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I do it for the comments

I blog for the comments pie chart on andreabadgley.com

When I first started blogging a little more than two years ago, I didn’t know what I was doing.  I owned a handmade soap business at the time, and because I love to write, I launched a blog to build my company’s brand.  A good friend of mine, Liv Lane, happened to roll out a blogging ecourse around the same time, and I enrolled in her course expecting to learn basics like how to choose a blog host and how to build readership.  I did learn those things, and with her guidance I succeeded in building a thriving blog.  But more importantly, through simple yet soul-probing queries, Liv helped me find my voice and my self.  Once I began Liv’s course, and began digging deep to contemplate and respond to material she presented, I realized I enjoyed my business’ blog, and writing, far more than I enjoyed making and selling soaps (I have since dissolved my soap company).

One of the first simple yet probing queries Liv posed to us was “Why do you blog?”  It seems like such an obvious question to ask ourselves, but I can honestly say that when I began blogging, it was not one I ever stopped to consider.  And curiously, one I never asked (or answered) when I started my (now-defunct) business.  My responses now are almost identical to my 2011 answers to the question of “Why?”

I blog for the comments.  Duh.  Doesn’t everyone?  I like for you to tell me you are here, and I like for you to tell me I’m awesome. Heh heh.  Just kidding.  I do like to know you are here, though, and I do love when you share your reactions, your thoughts, your feedback.  Which leads me to the second reason I blog.

Blogging is a form of communication.  When we had our first child, and I chose to stay home with him, let’s just say the transition from workplace to home was a challenge.  I need brain stimulation.  Pre-kids, I had a very people-oriented, interactive job recruiting and managing participants, mentors, and coaches for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training program.  Before that I worked in ecology labs, hanging out with fun people and constantly exploring and experimenting to answer questions about the world around us.  At home it was just me and our infant son.  Not a lot of thoughtful, funny, or stimulating conversations going on there.  Blogging, and the dialogue it inspires, helps fulfill my need to communicate with other adults.

I love words.  There is nothing quite as satisfying as writing the perfect sentence.

Writing is a free art form.  When I first began making soaps, I realized very quickly that if I didn’t start selling them, there was no way I’d be able to afford the supplies I would need to bring all of my ideas into creation.  Likewise for painters, potters, jewelers, photographers, scrap-bookers.  Most forms of creative expression require materials.  Writing requires very little that must be purchased.  My composition books cost $0.59, and I could get pens cheap too, if I wanted.  As for keyboards, even if you don’t have a computer, you can go to the library and use one for free.

Writing helps me direct my life.  It gives me clarity and focus.  Selecting a topic, figuring out how to give life to it, finding the right words – all of these guide my thoughts, my attitude, my perspective, and therefore my life, in a direction that I choose.   For my previous blog I wrote a post called “Best. Day. Ever.”  It was one of my favorite things I’ve ever written.  I confess that on that day there were some not so “best day ever” things that happened.  But because I was focused on writing about the awesome things that did happen, the negatives didn’t register as being important, and they rolled right off my back.  I have no recollection of what they were anymore.  The beauty in that day, however, is preserved now forever.

Other writers’ words, voices, choices, and experiences enrich my life, teach me, and help me strive to be my best self.  This is the only new response I have added since that original list I made, and as I’ve matured as a writer and a blogger, I realize that this is the real reason I write and share my writing.  Even though writing publicly often makes me feel very vulnerable, it is my hope that my words, voice, choices, and experiences may have a similar effect on my readers as other writers have had on me.  That something I’ve written will enrich your life, or teach you, or help you strive to be your best self.

I highly recommend Liv’s ecourse, Build a Blog You Truly Love.  Along with my husband and my childhood friend, Amy, I credit Liv with helping give me the confidence to put myself out there and write.  If you are interested in blogging, and think this might be a fit for you, she is offering the course only one more time.  The final session begins September 15, 2013. 

25 thoughts on “I do it for the comments”

  3. I love this post! I blog because it is another form of communication. I just like informing people about certain things and what’s going on right now. Then again, that’s the journalist side of me. 🙂

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  4. It is so tempting to write a blog post and hover waiting for replies! I certainly do this. But I am sure you receive the same kind of satisfaction I do, just after clicking the “publish” button. It’s done. It’s out there. And you have relieved yourself of a small burden…

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    1. “But I am sure you receive the same kind of satisfaction I do, just after clicking the “publish” button.” Absolutely! I was telling my writing group that just the other night, that I like to put it all on the page, hit publish, and have it gone from me. I love the idea of relieving yourself of a small burden. Perfectly put.

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  5. I wrote about why I started my blog in my Post I’m a 72 year old blogger. It’s my way of expnding a world that is contracting. I’m an artist turned writer. Since I’ve been writing my world has expanded and i’m loving it.

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  6. I read your blog because I like to see comments about myself, lol!! Not really; honestly I love to read your blog because it makes me feel like I’ve talked to you. It helps to close the gigantic gap between Alabama and Virginia! Also you’ve expressed how much having a readership means to you, which makes being your reader even better!

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    1. You read all the way to the bottom! You’re so awesome. Also, I have several pages in my journal that start, “Dear Amy,” so I can pretend I’m talking to you. It helps me keep my voice 🙂

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  8. I began to journal not too long ago. I was frustrated at not being heard in my attempt to adjust to a life with a disability. Before I knew what was happening a blog about my days and my unique way of looking at the world was born…my journey through the peaks and valleys of positivity and despair. I never realized how much I had to say and how much others would enjoy my words. Like you, my transition to home life was and continues to be quite a challenge; Only I don’t have the distraction of a child although my dog, at times, definitely does a “wonderful” imitation of one! I definitely connected with your piece and like you, blogging helps give me direction and clarity. I am slowly figuring out the ins and outs of gathering readers (other than friends and associates) and organizing content into a pretty little package. In the meantime I look forward to reading more of your work as you have a way about you. Have a wonderful day and thank you. TimurZ

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    1. Thank you so much, Timur. I’m glad this resonated with you, and especially that writing and blogging are helping you through the challenges of your disability. Keep it up.

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  10. You had me with “let’s just say the transition from workplace to home was a challenge.”
    “I love words” made me read your post until the very end. Even though English is not my mother tongue that love is sensible in your playing with words and something I very much enjoy!

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