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Positive Writer

Monthly Archives

December 2020

This is How to Create a Blog THAT Matters

This is How to Create a Blog THAT Matters

written by Bryan Hutchinson

Over the years I’ve been asked a version of the same question when it comes to starting a personal blog:

What should I write about that will become popular?

What should I write about that will go viral?

What should I write about that will make me money?

Okay, that’s three questions, but really, it’s just one question asked differently. What most everyone wants to know is:

What should I blog about that will succeed to make money?

The answer is as simple as it is complicated and has two parts:

1) Create a blog that matters

2) And forget about the money

You read that right.

You may have noticed that I recently started a new blog. It’s not about a popular topic with a lot of potential for going viral, or for that matter, making money. But I can tell you this, it’s the most excited I have been about starting a new blog and sharing something I’ve been interested in since I was a kid.

Considering my enthusiasm for the subject (I’ll get to that in a moment), I believe I can and will maintain the blog for a long time to come without the need for a financial incentive.

However, the vast majority of personal blogs are abandoned.

Up to 95%, in fact.

The #1 reason why so many blogs are abandoned is that people started them for the wrong reasons.

It’s a sad reality but most personal bloggers start their blog because they think they can make loads of money doing it via advertising, or launching a book, or promoting some other product. Sorry, not sorry, but that’s a terrible reason to start a blog and none of the above brings in much more than a few bucks, if any–anyway.

The odds of actually making good money with a blog are extremely low.

Out of the personal blogs that are not abandoned less than a fraction make money via blogging alone. I don’t care who tries to sell you on the idea you can get rich from blogging, all I can say is, run. It’s very unlikely to happen.

Indulge me, here. Forget about starting a blog for money for a moment.

Whether you are an introvert or a charismatic rock star, the best personal blog to create for you should be about something you care about—something that matters to you! The more you care, the better.

In fact, that’s the prime way even an introvert like me can become a charismatic rock star online! By blogging about something you’re into, something you care about more than anything else in the world, and from your own education and experience, you know your topic to the nth degree.

If you’re thinking of starting a personal blog and you’re looking for a topic to write about, you’ve already failed!

I mean it.

You already know what you should be sharing, trust me. More importantly, trust yourself.

Listen, look inward and write about what you care about the most, I don’t care if it is newborn kittens, visiting Disneyland, climbing redwood trees, or traveling to haunted locations around the world. It will matter because you genuinely care about it.

There’s something about talking about, writing about, and sharing something one really, truly cares about and enjoys enthusiastically that supersedes everything else.

It’s folly to find a popular topic where others are having success and simply start a blog to try to copy someone else’s success in a genre you care very little or nothing about. This happens more often than you might realize. In fact, you might even be caught up in it right now.

I’ve had a lot of success with Positive Writer because I care about writing and I enjoy talking about what has helped me become a prolific writer. I was successful with my previous blog, ADDer World, about ADHD, for the same reason. I cared about it. I’m very passionate about the topics.

Now, I’m creating a new blog about something I’m even more passionate about and have been interested in longer than anything else. And frankly, I’m really not interested in making money from it and although I have a book that mixes well with the subject, it’s not for the book. Actually, I hope the opposite is true and the book attracts people to the blog.

You read that right.

It’s not about creating a popular blog or about making money. It’s strictly about my passion for travel and visiting ruins across Europe, which I have been doing for dozens of years, with the twist that I also share the evidence I’ve gathered about rare, unexplainable experiences I’ve had visiting some of those places, potentially paranormal.

Nothing has fascinated me more. So now, it’s time I take my own advice and share my experiences on my new blog.

The new blog is so non-mainstream that it has very little chance to become a popular, viral type of blog. But I don’t care. And, that my friends, is probably why it will attract interested readers anyway. Because I sincerely care about the experiences and stories I’m sharing, first and foremost.

If you want to create a personal blog that matters, consider doing it for the same reasons.

Did You Know: Seth Godin created his blog to share his thoughts daily, he accepts no guest posts, no ads, and any affiliate Amazon funds he generates are donated? He writes every word. He doesn’t do it to make money. Oh, and, it’s also considered the #1 blog on the planet.

