Why I'm quitting the blog
For the past two years I've had a traditional website with a traditional blog. Here's why I'm fed up.
For the past two years I've had a traditional website with a traditional blog. Here's why I'm fed up with that system and how I’m moving on as a creator.
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There are a myriad of rules that I’ve discovered are built into my brain about work and creativity that have surfaced in the past couple years. Do you relate to any of these myths?
Talking to much from the lens of motherhood is a weakness and makes me “less than” as a writer.
I need to have an author website as a resume; or I need to have a large following to be “legit” enough to talk about things.
I’m not worthy to be paid for my blogging and can only make money from writing if I am chosen by a traditional publisher.
No one will want to support my creative pursuits unless they see a piece of writing (like a physical book) or piece of art for sale in a store.
I am lazy because I live a life that doesn’t allow me to produce long, novel-like essays and works.
I should be able to balance the titles of mom, boss, and wife neatly and with consistent routines.
My inability and aversion toward having the same routine every day in these realms means I am unprofessional and flighty.
These narratives are nothing more than damaging rollercoaster rides I keep investing my thoughts toward. They are narratives that deserve to be exposed and healed like any old wound that deserves better care.
What does this have to do with me ditching my blog?
Traditionally, I have wanted to be…traditional in how I work and create. If motherhood has helped reveal anything it’s that life cannot be made tidy. Gone are the days where I could reflect and write a piece for five hours. (I have tried to podcast as well, hoping that the new medium would help me move forward, but how can I expect to record in quiet spaces when most of my life is filled with noise?)
Quickly ushered in are the moments where I find myself typing short essays on my phone that accumulate in a google document with no where to go but a fragmented Instagram caption or into a draft I call “maybe a book someday.”
The namesake website will stay around for “maybe one day” use but I am done trying to play the games set before me: blog tirelessly on a website for free and wait for the day a publishing house maybe, just maybe picks you up and asks you for another 100 hours of work on a book proposal that could easily be dismissed.
Motherhood has completely transformed the way I work and create by filling me up with a need to create quickly, as if my very life depends on it. It is the creative calling to keep life going with cooking a new meal or finding a new way to run a business while caring for my daughter on a busy Saturday. It is fluid and unpredictable.
It is my creative pursuit to write and relate to other mothers who are working at home or in the office, who are pouring out their love and carrying the mental weight of their families; and connecting with them on a deeper and more consistent level. It only makes sense to shorten the time it takes to produce and consume this work.
We are parents. We are natural creators and problem solvers. This is what Motherhood Minute is all about: embracing the spaces of time where we need to create and talk about what’s going on in our hands, heads, and hearts. I truly hope this platform becomes a way to connect with all of you without the rules of the traditional platforms we’ve tried to talk on before.