I’ve given a lot of thought to making this blog something… more mainstream. Have you ever wished for that from me? You know, a book resource? A hiking diary? A collection of personal essays? Honestly just something that would make it less a reflection of my chaotic mind and something more marketable. But every time the thought flits across my mind, it vanishes again just as quick.
It’s MY jumbled mind. Recently, I was reading a post over on Frappes and Fiction—which I started reading quite earnestly as soon as I discovered it—and this tidbit caught my attention:
“In psychology, the over justification effect refers to the phenomenon in which a person becomes less intrinsically motivated to do something after they begin receiving external rewards for doing that thing.”
Exactly right. As soon as I feel I need to change my style of writing to make it more palatable to readers, I’ll lose my motivation to do it. I won’t be doing it for my own pleasure anymore. I’ll be doing it for someone else.
I abandoned my career in journalism almost half a decade ago now. So this blog really is one of the last ties I have to my old identity as a writer. I can’t lose that, too.
So in summary, no. This blog will never become something I can put into a media package and tie up with a pretty bow. I doubt I’ll ever have the readership to justify it, either, because quite frankly social media is exhausting. I don’t want to lose any precious minutes I have marketing instead of actually writing. Part of the reason I’m doing dental hygiene is so I can afford to be a writer. I love dental hygiene, but I won’t lie and say I’m not also thrilled with the idea of having a secure job so I can continue to write on the side. That’s what it really boils down to. Life is for living. Not for grinding.
Your writing is so hood
Don’t give up on it