If you’re someone who doesn’t have an overwhelming personality, that’s okay.

It’s probably even better that way, you can create an alternate blogger identity online and be a rock star IF you share what you truly care about! But ONLY if you care about it.

It’s hard to fake passion, if not impossible.

Create a personal blog about what you care about and enjoy it for what it is, nothing more and nothing less, and that my friends, is what matters.

Here’s the thing, if you follow this simple advice and not give up even when it really doesn’t seem like anyone else cares or will care, that’s when you can learn and improve your skills as a writer and blogger without worry about making mistakes.

Sooner or later, if you keep at it and you have a unique point of view, readers and viewers will find you. When that happens maybe you can monetize, but if it’s a personal blog, I beg you don’t worry about that. Do it for you, first. See what happens.

There’s a tweet making the rounds for good reasons, it states:

The Queen’s Gambit has been viewed by 62 Million people. The producer, Allan Scott, is on BBC News talking about how it took 30 years, with 9 rewrites, and every studio he showed it to said that no one would be interested in chess. PLEASE PERSEVERE WITH THAT THING YOU’RE MAKING
@Keano81

Amy Charlotte Kean Tweet Allan Scott Queen's Gambit

So, you know what to do. Create a blog that matters to YOU.

If you would like to take a gander at my new blog, it’s:

Bryan’s Paranormal Travel Blog

What’s your blog? Link to it in the comments. Or, if you’re still thinking of the blog you want to create, tell me about it in the comments.

Reimagining Writers’ Responses to Rejections: Merely Paper Cuts

Reimagining Writers’ Responses to Rejections: Merely Paper Cuts

written by Bryan Hutchinson

There is always room for your writing in the world. If you seek it out with determination, your work will reach places beyond your wildest dreams.

NOTE: This is a guest post by Margaret Moore, she is a 2020 Magna Cum Laude graduate of Fairfield University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English/Creative Writing in May of 2020.  Her work has appeared in Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy, Brevity’s Nonfiction Blog, and Independent Catholic News among other publications.  She is now pursuing her MFA in Fairfield University’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program.

In July 2020, I had a poem published by Independent Catholic News. I think of myself as both a poet and a prose writer, but I am more experienced with publishing nonfiction prose. This was my first time attempting to publish poetry professionally.

Through the lens of faith, my poem, “A Prayer to Shine Through,” responds to the monumental issues our world has been facing this year. Following Saint Ignatius of Loyola’s Examen prayer, the first part acknowledges that people are profoundly struggling. Inspired by the Ignatian idea of finding God in all things, the second part highlights how faith and God can still be found. The piece concludes with a prayer that we continue to see signs of hope.

Though I plan to further my study of poetry as I pursue my MFA in Creative Writing, I have only taken one undergraduate poetry course. I knew that my work required more revision and craft elements to be a literary piece. I wanted to publish it anyway as it may be a source of hope for others. I also knew that literary publications typically release new issues quite some time after the work is submitted.

My poem seemed like it would help people if printed during these times, not months after. News outlets appeared to be the best option. I submitted to local and national publications that printed pieces addressing faith and current events. Most depicted faith positively but hinted at struggles—a major factor influencing my decision to submit.

I remember reading through the submission guidelines and cringing at the maximum accepted length—twenty lines for one magazine, forty for another. As my piece was over one hundred lines, I decided against attempting to condense to twenty—too much would be lost.  I did, however, condense to forty lines. The magazine that I was submitting to is one that I admire. I knew that, if I did not submit it, I would always wonder whether it would have been accepted.

Trying to cut and move over eighty lines was a major challenge. Reading some articles helped. One discussed how line breaks emphasize ideas. I had learned this in class, but having a reminder gave a fresh perspective. Did I really need certain articles like ‘the’ and ‘a’ on their own lines? No, it seemed more effective to break a line on actual keywords, so I revised accordingly. Some stanzas mirrored others, depicting the same idea in different wording. I cut the duplicates and reworked those remaining to have the keen details of the discarded ones.

Although I was pleased with my submission, I felt a faint tug of disappointment afterwards. Many revisions were for the best, but some did not do the piece justice. The editors would not see the power of the unique line breaks and repetition that had originally been there. Part of me felt like I sent a synopsis rather than the poem itself.

