When you take a blogging break there’s always a worry that you’re going to lose your spark and your imagination. The parts that make you, well, you and that make your writing worth giving a shit about.
In my 6 month blogging break I had many of those moments of fleeting self-doubt that caught me off guard. But the best part about those moments of fear is that I learned important lessons about myself in the process.
As you develop so does your writing
I look back at some of my earliest posts and cringe. I’m very critical of my own work, which can work both for and against me. Over the past year I’ve really come in to my own in terms of my writing. Having graduated last year and now on my second degree with years of experience behind me I feel confident creating content for other people. Most importantly, I can express myself freely without worrying about the validity of my own opinion.
I love to discover new blogs
When I was blogging all the time I often got so caught up in the writing that I felt I had no time for reading. In hindsight I did - I just had poor time management. In my blogging break I’ve discovered so many incredible new blogs by just lurking (yes, lurking) on the sidelines.
I was selling myself short
I love writing. I always have done and always will. But there are times when I don’t think I was writing to the best of my ability. I was writing because I felt guilty that I hadn’t posted, or because I was comparing myself to other bloggers. Seriously, you guys that post once a day? I still haven’t cracked the code. Hats off to you, but that isn’t me and it’s taken me a long time to realise that my own style and pace is enough. Maybe even more than enough. In fact, maybe actually good.
What about you guys? Have you ever taken a break from blogging? What did you learn? Let me know!
Psst – I’m now also writing over at The Digital Scot as part of my Masters, check it out for all things digital marketing-y.
