How to keep writing stuff after many years of blogging?

in #hive8 months ago

After more than 5 years on this blockchain, I sometimes have the feeling that there is nothing I could write about that I didn't talk about in a previous post already. According to hivebuzz, I have created 584 posts for my personal account and made 15'248 comments. It's kind of normal that it is more difficult to find topics to write about than in the past. Could it be called content tiredness?

The pressure to produce something worth reading

I could chose another path and not really care whether my content is any good. There are some people who set autovotes on me and I could get some return on these posts even if nobody would read them. This is something I refrain from doing for several reasons.

Earning some money while creating content is nice but it is definitely not why I write here. I believe that over the last 5 years, I have created a certain brand around my account. When I create content, I want to provide value to the people reading it and I especially want that people come back to my account and check my future posts. If I start to create content without value, I would jeopardize the work of the past 5 years. People would stop coming to read my stuff.

There is also a ideological component that prevents me from doing so. For Hive to be able to go further and gain value, we need content that attracts people from the outside. We need content that inspires and teaches or entertains. It is only by creating something that others deem worth reading that I can contribute to the development of Hive.

Reducing the quantity

If I check my own blog on Hive, I realize that the frequency of my posts tends to go down over time. I came to the realization that I would only write something when I have a good idea or something that I think is worth sharing. It seems that this is happening less and less often lately.

There was a time, when I tried to create one post per day and I remember how I stressed sometimes to come up with a subject. There are still many out there who write one or more posts per day. I congratulate them for managing that. For me, this doesn't work and I don't want to burn out and stop from one day to the next. So I write only when I really want to do so

There is however a danger related to that and it is that I take a new habit of not creating content. This might lead towards creating no content at all. So I definitely need to find a middle way.

What to write about when you have written about everything?

In my activity as curator for @ourpick, I scan the Hive feed for posts that I find worth reading almost every day. It is sometimes a very difficult task because there aren't that many posts that I enjoy reading. Honestly, most posts don't provide any value to me. Why? Because when looking for a posts that I find worth reading I'm asking myself the following questions:

  • Does the post entertain me? Do I enjoy reading it?
  • Do I learn something new?
  • Do I get an insight in somebody else's life and opinions?

If I can't answer at least one of these questions in a positive way, then I have the feeling that the post is not worth reading. Of course, it's something that is subjective and very personal. That's why we have several curators in the @ourpick program so that we have different filters at work.

What I want to say here is that when it comes to creating content, it's again the same question that should orientate our creation process. Is my post entertaining? Do I transmit some knowledge? Do I share my personal opinion and life experience?

If I take this post for example, I try to convey my struggle to create content. I share my personal experience and hope that others can learn from it. Did it work? Well please tell me in the comment section:-)

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It definitely works! I think writing just for the sake of it is a surefire way to reach burnout, exhaust our creative juices and stop creating anything meaningful. For me, I always try to create and consume things that are thoughtful and interesting, things that make me stop and ponder a bit.

It's the same for me.

Sometimes I ask myself the same question, man, how am I going to keep writing? I guess one day I'll reduce my writing frequency like you. Still, you can see what other writers are writing about on Hive and create similar content. I'm not talking about copying, I'm talking about being inspired. For example, people make a post about how 2023 was for them, you can do the same.

It's true that looking through other posts can be a nice way to get some inspiration. It helps often but unfortunately not all the time :-)

I know what you need... You need to attend a bigger HIVE meetup to get inspired and find new topics to write about! 😃

While that's true, on the other side, sometimes I get new ideas by consuming other content and sharing my view on the same topic... But, I completely agree that creating content just for the sake of doing it every day makes no sense... Quality over quantity is almost always a better approach!

I get new ideas by consuming other content and sharing my view on the same topic...

While I agree that getting inspiration from others might trigger some nice posts, I tend to struggle to find this inspiration. I think that we should create more content where we present our own viewpoints and start discussions. Where we encourage a dialogue. Per se this is interesting content in my opinion :-)

We need to talk... Usually, you get plenty of ideas from a dialogue... :)

You are right! One has to build their post in such a manner that one can be proud of it.

I believe we should consider it like any other type of work. We should want to make nice and beautiful things :-)

Hmm I think posts can exist in many forms, there are some activities/mini competitions that one can participate via posts, and there could be some updates/posts for the Splinterlands guild, etc.

