Do You Ever Think About What You Write About?

Do you ever think about what you write about?

Okay, so Lorelle is getting a little philosophical. But honestly, do you ever think about what you write and blog about?

Sometimes I catch myself finding anything and everything that might appeal to my audience, checking in with myself to see if this is in line with the purpose of this blog, then posting away. I grope around through hundreds of resources, looking here and there and everywhere to add content to my blog. But do I ever stop and think about what I’m writing? Do you?

I was going through doing some clean up work when I stumbled across my recent post listing articles I’m proud of writing and it stopped me in my tracks. These are good! Really good. So much so, I even offered an invitation to others to brag about their favorite writings. A lot of work went into them. A lot of research. A lot of time. Hey, it’s good material, but was there a lot of thought?

Thinking About What You Write About

Besides the typical categories of post styles, the link lists, blockquoters, and original content providers, how much do bloggers really think about what they are blogging about?

How long do they think about it? Do you find a story at the top of Digg or Del.icio.us and like it so much you slap a blockquote and link referral on your blog for your readers and consider it done? Or do you spend time mulling over the topic at hand and debate about how you can add to the conversation?

I make it a policy to write my opinion about what I recommend to others to read, when appropriate. But how much time and energy do I really put into voicing my opinion when under the gun to make sure that you all have something to read every day? How much time do I spend just hunting for hunting sake, just to fill up a blank space? How much time do I spend really thinking up quality information to share with you?

I think it’s important to really think about what we write about. I think it’s important to give it weight and value. Respect. That’s the word I’m looking for. I think it’s important to give what we write respect, and the respect it deserves.

Blogging isn’t just about linking to what everyone else is linking to. It isn’t just about finding the latest and hottest topic at hand and posting what other people have to say about it.

Blogging is about expression. It is about having a voice. That’s why these are called “Blogs” not “websites”. That is the purest essence of the definition and distinction between the two.

The Challenge: Think About What You Write and Tell Us What You Are Thinking

So I challenge all of you to think about what you write about in your blogs. Take a moment to check in with yourself, your real self, the one with the attitude, opinions, expertise, and experience. The one who graduated from high school, got a part time job, worked through college, got married, had babies, made decisions about lifestyles and careers, dealt with parents growing up and parents aging, paid bills, got fired, got hired, quit, gave up, kicked habits, started new ones, fell in love, fell out of love, held the hand of a dying friend or gave a eulogy, bought a car, bought a house, sold a car, sold a house, got sick and got well, and the one who decided to take up blogging for some insane, political, creative, or money making reason. That’s the one I want to hear from when you blog.

I want to know what YOU have to say about the issue you are bringing forth. I want you to think about why you are writing about this, why it caught your attention, why you think we need to know about it, and what you have to think and say about it.

So the challenge is: I want you to think about what you write and tell us what you are thinking about.

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