When the rejections came, it was naturally disappointing, but it was not the end of the world. In my twenty-three years, I have seen my father die of cancer and my mother overcome the obstacles of single parenthood. I am physically disabled and rely on a motorized wheelchair and an Assistive and Augmentative Communication device. Looking at our struggles and at the world now, the rejections do not even compare.

Rejections are just like paper cuts. We all must endure them regardless of age or level of experience. They appear when the writer is finally seeing the rhythm of the work—when the thought comes that this piece could actually be a page-turner. As soon as the writer moves in a direction that goes against the angle sought by editors, the rejections appear, tearing the skin of the writer.

It is important to note the size and magnitude of the paper cut of rejection. It is tiny. The cut stings at first, but the sensation lasts for a matter of moments. Pain may remain in the following days, but the cut will heal, dissipating into nothing but tough skin.

Too many writers mistake rejections as a sign that they do not have what it takes to succeed. Rejections do not mean that the writing is bad. Editors may love the piece and see its potential to touch readers. If its content or style is beyond the publication’s scope, they are simply not at liberty to take it.

I knew I needed to keep pursuing the poem’s publication. The words, raw and honest, had flowed just right, braiding together emotion, hard truths, and bright insights. This was a piece to be shared widely. I just had to find the right avenue. I began to think more strategically than I had in previous submissions.

Remembering my undergraduate publishing courses at Fairfield University, it dawned on me that it may not be a piece for mainstream publications. I knew that my poetry was not yet at that polished, literary quality that editors seek—I just did not have enough background in craft yet. I knew, too, that mainstream publications look for very specific angles and that mine did not quite fit.

At Fairfield, I learned that independent publications are typically more willing to accept work that is from emerging writers and unconventional in its content, style, and form. I began researching faith-based and Catholic-based independent news outlets and discovered Independent Catholic News, a global outlet based in London, England. Its website features a poetry section showcasing the work of famous poets—Seamus Heaney, to name a personal favorite—along with emerging or lesser-known poets. The poetry focuses on celebrating faith as well as depicting the trials faced by saints, martyrs, and believers.

I decided to write to the editor, sending my poem and asking if she would consider publishing it. I revised my poem so that it was the version that I would like the world to read, taking my original version and working in new wording that the condensed versions helped me discover.

The site did not display submission guidelines, though, and I had no idea if the editor was seeking new works. I decided to take a risk, choosing not to write the typical query letter. I instead wrote an email explaining who I was, what had inspired the work, and my hope that it would help people. My email seemed to adequately explain my poem in a way that query letters had not.

I admit that I paused quite a few times before I finished and sent it. I could not help but ponder what on Earth I thought I was doing. I was a twenty-three-year-old new college graduate and incoming graduate student in the United States, and here I was asking some editor on another continent to consider publishing my amateur poem. The chances that she would even read and respond to my note, I thought, were almost nonexistent. Yet something inside me made me continue, and I sent the email as soon as it was finished. It only took the editor a day to respond with an acceptance and a week for the poem to be published.

Following its publication, I spent many days writing and responding to loved ones and acquaintances who had read the poem. I could not believe how it was spreading—just when I thought I had replied to all who had written to me, more conversations began. What strikes me is not the quantity of people. It is the words that they have shared on how the poem has brightened their days and how they have shared the piece with others. These are just the people that I know. It is astonishing to think that people across the world could be reading and reacting to my poem.

When reflecting on the poem’s journey, I am astounded. I had hoped that the poem would be printed in a local or national publication. If I had not been rejected, it never would have reached the international publication. The rejections gave me an opportunity to discover and fine-tune the poem’s most effective wording and form. If I had not pursued publication after the rejection, the poem would not be where it is today.

I will not urge other writers to follow the same steps I took. Every writer must have their own unique process. I will simply offer this advice: be bold. Be brave. Be fearless in your writing. Dare to explore that unfamiliar genre. Dare to use unconventional forms and themes to illustrate what the world needs to hear. Dare to seek out new avenues to get your work out there, even if it means writing to an editor on another side of the planet. Dare to manipulate the pages even after the paper cuts of rejection attempt to derail your plans.

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