Writing or Blogging: Follow your Heart or Listen to your Mind

How can I not Write/Blog on a matter, which is an integral part of  one’s life or just say my identity? Writing is an art of self-expression, no doubt about it. Writing for me has always been an introspective element manifested or revealed through your own style, taste and talent. It always feels way lighter and better to vocalise one’s wandering thoughts by penning or typing it down.

But contemporary outgrowth of blogging has given writing a totally new dimension. Blogging, I wonder has become an offshoot or a new breed of writing, in broader sense . The purpose of this note is to seek for the ways to resolve the dilemma, which I am sure we all writers/bloggers face at some point of time:

Writing or Blogging: Follow your Heart or Listen to your Mind

I have been writing for almost eighteen years from my adolescence….but blogging is a recent activity. Days before blogging when I used to write only for myself, or some of my close patrons; It was all about creative vent, articulation, power of imagination or may be a narrative testimony. Or just as simple as for a real feel of repose and comfort. So it was more like, I was following my heart.

But now with blogging for larger, unknown audiences, apart from all the preceding factors, few more parameters which are being added are – appropriate choice of topics, words and format , curtailing of raw, under baked thoughts and some more which I will be elaborating few lines down. Basically, this time the mind is overpowering the heart. With blogging now, It’s more of a responsible writing for me. As I always believe that writing goes way beyond self-expression. It has that immense power of influencing minds and culture. Writing affects eternity in that sense. 

And that’s where my frustration arises from. I cannot just write for the fun of writing, like any hogwash or gibberish or just for the sake of herd following. It has to be that much worth albeit humorous or sombre.

After managing my hours in a day, being a mom, wife and me-time which includes my writing pursuit and reading for real not just skimming and scanning around, I just beseech for a miraculous intervention. If only god could provide me with twenty eight hours a day, I guess that would suffice my need for time being. With the blogging scene around, quite considerably one has to spend time to reach out; searching for the like-minded sources or people. You can call it networking in simple term and trying to fit into that new found, hopeful blogger community.

Now with all these, past few days of my tour de force into the real world of blogging has made me reflect and introspect a handful of queries:

• Why do I write –

To be read or to be liked. To elaborate, I observed painfully some of them like your blogs or posts even without reading it. Hopefully I am that good or may be my profile picture is that enduring.

• What should I write – 

Something which touched or troubled me deeply and I felt the urge to express it to the world, sort of speak your heart out with your signature creative touch. Or rather be a part of the daily contests for product promotion commercials – being with the crowd as that creates more visibility. On a lighter vein, they have given me back a nostalgic feel of my school years, the best days of my life. I do feel like a school girl with my neat hair braids, while trying to attempt one of those creative exercises studiously.

• For whom I write – 

My own country people in this case India or the whole world family which beckons me as a basic fellow human being. As culturally sensitive issues require different approach, understanding and handling.

• Where will it lead me to – 

Now question in this case is a break-even point as an individual you want to achieve; not just financially but personal aspiration and fulfilment too. So comes the part where will it lead me to, Really! after all this toil and grey matter jugglery…A self-published Kindle Writer/a not-so-leading Freelancer/ a top Blogger(which seems doubtful)/ a Renowned Writer(did I tell you my latest secret desire)/ or Just a regular personal diary girl(which many of us hold).

Lastly the quirkiest,

• When should I write – 

I read at some places, which elaborately elucidates to publish your articles on weekends, while other preach for week days depending on various intermingled factors; indeed with their sound reasonings and pie charts. They all seem so confused though with lots of hypothesis which makes my weary heart more bewildered.

(A quick note : I don’t even want to dwell into the worlds of choice of SEOs and plug ins, RSS feed, social media shares, co promotion and several estranged blog awards to keep this article lesser complicated.)

No two ways about it, Blogging has created new vistas and raised new hopes in the heart of many a budding writer and potential bloggers. The world as a platform served to us, which our forefathers did not have fathomed in their slightest dreams, is a boon as well as a bane in itself. This has given plenty of channels to express. Plenty, in turn has led to complexity.

What hurts is that all these has led to more of casual approach towards writing bordering to mediocre, contended with sub standard. There are people who write, and then others who can write and lastly some, who are good writers. There lies a distinct difference between these three. But how to decide who is what? May be reading and more reading will aid. Perhaps somewhere we ourself know that we can write or not in the subconscious level even if we don’t agree or acknowledge in our cognizance.

All this has made my writer heart more despondent and disillusioned. If I try to do justice to one, I am being inattentive to the other, which I don’t want to for known good reasons. Nevertheless, most of these ramblings have given rise to a state of tug-of-war within me as to follow my heart or listen to the mind….to be precise; focus more on writing or blogging with much of time constraint.

Following your heart may not always be that logical or plausible, but for sure will relinquish us with the pure vigour of  that unadulterated joy. Listening to your mind alone might be a trail towards the right path, but more calculating and gives us lesser contentment in terms of freedom of expression and raw exuberance. A balance between the two is the right approach and that’s a fine line too. With experience and time by my side, I will surely learn to harmonise between these two – writing and blogging.

This note is incomplete without a mention though. That I have come across quite a few of the writings/blogs occasionally during this dig, which are absolute ingenious. What a delight they are to your intellect and senses – creativity incarnated and compelling writing style. I feel glad as they have touched and amused my heart and inspired my spine to write better in some way or other. They flourish because of the virtue of their merit. And trust me on this, that they will prevail till the last.

Life is a big teacher and so do time if only we have an eager heart and a mind filled with willingness. All I know, this time I did follow my heart as I fiddle my pen through this post. But with the hope that it will strike a chord with your heart as well and appeal to your mind too….My readers, ‘do enlighten me as to how you go about this whole formidable affair’?:

“Writing vs Blogging: Follow your Heart or Listen to your Mind….”