To Blog or Not To Blog

At the Catholic Writers Conference Online, I led a chat called “Beyond the Blog.” It was great fun, and the discussion turned to how someone would know if they should or should not blog.

It seems that all writers think they must blog. After quite a few years as a blogger, I disagree. Loudly. Often. With a list in hand.

Blogging can take a lot of time. It can be tiresome. It can drag you down.

These are all reasons why I advise people (including writers) to discern carefully–and often, if you are blogging already–about whether it’s worth the investment.

In that chat a few weeks ago, someone asked me how they would know if they should blog or not. I started listing some of the indicators that would signal, to me, that blogging was a no-go. I’ll share them here, and invite you to add to them in the com-box.

1. You will get so obsessed you lose sight of your primary vocation.

2. You will not have ANY TIME for your regular writing.

3. You have NO INTEREST in it.

4. You will embarrass your family, yourself, or people you love (perhaps by sharing stories that you shouldn’t).

5. You feel like you can only do one thing well, and blogging ain’t it.

6. You don’t write well without an editor or editing help. (Maybe a group blog would be a better choice for you, or one where there is someone to guide your writing a bit.)

7. You will not be able to keep other commitments.

8. You can’t juggle things, such as the interactions that are part of the blogging realm.

9. You can’t keep up your own commitment to the blog

10. You will end up quitting