.

Or am I overthinking it? Is it worth the financial cost to at least keep a home for myself going?

Finally – I feel like whenever I have something to say, I come here and write 12 pages for you poor people. I feel like I should be posting these extended thoughts on my own site sometimes.

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This is the best you can hope for. All writing is suffering :laughing:

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:rofl: – I like it.

My favourite writing…tricky emails. An issue at work, a plea to a customer service representative; so much fun. Everything else is a little forced. Well, aside from chats on here, of course.

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From what I’ve read, nearly all writers struggle with one thing or another. When it gets to be too much, take a break, as you have done, and simply admire and appreciate the writing of others.

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More seriously (I sent this without finishing my thought), what I’d do is ask myself why I want to write. If it’s a good reason, even if it’s just for self improvement (exercising the mind) then carve out a small amount of time every weekday and do it. Don’t worry about it if it’s crap, just write.

I hate running, but I run because right now it’s the least disruptive thing that I can do to keep myself at least a little active. I made a deal with myself that I would run every weekday no matter the conditions (other than lighting) and once that was made, it relieved me from having to convince myself to do it. Now I miss it if I have to skip a day due to work related things or sickness. I even enjoy it just a bit :slight_smile: If you want to do it, you can make the a similar deal with yourself to write a little every day.

I suggest every weekday because I think that building a habit like this works better with higher frequency and smaller time commitments per instance. The repetition builds the habit and small/short sessions keep the mental “Oh no, I have to write for an hour” type barriers from forming.

Anyway, that’s what I’d try, but you’re you and what works for me may not for you :slight_smile:

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There’s an apt but apparently misattributed quote from Dorothy Parker:

“I hate writing, but I love having written.”

I think a lot of writers feel that way. I certainly do.

Regarding your blogging question, you might want to have a look at either Medium.com or Substack.com. They both have built-in audiences and are no cost to the writer. I’m not a huge fan of building a home on someone else’s land, but for this project it seems they might fit.

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You might want to consider write.as.

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People spend more than $100-$150 per year on lots of things. Unless that’s a significant percentage of your income, I’d say money isn’t the issue.

The issue is a lack of consistency and perceived value - and that can be tested ahead of time. Get a text editor and write a post a week for 3 months. See if you can get into the habit. If so, the money shouldn’t be an issue. If not, even if it’s free it’s not worth your time.

Basically solve the “writing habit” part first, then solve the tech problem.

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Genuine suggestion: Don’t get too hung up on writing. Try writing a blog post as if you’re writing to all of us on here. That might make it less painful or daunting.

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This is best writing process I have come across. Simple but effective by Derek Sivers.

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This. If you really want to have a place you can point people to, with no real pressure to produce more or on a schedule.

Or, you could do what I’m doing… write for yourself when and how you want and ignore the world at large. Seeing as how the world has ignored me, it seems only fair. :blush:

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Keeping a blog is all about sustaining the writing habit, thus one needs to remove friction. Given that you are an Evernote user, perhaps trying something like postach.io would work? My only worry would be what happens if that service closes, but then you would have all your posts already in an Evernote notebook.