Some Thoughts That Lead to a Crazy Idea

My one little word for this year is Identify.

One thing I love about adopting a word for the year is that, no matter how much I know I need to focus on it over the course of several months with intention, I can’t even comprehend how greatly it will impact me. This word has been no exception.

In my season of quietness, God’s given me a lot of time to think.

One of the biggest things I’ve tossed around in my scattered brain is the direction in which to take my blog. It’s a funny world, this online one, and I never can settle on exactly the right mix of linking up and social media involvement that is supposed to come with the blogging territory combined with real life family, friends, and homemaking.

I’m sure there are bloggers out there who have found peace about the balance, but you know what I keep discovering the more I listen to women who blog? Many of them are at odds with whatever this blogging thing has become. Nothing worth doing in life is going to be easy 100% of the time, but there has to be something to this. Somewhere along the way, in this swirling mess of our online social lives, we are coming up short of doing what works.

I can think of at least a half dozen women I know either really well or decently well who share my love of writing and have many things of value to say, but they’re at a loss of knowing how best to share it in a way that allows them to actually live life while sharing the important messages they have to offer in the written word.

Unfortunately, I haven’t come up with a solution yet, but identifying the problem is the first step, right? 😉

I do have one thing I’ve been wanting to try, and the darling Amy Andrews has intrigued me enough to consider taking on my own form of what she’s about to try. I’ve been thinking about coming up with a monthly email. Call it a newsletter if you want, but I don’t really think it can be categorized as that. The thing is, I don’t have “news” to share per say, but I have stories. I enjoy stories, learn best from stories, like to look at life as a series of stories, smile when I think about stories others tell me…I think you get the picture.

I guess you could call it a monthly storygram where I’d share some of the things I would normally turn into blog posts over the course of a month if I had the luxury of regularly scheduling time to write. But I don’t have that luxury right now, and I work better with a deadline in sight, so maybe this would work.

Also, one thing that I don’t like so much about blogging is the lack of interaction that comes with it. It’s that nature of blogging, and as a good friend of mine worded her thoughts on leaving comments on blogs, I agree that, “I don’t want to say something inane to validate my presence.” But one of the whole points of blogging and networking is building relationships. When I look back at the women I’ve gotten to know through blogging, the way I’ve actually gotten to know them is through personal correspondence between just the two of us.

I’m only a small blogger, so actually dialoguing via email with my readers is a viable option. Should you feel obligated to email me back every time I sent out a storygram? No way! However, it would be a lot more comfortable for both of us to actually chat a little with each other about what we’re both going through in life if we had a private conversation going on. I’m simply offering a starting point for us to catch up by letting you read a little about what’s been going on in my life. How fun would it be to sorta be pen pals?!?

Or if you never get a chance to send me an email back, then I’m just continuing to give you an occasional something to read, all conveniently delivered to your inbox. I’m not planning on doing away with my blog. I’ll still post on here occasionally as I do now, so you don’t have to participate in this little idea if you’d rather keep things the way they are now.

Before I actually follow through with all of these crazy ideas of mine, I’d really, really appreciate some feedback. Does this sound like something you’d actually enjoy, or would it be just another email to clutter your inbox? I’m still in the “thinking about it” stage. No actual steps have been taken, so if not many are interested, then nothing is lost, and I won’t be offended. I think out loud when I brainstorm, and this is one big brainstorming post, so fire away with your thoughts on the matter. Either leave me a comment on the blog or Facebook or email me at trendbreakers@live.com.

Have I mentioned how much I love and appreciate you sweet friends who take time to read my ramblings? Because I do!

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