Consistent Reminder

My clients and students will sometimes ask, “How can I improve my blog?” The short answer: Consistency. From a very practical standpoint, a blog will only thrive if its author writes for it consistently. If your readers like your stuff, if they like your perspective and your voice, they’ll likely come back for more. If they come back and find nothing new, they may not come back again.

But as important as consistent production may be, consistency in perspective and, to a lesser degree, content is even more important. That is, in this space I almost always write about writing or the creative process in general, though I sometimes offer stories about being a father or husband or friend or playing games or why I like lighting a fire. Regardless of the specific subject, I’m really always writing about how to live on purpose, how life is a like a blank page you fill every day.

Your readers will return mostly for your perspective. It may be that you and they share an interest like baseball or poetry or pop culture, and it is this shared interest that first brings you together – but it is your perspective on those subjects that brings them back. What is it you wish to say about baseball, poetry, or pop culture? What is the question you’re answering again and again? If they like that answer, they’ll be back. They’ll come back for the same reason that you can write about the same subject again and again: to remember what they know but easily forget.

I, for instance, know that life is like a blank page that I can fill every day. I also know that everyone will fill that page differently, and that I needn’t worry how others are filling theirs. Yet I can forget this as quickly as I can read a review on Amazon, or notice how many books someone else has sold, or the stunning view from someone else’s house. Just like that I am lost in the endless forest of comparison, where the right answer for my life lies somewhere outside of my own heart.

I cannot be reminded often enough of where the right answer actually lies. Every time I write one of these little essays I travel word-by-word back to the answer’s source. In this way, I am always the blog’s first beneficiary, it’s first student and disciple. If it goes well, I end believing that maybe this time I won’t forget what I know. But I always do, and so I always come back, and I always remember.

If you like the ideas and perspectives expressed here, feel free to contact me about individual coaching and group workshops.

Fearless Writing: How to Create Boldly and Write With Confidence.
You can find William at: williamkenower.com