The Blog Focus Funnel Move Forward by Looking at Your Past

Do you know where your blog focus is?  It's not lost.  What topics do you gravitate to as a writer, as a reader? This post isn't about marketing or gaining new readers (Okay, it would be nice to have new readers too.)  No, this post is about looking back and gaining a fresh perspective.

The rollover to the brand new year makes for resolutions, but sometimes, looking where you have been instead of where you want to go (not the gym) can also be the way forward, and not just for blogging.

Some drastic life changes have been thrown at me in the past few years.  I finally could not face blogging as a writer.  I would read my saved blogs from time to time, but couldn't comment, at least for the most part.  I used the time away from blogging to work on healing, physically and otherwise.

As time passed, I wondered why I hadn't recommitted to blogging.  I knew that having a focus on something would help me stand up wherever I needed to stand.  In other words, put the bad stuff to the side and zero in on something to take my mind and therefore, my feelings, off the problem and on to something that would be a healthy distraction.    Sort of a, "Words don't fail me now" mindset.

That's all well and good, but it didn't work.  If you could see the room in my house where all the arts and crafts stuff await, you might think I need no excuse for tucking in to the boxes, paints, papers, beads, and jars.  All that inspiration is overload sometimes.

Some of the problem was that I didn't know if I wanted to start again.  I missed connecting with other bloggers, but didn't have the energy to keep in touch.  On the other hand, I need to finish what I start or bring it to a satisfying last post, not just drift away.

I Miss Her.

Where to start?

I have a stick-to-it-ness that has helped me through the years.  I don't give up unless it is without a doubt, all things tried, not able to work.

Just last month I fixed the bed frame that "couldn't" be fixed and saved more than a hundred dollars by not giving up.  Not bragging, just saying, sometimes where there's a will, there's a way. I have the bruises to prove it.









Getting back to the blog here for a minute.  I looked at the posts I've published since I started the blog.  I was unfocused, without direction, wanting to dabble in all sorts of subjects.  A racehorse at the gate who wants to be in all the slots, in the excitement of a new lineup, she knows she can run the track lanes inside and outside.  The curves are part of the challenge, but all that zigging and zagging is tiring and makes a very scattered course and a horse pulled in too many directions.


Some of my posts were brief, yet I don't regret some of those shorter posts.  I enjoyed saying, "Thank you" in the meme for November on "Thanks."  30 Days of Thanks put into words without photos, and I did it.  ( I think I will go back and add photos.)  I'm thankful to have stuck with it. The "29 Faces" art challenge was just that, it was fun and difficult and I am glad I persevered.

There were Blog Hops and Giveaways which brought new readers and blogs to me. I received terrific gifts of blogger's art and products.  Sharing my new aceo or other work gave me deadlines and a starting point.

All this said, I was not sure what to write about.  What was I willing to share, how much or little to say, who would want to read?

It takes some of us longer to get "it."  If we want to write, we write.  We take the chance no one will read, no one will comment, no one will understand.

The more critical we are with ourselves, the easier it is to seek perfection and never achieve it. The less perfect, the fewer risks we take; which is when we should take MORE.  More risks, please.



One day I decided to share my oh so less than perfect attempt at creating art. Making art or something close to it was a shocking vulnerability.  It didn't have to be that way.  However, the past can't be overcome if you let it have more power over you than the present.

So I held my breath and published.  The clocked ticked on and no one came banging on the front door to shout their ridicule at me.  If they laughed they did it off the blog.  I said to heck with the critics, they controlled my life far too long.  If I could have the courage to publish once, I could do it again.  Although there are pieces I'm not pleased with, I feel relieved to work on them and try to be a little bit better as I learn, take risks, and experiment.  

You Make My Blog Smell Better

Keeping up a regular blogging schedule can be tiring. You have to fit all of life in.  I think bloggers who post on lots of hops and have daily or weekly posts must have a blog fairy helping them, or at the very least high energy, plus technological knowledge which has eluded me.  I'm so last century...things I use on a daily basis weren't even on the drawing board then.

In my early blogging, I learned a few little html tricks to change the look of the blog.  I didn't have a digital camera and was enamored of the beauty in the blogging world. With my eyes, all the splashes of color looked more intense and the variety was awesome.

There is no way to keep up with all the changes in technology without expending lots of time and a chunk of money.  I don't have those.  It may be old fashioned to want a slower pace, but we all have to do what is best for us. No blog martyrs . (New meme.  Just kidding.)



With that said, I sometimes get that little pinch of disappointment when no one comments on a post.  However, I know that there are many bloggers who write without getting any eyes on their pages and they continue to document their lives and their work.

I recently read that blogs were going to become extinct, that it's an old way of communicating and there is less time for reading and writing in these days of instant everything (almost.)  Then I read that businesses who maintain a blog do better in their balance sheets.

So, are businesses taking over blogs or are bloggers becoming businesses?  We can share the space even when we don't fit those slots.

This is no secret:  If you're looking for an expert, click away.  I'm no expert and I know that.

• So what's the point of telling you all this? None, except if you want to go over your blog's history and see where you started and where you are now, it wouldn't hurt to take a little look.

• You may be very happy with yourself. You may say that you enjoyed one subject more than another.  You may wonder what the heck you were going on about. (Raises hand on the last point.)

To make a longish story shorter, I think that I will try and fit more projects into the blog.  I sometimes just do the work and forgo taking photographs and notes along the way.  I do know that some readers only want the highlights and do not have the time to read a quasi-tome such as this. Sorry, it's in my genes, but I'll work to hone it down a bit.

You will find that projects in art and jewelry are going to be more of the focus.  When my eyes allow, I will finish some embroidery projects and share those because I started them and said I would show when they are done, and so I shall.

I don't think that recipes will be appearing very often.  I have always considered myself a non-expert cook kind of woman.  I do better without following a recipe to its exact details, and that's not what you want to know.

Dracula and Germs Stay Away Stew from New End Studio

I once jokingly referred to myself as
Mrs. Letitia Cropley  a character on "The Vicar of Dibley."  I know that's far from the truth, but we both share an adventurous attitude with ingredients and a desire to feed people.

I am going to try and feed you with my words and pictures, and some special recipes.

Hope you will follow along.  Leave your blog link with a comment when you stop by.