Blogs are very versatile tools, for people of all ages, for people with all sorts of interests and backgrounds, with any and every intention. Some come to write because the Internet is a remarkable forum for people to share their ideas and opinions. That being said, the optimal blog (in my opinion) is one that finds an acceptable balance between self-expression and writing for an audience.

Eventually coming to isolate a focus for your blog is a natural occurrence that will happen gradually, if you have the intention of writing for other people. Focusing on a theme means that your blog might actually have an impact, because it means that you’re not just chronicling your life or ranting about random topics and then never coming back to address them. With a theme, you are coming back to repeatedly discuss/update your opinion and experiences about a certain topic that you will become an expert about. This is not to say that you can’t write about what you want, but just that there should be a tone among your posts that stands out.

I think everyone subconsciously desires readership. It’s the reason we customize our blogs and add witty widgets; it’s why the Community Pool is so active and engaging every Sunday morning. People have an innate desire to better themselves and the way that they write. They look to their readers for constructive criticism and engaging comments.

My blog is a delicate balance between writing for myself and writing for others. On this public podium, I don’t write about my personal life in much detail because I honestly don’t think anyone would be interested in reading it. I search for daily prompts to explore my conscience, I write in a general sense so that (hopefully) anyone reading will be able to relate.

I’m hoping to get younger readers. As a high schooler, I know that very few peers write for leisure and even less check a place like WordPress for the latest gossip. However, I tell people that I know personally and it definitely helps boost interest, even if people don’t explicitly announce their presence on my blog.

When I started this blog, I had no clue what I would be writing about. I intended this space to be mainly for my personal development, and that anyone who wanted to read was welcome to follow along. But I discovered trends connecting my site views and the topics that I wrote about. I got more feedback and engagement when I wrote about certain topics rather than others. But these topics aren’t concrete ideas; they are more abstract, general themes that are hard to conceptualize. Thus, I am slowly drifting towards a focus but I don’t feel the need to force myself to confine to a particular topic just yet. It will come naturally and easily, and the writing quality will certainly be worth it.

If I had to hunker down and write about only one idea, I might choose the wrong topic and run out of interesting things to say. I might be totally burnt out within weeks, and might just continue writing posts just to maintain readership. But why would anyone do that? I would be exhausted and fed up with that fairly easily. As the title indicates, I run the blog, and the blog does not run me. I’ll dictate what goes on here, but I’ll make these sort of decisions with my readers in mind, as long as I don’t lose myself and my love for writing along the way. 

– Daily Prompt

– this too