Blogging It Forward, Again

Out of the blue I received an email from The Occupant, a long-time reader of my blog. He had a blog before but stopped. Now after several years working and living in one of the islands down south, he’s back in the metro and also back into blogging. He requested that I link his new blog, Room 401, to mine (and quid pro quo, said he was linking mine to his).

He says he wants to share his story to a larger audience, and therefore has approached me. By asking the help of an “online celebrity,” he hopes his new blog will get an increase in traffic. He also mentioned that he has had trouble sustaining his previous blog. Perhaps the increase in attention may force him to sustain his newly erected blog—I guess he sees my endorsement and the increase in traffic as something akin to Blog Viagara. Mr. Occupant dear, nothing I nor anyone else do can and will make your blog sustain its erection; it’ll have to be you continuously stroking your blog alive.

But if you want to have an idea of how to sustain your blog, then let me use myself as an example and hope you get some things out of it.

First, ask yourself: really now, why blog? Because what will motivate you to maintain your blog will depend largely on why you’re blogging in the first place. When I started blogging, it was because I wanted to show people that a “diary” online isn’t the same as a diary in the Anne Frank way, simply because it’s for public consumption. Thus, anything written there is really for show—and so I named my blog accordingly. But after a while, I changed my mind. I concentrated more just blogging on things that I found funny or entertaining. More importantly, I realized that blogging helped sharpen my writing skills. So now I try as much as possible to have one blog entry a day just to flex my writing muscles.

If you want to be a writer, then write. But the best advise on writing I got was from Stephen King. He said if you want to be a writer, live first then write. Because the most affecting stuff are the ones closest to you. That’s when you do your best writing.

However, be open to the possibility that your reasons for blogging may change. Go with the flow and embrace change. There may also come a day when you find no reason to be blogging any further. Remember that blogging is a voluntary effort. You owe it to no one but yourself what happens to your blog.

For now this Show is still relevant to me. The moment it ceases to be, that’s when I’ll walk away from it. But given that I’ve had this going for six year already, I guess I have no plans of shutting it down yet. I just need to get a life more.

So to the Occupant of Room 401, good luck and get out of your room more. So you’ll have more to say when you come back in.