I agree that the posts can take a totally different form. For example I like the Liotes Missions where we get a lot of interaction even if maybe the post doesn't look like of great quality.

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I have so much to learn,next time whenever I write a new blog I will ask this questions first. So helpful for someone like me. Thank you for sharing.

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Thanks a lot for the curation!

I think I can have a little bit easier path since I mostly make post about the photos that I take, so that I have my photos ready first, then make a post about it. I am trying to give more info about my subject, but surely not as good as the other who has a better way to deliver it than myself.

thanks to your post today, I should ask always ask myself what other value do i have from my post, so that I can try to make a better post next time. : )
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so that I can try to make a better post next time

I think that this is a very important point. If we try to improve our work, we are definitely on a good path.

Hmm
This means that it is not a must to write something everyday but the best thing is to write something that is meaningful and that people will appreciate and not just about writing everyday
Well, contests helps someone like me to write everyday because we’re given different topics

It's definitely not a must to write a post every day. I believe in the long run, it's almost impossible to keep a high content quality with such a posting frequency.

It's true that working on this platform is not easy. It's very difficult to find a good content daily. I've been working here regularly for two and a half years. I'm also working here daily. Post a post and for this post first I find a place in my city and then go there for a walk and that's how I try to keep working on this platform.

It's not easy indeed.

Yeah.

Yep,it did work! 😉 I don't strive to post daily for the same reason, don't need the pressure to put something out there just for the sake of it. Less quantity, more quality is what I aim for.

Less quantity, more quality is what I aim for.

I think that this is a very good point of view that we should all strive here. We all tried to increase quality over quantity it would definitely be beneficial for the blockchain in general.

If I take this post for example, I try to convey my struggle to create content. I share my personal experience and hope that others can learn from it. Did it work? Well please tell me in the comment section:-)

It works and it's good information for readers to think more about the content. Tho, sometimes I think I forget if I ever post about the content or not. Maybe, I ever post the same topic but with a different way of words with the same goal 😂.

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That's a good point. It's not because we once wrote about something that we have to ignore the topic thereafter...

I think it's a good process to create good quality content. I think there people are attracted to different things and it does change things. Personally, I think consuming content is the best way to get ideas for a post. I think including your reasoning for the post is also a good idea.

Reading posts can indeed help in finding some inspiration :-)

content tiredness

Yes, I think you can occasionally get that when writing daily, which is not ideal. And waiting to have something worth writing about can work, and would improve the quality of the posts, given that you probably take the time when you write less often, but, at the same time, I remember when I took a break from writing it was very hard to come back, find my ideas and get back "into the flow". So, you identified correctly the risk of making a habit of not writing content.

Regarding your questions, the first and third can sometimes go head to head, as someone's life may not be entertaining to read about, but that person still feels the need to write about it occasionally. Same with opinions, I guess. Some may not be enjoyable to read, they may be rants or capture partial truths, especially when not properly documented (as they often are). Useful, I agree. As a daily writer, I strive that at least part of my posts should be useful to my readers, so they can get value from them. They can't all be like that, but it's important to have something of value people will return to your blog for.

when I took a break from writing it was very hard to come back

I agree with you on that. It's a kind of habit that we tend to lose and it's always much easier to lose a habit than to build it back up afterwards.

As a daily writer, I strive that at least part of my posts should be useful to my readers

I think that if we bring value just to one person then our posts are already worth being written and of course not every word can contain value. I think that this is a nice target to try to attain with our posts.

Creating engaging and valuable content is crucial to attract more people to Hive and increase its value.
Inspiring, teaching and entertaining through content is an excellent way to contribute to the development of the platform.
Thank you for this excellent post.

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Thank you for this excellent post.

Thanks for the feed-back!

As a newbie compared to you (veterans with a presence of over 5, 6 and 7 years), I set myself a goal. 366 posts in 2024. I hope that nothing will prevent me from missing a day and thereby losing the possibility of reaching that goal.
I believe that after achieving that goal, I will thin out my posts to two or three a week, because even now it seems to me that this is the right measure for someone with a full-time job.

This post of yours is excellent. Even the thinking of someone with your experience can give us, who have just started, guidelines in how to behave and write posts:

Does the post entertain me? Do I enjoy reading it?
Do I learn something new?
Do I get an insight in somebody else's life and opinions?

You set a very nice goal for yourself and I believe it will be challenging to reach that but it's definitely possible. Thanks for stopping by!