One of the things I find most frustrating about blogging, is when an idea for a post doesn’t pan out.
Sometimes I’ll have what feels like a strong idea and I’ll sit down and write something up quite quickly. It may be well written, or I may struggle to express the ideas, but throughout I’ll have a niggling sense that I’m not comfortable with what I’m writing.
Sometimes it’s because the piece is too personal; sometimes it’s because it deals with a controversial subject and I’m worried about the response I might get. Sometimes I don’t have a clear sense of why I’m feeling troubled, I just know I’m not entirely happy with what I’ve written.
There are times when I’ll ignore the feeling and post the article anyway. Usually whatever I was worried about doesn’t happen, but I often refrain from promoting these posts as much as I usually would because I’d rather people didn’t read them.
Other times I’ll scrap a perfectly decent post at the last minute. I did that today.
On those days, I struggle especially hard to come up with another topic. When you’re invested completely in an idea, abruptly changing direction can make your mind go blank.
So instead of thinking about the subject that gave me pause, I’m thinking about how I deal with blogging on those days and how I come up with another idea at the last minute.
I usually have a bank of ideas for blog posts, but to be honest, the ones that are there are often the ones I didn’t feel strongly enough about in the first place, so they never quite make it on to the blog. Sometimes I’ll go for the easy option and put together a photo post or a list of quotes, but it still involves quite a bit of work actually putting the content together; more than it would take to write up a random idea.
I’d love to be more organised, or have an endless list of ideas, but I guess that’s not how blogging works.
So I’d love to know: how do you deal with the posts that you don’t feel proud of? Do you share them and hope for the best or do you hit delete? Have you ever got a response that surprised you to a post you thought would bomb?
Daphne @ The Daphne Files says
Completely understand your struggles. I recently started over with my personal blog because the old one didn’t feel like me. I started it in a period of life when I wasn’t feeling so good and it showed through the post. Starting over felt like a relief.
Amy Lord says
Glad the new blog is working out for you Daphne, it can be so liberating letting go of something that isn’t working for you anymore!
Lola says
Usually when I have a topic or post I am not completely satisfied about I leave it as a draft until I am. I just keep postphoning that post until I am satisfied about it or in some cases I just never post it all.
I had some ideas for posts that didn’t work out or I thought I had more to say about, but when I sat down to write there just wasn’t as much to say. Sometimes it depends on my mood and I only write a few sentences in the right mood and then I can’t get into that same mood again later and thus never finish it.
I am wondering now were your original topic for today was about.
Amy Lord says
Nothing too exciting Lola, I started writing about negative book reviews and bummed myself out! I know what you mean about being in the right mood for certain posts, sometimes an idea really captures my imagination but when I come back to it later I wonder what I was thinking!
Sara Strauss says
I completely understand! You don’t want to post something you don’t feel 100% about it and then get a terrible response or no response at all. But a few times I posted something I wasn’t sure about (most recently my post about guilt from high school) and the response was amazing. Sometimes we just have to overcome that fear and hope for the best!
~Sara
Amy Lord says
I read your high school post, Sara, and thought it was very sweet! Sometimes personal posts are the best as it helps make a connection with the people reading 🙂
Finley Jayne says
I’ve never not posted a post that I have an idea for. There have been times where I’ve waited a few days and have done some heavy editing, but they all go up/are scheduled 🙂 I haven’t done a lot of controversial subjects, but I have done a few (last one I posted one and I got good feedback).
Amy Lord says
You’re braver than me! Glad you got a good response to your last controversial post, it’s such a good feeling when that happens 🙂
Charlotte @ Books and Baby etc. says
I feel like this a lot but I don’t tend to delete the post unless it’s really awful. I usually stick a bit of an apology at the end if I feel like I wasn’t making sense or that it didn’t read very well or whatever. If I have something to say but can’t find the right words then I like to try and put something out there anyway, that way I can see if anyone responds with a more coherent argument!
Amy Lord says
I like your approach, Charlotte! It’s nice to start a discussion with other bloggers, especially when you find they share your feelings on a sensitive subject.