Should I Start Blogging?

Some people would say I’m not qualified to tell anybody how to blog, because I’m a rambling angsty idiot who makes ornate analogies that lead nowhere, at the same time as I am an arrogant self-fetishizing god figure who feels he can do no wrong. I know this because I’ve received emails and seen forum posts for the past two years, all of which have come to this conclusion.

But I think that everyone who’s thinking of starting a blog should do it. I think everyone who’s afraid of blogging would make a perfectly fine blogger, and I wish you would start, because I want to read what you have to say.

I’ve seen a lot of very competent and interesting people who shudder at the thought of keeping a blog. How could I possibly talk that much, to justify having a blog? How often could I do it? Who cares what I have to say? What if someone tells me I’m wrong, or trolls my blog? I see a lot of these sentiments expressed, sometimes in my company, sometimes just things I read on forums or other places on the net. Blogging can bring a lot of its own wonderful headaches, but I think it is a very fulfilling undertaking.

A blog post does not have to be long. There are many 300-500 word blog posts that make for interesting reading. In fact, 500 words is said to be an optimal length for blogging. If you are flirting with the idea of having a blog, it means you have something to say, however small it is. In fact, you probably should start small until you get used to it.

Your starting posts may not be read. The whole of your blog may not be read – not now. But in reality, who are you writing for is less important than why. Whenever you post, you address an imaginary audience, vacant seats that may be filled after the fact. When they are filled is irrelevant. But you may be writing because there is an inherent pleasure in it, or you may be writing to get things off your chest, to unveil emotion, but you should have a reason before you have an audience.

I like to hear myself talk, as I’ve said before. The more ornate, melodramatic and prolonged it is, the more fun it is to write. So I could blog forever, even if my audience were all imaginary. Though I hope they’re not.

Your blog is also not your shackles. I lament the fact that I can’t blog as often as I used to not because I have to keep up some arbitrary quota of posts on the pain of death, but because I love blogging. I love writing, it’s fun. I love all the responses I get, good and bad. You don’t have to blog every day. You don’t have to blog every week. But you will want to. If you’re like me (god help you) you will find yourself wanting to write, so much.

You will have to pace yourself, so you don’t flood posts every day, and when you can’t write as much as you want, you may feel genuinely disappointed. So don’t concern yourself with how often you blog. Just write and enjoy it, however infrequent. This is not a barrier to entry, it should not be. Who’s holding you hostage if you don’t post every day? You are the admin of your blog. It is a position that should give you some confidence.

Who cares what you have to say? That’s exactly why you should blog, because most likely, nobody does. And this is a great thing, because it frees you to say whatever you wanted to. You are unconstrained – free to express yourself. I don’t blog because I want to be e-famous or make money, though in the past, as most starting bloggers do, I certainly looked on with desire at those blogs that had “made it.” I blog because I think I have something to say. Perhaps it is foolish to think what I have to say is unique, or that the way I say it is a legitimate way. But that never keeps me from trying.

If you keep blogging, sooner or later, sometime will take note of you. The internet is vast, someone will notice. If they don’t, you can get noticed. The RPG Blogger’s Network, right here, does a great thing in helping people discover each other. Comment on other people’s blogs, and leave your link there (safe in the website field of the comments box, mind you, don’t want to look like a spammer). On the same forums you expressed interest, but trepidation, of blogging you can find people who will read what you have to say. Put it in your signature, or link to it discreetly. “I made some of these points in my post here, but I’ll add that…”

As for trolls and negative comments. I love blogging – I love even the negative aspects of it, even when I go on and say that they give me headaches. Heated debates in the comments field aren’t very productive in my experience, which is why I tend to moderate them harshly when I feel they’re devolving. But I would engage in them, if I had the time anymore.

But you have every right, I believe, to be nervous about it. A lot of people shrug off things said or written on the internet. They can’t be hurtful, can’t they? But not all of us take it the same way – I thought I was a paragon of fortitude, but I can’t measure up to the immense calm some other bloggers, (such as Critical Hit’s Dave Chalker) have when faced with situations which might have me either frothing or devising some kind of escape from the internet. I also am often sad to hear of people from other blogs I like, who talk about being upset at trollish comments on their blogs, and that it keeps them from wanting to keep blogging.

We all have different fortitudes, and it can be difficult, especially when you get a negative comment without the affirmation that you have friends, fans and loyal readers who are also there to praise you and desire your posts. You may be driven to stop. At such times, you should back away, you should take time off, if it’s really making you upset. But you should return. If you love doing something creative, who’s to tell you to stop? Who do you harm by continuing? The only one who suffers any harm is you, if you like doing something and you stop because of other people.

So the next time you think about starting a blog, and you wonder about these things, make yourself believe that this wondering is your only barrier to blogging. Your trepidation is the sole difficulty you will find, and it is one you can conquer. I like WordPress.com, so I’d recommend that for you. All the technical stuff is so easy to do, and it fosters a desire to learn more. I know some HTML now from messing around with wordpress. I would not otherwise, and it has been rather useful. Start a blog because you have something to say, and I want to hear you say it. No matter how often you say it, how you say it, why you say, who you say it to, and how people respond, I want you to say it.

Start with something simple. Talk about your game. Talk about some random little custom item you gave a PC once. Review a book. Offer a houserule. But don’t remain quiet forever.