Why I Stopped Blogging and Why I Started Again

Public Domain

I was once a regular blogger: sharing childhood stories, commenting on current events, digging up history, and of course talking about my faith. My time at the keyboard was fun and relaxing, bringing a level of fulfillment I have not found in other endeavors. Between writing and connecting with other bloggers, my hobby continued to grow, encouraging me to try my hand at getting paid for an article ("The History of the Flashlight" published in History Magazine.)

For a while success bred success as I watched my page views grow. Along with that came an increase in comments from which I learned much about my audience. With each interaction I tweaked the scope of my message, priding myself on doing what I thought would keep readers coming back for more. Unfortunately giving people what they wanted did not always mean giving my best and as my numbers grew so did the number of posts with a certain political bent.

I found myself doing what I could to fit in, even if it meant compromising what I believed just to score page views. With each compromise my writing became less real. My blog, the very place where people should have been able to find me, became just an online facade. (This was especially amusing considering one of my posts was about destroying facades.) And as my facade grew, my readers gradually stopped coming. The few remaining visitors generally came looking for arguments: looking to cut me down even as I fought to prove myself.

I stopped blogging because fighting from behind a facade stopped being fun. Now I have a new reason for writing and for returning to the world of blogging. Recognizing that the work involved in being a writer was never an issue, I look to answer what I believe to be my calling. This time I come to the keyboard with a better focus and without the feeling that I am defined by the number of page views. Now it's about the message and about sharing with you, the audience. Now it’s about the challenge of doing things the right way. I know it will be a lot of work but it will also be a lot of fun.