Last year, I joined in on the fun and became part of Blaugust Reborn. It was a wonderful opportunity to hang out in Discord with the community of bloggers who had also decided to take on this challenge.
This year, I am taking part in Blaugust 2019. This “festival of blogging” is encouraging me to find the time to post content on my own blog on a regular basis. My goal is to post something every day this month.
I read “A Festival of Blogging” on Episode 051 of Words of Jen.
My one advantage in this challenge is my years of experience in blogging. The work I do as a freelance writer, posting content on other people’s blogs for pay, started in 2010. Somewhere along the way, I realized that I no longer needed to feel inspired before I could begin writing something.
My disadvantages, in regards to this challenge, are many. I have chronic illnesses, some of which can make it extremely difficult to do any kind of writing or blogging. When that happens, my drive to get things done remains, but my body refuses to cooperate.
At any moment, I could encounter an allergen that forces me to drop everything and take medication. My fibromyalgia could give me “fibro fog”, which clouds my thinking for an indeterminate amount of time. Or, it can cause chronic pain, in the form of muscle cramps that can turn into muscle spasms. Pain is exhausting.
Those are my reasons for choosing to join Blaugust 2019 as a participant instead of a mentor. I cannot guarantee that I’ll be well enough to mentor bloggers on a regular basis.
What I can do is share my Blaugust 2019 strategy here. I think that bloggers who also have chronic illnesses may find it useful, whether or not they are taking part in this year’s festival of blogging.
Start creating blog posts early, and scheduling them to go live later. Doing so makes the deadline less stressful. It gives you the opportunity to create blogs that require a lot of time to put together.
Finish the blogs that you started and have left in draft. Starting from something is easier than staring at a blank page on days when you have little motivation, low energy, and no inspiration.
Start thinking of your personal blog as something that is worthy of your time and effort (even if you make no money from it). Personally, I have a tendency to put everything else first, which means my blog gets neglected. I’m hoping that blogging every day for a month will get me into the habit of actually putting content on my blog on a regular basis.
Do you have a gaming blog? If so, consider using up the screenshots that you’ve taken and intended to put into a blog post someday. You don’t have to use each and every screenshot you took. Pick the ones that visually illustrate the in-game thing that you want to write about.
Have fun! The challenge of writing a blog post every day (or even once a week) is intended to spark creativity and encourage you to get into the habit of producing content regularly. If you find yourself getting fatigued, it is perfectly ok to take a break. Festivals are supposed to be fun, after all.
#Blaugust2019
A Festival of Blogging is a post written by Jen Thorpe on Book of Jen and is not allowed to be copied to other sites.
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