Trying new things on the blog! (and in life...maybe....?)
I
really like trying out new things on my beloved blog. Even though at
times it can make me feel like that awkward old pub just down the road, always putting out a freshly-painted blackboard with the
week's many zany events and various new and exotic recipes listed, in
the hopes that they'll draw in more of a crowd...I power through and give things a go.
My
new feature 'Just Some Things' is something I'd been cooking up for
ages, on the slow burner, but then the crucial fundamental idea –
the missing ingredient, if you will – actually hit me quite
suddenly. Then I got a plan together and had sent emails out within 2
days. I love it when that happens; inspiration strikes and shit gets
done. Sometimes shit happens...but mostly, it gets done. The feature
has done insanely well stats-wise, but it's really not about the
number of clicks for me. It's about getting some of my favourite
writers' pieces out into the blogging universe! I am trying to only
post one every week, but with a hefty backlog building up I may have
to make it more regular than that...!
Another
idea I'd entertained not too long ago was the #AskGracie thing. That
went so well too, and had me all warm and fuzzy; helping others with
their problems like an Agony Aunt at times, or just answering the odd
'about me' questions. However, I soon felt that I was indulging
myself a bit too much and surely people wouldn't want to be bothered
with me begging for Q's that I could A...so I have stopped doing
that. At least for a while. I may bring it back sometime, but not
yet.
The
numbered Facts posts, a really old blog feature of mine, were often
used as a space filler in the beginning. A couple of years ago I'd
post a list of facts about me, the girl behind the blog, which really
read like a stream of consciousness, and was always accompanied with
a less-than-flattering photo. I enjoyed writing them. I still do. I
actually enjoy posting them that much more now, as they get such an
awesome response. Having someone tweet me saying 'I worry about this
too', or 'I LOVE crunchy peanut butter as well, smooth is rank'
just...makes my heart burst.
One
thing I've never really properly tried, however, is...life updates. I
actually thought about this when I read one of Debbie's; her posts about what she's been doing, what she's been reading and what
she's been seeing make me smile. It's like Emma Gannon's email newsletter – or Fiona's, or Amy's. And of course several YouTuber
humans do a monthly round-up, often with a cute punny title such as
'Time of the Month' or 'PMS (here meaning Pretentious Monthly Scrapbook, though)'. I often have to set aside chunks of
time to get through those, but I do love them.
One of my favourite YouTube trends is the 'Monthly Favourites' tag, too. I may draw inspiration from those as well.
One of my favourite YouTube trends is the 'Monthly Favourites' tag, too. I may draw inspiration from those as well.
I
love a quick snapshot of others' lives and a chance to see what
they've seen. Y'know?
So,
I thought I'd give that a go next. Also because I really enjoyed doing my 2016: A Year on the Blog post.
I'll
be posting (hopefully) monthly updates on my life; the things I've
seen, done, read and loved. Or hated...
I
said to my lovely pal Kasim, back when we attended the National
Short Story Awards in the BBC Radio Theatre, no big deal (?!), that I
kept going to these events or parties or shows and thinking 'I wanna
blog about this' but worrying that I won't have enough content for an
entire post. Or maybe it's something I'd tweet about, but that would be too...brief? So this updates thing would be perfect, right?! Let's hope so.
Please
let me know in comments or tweets of any blogs you follow that do
this kinda thing. I wanna read them and learn (I promise not to copy
anything, obvs).
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